GECs
SRK key pivot in Columbia’s ‘Incredible’ promo act
MUMBAI: Recently CG centric films like Spiderman and Shrek 2 have given stiff competition to our Hindi heroes. Now, we have Disney’s The Incredibles not competing with, but actually collaborating with, superstar Shah Rukh Khan to woo audiences.
Hum Hain Lajawab, the Hindi dubbed version of The Incredibles is to have SRK lending his well known voice to Mr Incredible, the lead character of the film. The voice cast also boasts of the versatile Javed Jaffrey, Rakshanda Khan and SRK’s son Aryan.
Columbia Tristar, the distributor of the Disney flick has rolled up its sleeves for the marketing & promotional activity.
Speaking to Indiantelevision.com, Columbia Tristar Marketing Manager Divya Pathak says, “We want to change the general perception of the masses that animation is just for kids, with Nemo we had a lot of elders queuing up and with SRK dubbing for this movie we are looking at a whole lot of additional audiences queuing up for the film”.
“We hope that this helps open out the market to build animation as a category. This, according to us, is the real crossover when SRK is actually starring in a Hollywood movie.” she adds.
A lot of marketing and promotional tie-ups are in the pipeline for the movie.
Of the many co-branding deals and cross promotional deals being planned around the movie, two have already been put in place.
Says Pathak, “McDonalds has a global tie-up with Disney for merchandising. Following the huge popularity that the Nemo merchandise enjoyed, the fast food major is excited about The Incredibles too. Other than the merchandise we also plan to have The Incredibles birthday bashes at McDonalds”
“We have also tied up with Cadburys, wherein Cadburys’ Gems’ cartons and tubes shall carry jumbo stickers and there will be a special box (like celebrations) which will carry a 50 piece The Incredibles jigsaw puzzle,” Pathak adds.
There are also plans in place to have garments based on The Incredibles costumes at Pantaloons. As the release date draws near, the distributor plans to increase its main media thrust and couple it with a flurry of on ground events and below the line activities.
“The Disney name has a certain equity with Indian families, Disney stands for moral values and because of that we have a lot of schools for whom we arrange special screenings,” says Pathak.
Comparing the marketing and positioning activity involved for films with that of brands she says, “There are brands like Kellogs that have broken into traditional homes and markets replacing the traditional breakfast. The difference between such a brand and a movie is that while the marketing of a brand can happen over a long period of time, the marketing and positioning of a film has a limited time frame.”
“The problem lies not in creating awareness for an animated feature but in converting that awareness into footfalls. A known face is needed to sell a movie. In animation you can’t add a known face to the cast, so we gave it a voice. Voice is a strong human connect in animation. SRK is one of the most popular guys around, he is a kids icon, a family icon. Besides he also loves animation,” Pathak points out.
In terms of animated features, Columbia had a very good 2003 with Finding Nemo, Jungle Book 2 and Lion King Imax format all doing very well at the box office.
Nemo released with 40 prints and grossed Rs 18 million. “We are planning 80 prints for The Incredibles and the figure might just go up depending on the heat generated by the promotions,” says a confidant Pathak.
“With Toy Story, Pixar took viewers into the world of toys, with A Bug’s Life into the realm of insects, Finding Nemo they took us undersea and now with The Incredibles Pixar shall take the viewers into a land of super heroes,” she concludes.
Be it bollywood bonanzas or Hollywood fare, animation as a category has a lot to compete with in India. SRK has lent his voice to this Disney flick, will he lend his box office charms too?
GECs
Sahara One reports financial results, notes director exit and business realignment
Muted revenues, steady expenses and strategic adjustments shape company’s current phase
MUMBAI: In a tale where the sands seem to be slipping faster than they can be gathered, Sahara One Media and Entertainment Limited has reported another quarter of wafer-thin income and widening losses, even as a boardroom exit adds to the unease.
The company informed the Bombay Stock Exchange that its board, in a meeting held on April 4, approved its unaudited financial results for the quarter ended September 30, 2025. The numbers paint a stark picture. Total income for the quarter stood at just Rs 0.13 lakh, unchanged sequentially and sharply down from Rs 0.26 lakh a year earlier.
Losses, meanwhile, deepened. The company posted a net loss of Rs 24.16 lakh for the quarter, compared to Rs 18.81 lakh in the June quarter and Rs 39.69 lakh in the same period last year. For the six months ended September 2025, the cumulative loss stood at Rs 39.69 lakh, while the full-year loss for FY25 was reported at Rs 60.72 lakh.
Expenses continued to outweigh income by a wide margin. Total expenses for the quarter came in at Rs 24.30 lakh, led by employee benefit costs of Rs 6.51 lakh and other expenses of Rs 17.78 lakh. Earnings per share remained in the red at Rs (0.11) for the quarter.
The balance sheet reflects a company with significant assets on paper but limited operational momentum. Total assets stood at Rs 23,065.57 lakh as of September 30, 2025, broadly unchanged from March 2025. Equity share capital remained steady at Rs 2,152.50 lakh, while total equity was reported at Rs 18,004.85 lakh.
Cash and cash equivalents saw a modest uptick to Rs 6.75 lakh from Rs 4.68 lakh earlier, supported by a positive operating cash flow of Rs 180.01 lakh for the period.
Yet, beneath these numbers lies a more complex narrative. The company’s auditors flagged their inability to obtain sufficient evidence to form a conclusion on the financial statements, citing lack of access to records. They also raised concerns over the company’s ability to continue as a going concern, pointing to insufficient funds, delayed recoveries, and stalled content investments.
Adding to the governance overhang, the company disclosed that Rana Zia has resigned as whole-time director, effective October 16, 2025, citing other professional commitments. The resignation, noted and accepted by the board, also brings an end to her role across company committees.
Regulatory pressures continue to loom large. The Securities and Exchange Board of India has already initiated penal actions for non-compliance with listing norms, with trading in the company’s shares remaining suspended. There is also a risk of promoter demat accounts being frozen.
Legacy legal issues remain unresolved. A substantial deposit of Rs 694,027.88 thousand linked to the long-running OFCD dispute involving Sahara group entities is still under the purview of the Supreme Court of India. Restrictions on asset disposal continue to weigh on the company’s financial flexibility.
Operationally, challenges persist across multiple fronts. Advances worth Rs 1,92,916 thousand given for film content remain stuck, with delays in project completion and uncertain recoverability. The company’s YouTube channel, despite being operational, has generated no revenue for over three years due to compliance lapses. In a further twist, management has indicated that revenues may have been fraudulently diverted through unauthorised changes to its AdSense account, with a police complaint in the works.
There are also missed revenue opportunities. Television content rights continue to be used by a related party despite the expiry of the licence agreement, with fresh negotiations still underway.
For now, Sahara One Media and Entertainment Limited appears caught between legacy disputes and present-day operational hurdles. As losses linger and governance questions mount, the road to recovery looks less like a sprint and more like a slow trudge through shifting sands.
