GECs
UTV to beef up non fiction software production
MUMBAI: After fiction and animation, software major UTV has now trained its sights on the non fiction segment.
Keen to tap into the huge potential for this segment both in the burgeoning domestic market as well as among overseas broadcasters, UTV plans to float a team of ideators who will be primarily responsible for coming up with original ideas that can be converted into viable series, both here and abroad. Heading the team is old UTV hand Jyotirmoy Saha, the general manager, animation. Saha, who has extensive experience in networking with meeting with buyers for UTV’s animation software in international markets, has been given the additional charge of non fiction. Saha also has the mandate for constituting the team of five ideators, responsible for generating the content. The talent pool will be the only addition in terms of investment to the UTV team for building up the non fiction segment, says Saha.
With growing demand, no genre within the non fiction segment is taboo, believes Saha, except perhaps for natural history, which he believes may not be the company’s core competency. That apart, Saha is keen to try game show formats, biography formats, current world issues, documentaries for the young…the list can go on.
For starters, UTV has bagged a deal in Washington for an one hour documentary for the National Geographic Channel, details of which Saha is loath to reveal at this point. BBC World’s show Back To The Floor is produced by UTV, the first run of which ends on 14 February. It was last year that UTV got seriously down to the business of making non fiction software with the co-production of a 26 episode ‘cuisine tourism’ show Pan Asia that was aired in five countries including Canada. Pan Asia currently airs on Star World in India.
The non fiction team within UTV will however not restrict itself to domestic channels, as Saha puts it, “Thinking only India cuts off 85 per cent of my market.” So, while the team would operate out of India, UTV will actively look at international markets.
UTV also has the growing brood of news channels in its focus. It has produced a series Back To School on the different ways in which children in different parts of the country go to school, including Kashmiri kids whose school is housed in a houseboat, and Kutchi kids in Gujarat whose school is located in the salt pans of the westernmost tip of the country. It has also pitched two shows for the proposed UTV channel for the young, says Saha, the theme for which will be ‘kids, learning and adventure’.
GECs
Asianet Television Awards 2026 celebrates women power in Malayalam TV
“She is the Colour” theme honours icons as ceremony airs on March 14 and 15 at 7 PM.
MUMBAI: If television lights up living rooms, this year Asianet decided to let women provide the colour. The Asianet Television Awards 2026 turned the spotlight firmly on women empowerment with the theme “She is the Colour”, celebrating the strength, resilience and achievements of women who continue to shape society and the Malayalam entertainment industry.
The ceremony honoured several distinguished personalities whose journeys have left a lasting cultural imprint. Among them was legendary playback singer Vimala Varma, widely recognised as the first Malayalam playback singer. The evening also paid tribute to Padma Shri awardees Devaki Amma and Vimala Menon for their exceptional contributions in their respective fields.
Leading women from the Malayalam film industry were also recognised during the event, including actor Shweta Menon, who currently serves as president of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists, and National Award winning actor Surabhi Lakshmi.
The awards ceremony brought together a glittering lineup of actors and industry figures, including Jayasurya, Vijay Babu, Asha Sarath, Lena, Esther Anil, Anumol, Akhila Bhargavan, Sarayu Mohan, Prajod Kalabhavan, Gayathri Suresh, Sabumon Abdusamad, Swasika, Tini Tom, Sijoy Varghese, Kailash, Veena Nandakumar, Sabareesh Varma, Ansiba Hassan and Dinesh Prabhakar. Kishan Kumar, executive vice president Malayalam at JioStar, was also present at the event.
Beyond individual recognitions, the awards celebrated excellence across Malayalam television, acknowledging artists and technicians whose work continues to drive the industry forward.
The evening also offered plenty of spectacle, with elaborate dance performances, stunt acts and comedy skits performed by popular television and film personalities, turning the ceremony into a full fledged entertainment showcase.
Viewers will get to watch the celebrations when the Asianet Television Awards 2026 air on Asianet on March 14 and 15, Saturday and Sunday, from 7 pm onwards, bringing the star studded tribute to homes across Kerala and beyond.
