GECs
UTV to showcase ‘Stuntmen of Bollywood’ on NGC
MUMBAI: NGC is pushing further with its localisation initiatives. Earlier this year it announced the latest Misson property Mission Udaan which is being done in conjunction with the Indian Air Force.
Now it will kickstart the series It Happens Only In India. This takes a look at occurences that are unique to this country. UTV has made the documentary Stuntmen Of Bollywood . This will air on 18 September at 9 pm as a part of the initiative. The one hour special took a year and a half to make and takes a look at the film stunt industry in India. UTV VP television content Monisha Singh says, “The stuntmen are the heroes behind the heroes. We thought that it would be good if we made a show that examined what their lives were like.”
What the show reveals is that the safety factor is often ignored. While the big film stars get preferential treatment there is much less concern for the well being of a stunt person. The UTV crew did research by speaking to 800 stunt people.
The film focusses on Habib Haji whose journey as a motorcar stuntman is a story marked by heroism in the face of tragedy. His father was killed in a stunt accident. The show has several gripping moments including one where a motorcycle driver has to drive in between two carriages of a fast moving train.
Another special that will air in the It Happens Only In India band on NGC in the coming weeks is Spunky Monkey. India has close to a billion people – a huge population that spills out of cities, towns and villages. There is always a clamoring need for more land on which to build houses or grow food, and forests shrink rapidly in the face of this pressure.
While this may spell doom for most of India’s wildlife, one species of monkey has come out of the forest and learned to survive as an urban animal. NGC follows the antics of the bonnet macaque, a monkey with a flamboyant hair style that has the ingenuity to exploit the Indian reverence toward them.
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.
