People
Amrita bags best TV channel award
MUMBAI: Amrita TV, the Malayalam satellite channel set up in April 2005, has within a short span of time, established itself for innovative and quality programming targetting the entire family .Recently various forums presented Amrita TV with accolades including the Best Channel Award.
The Forum for Better Television, presented Amrita TV with six Awards in the telefilms category out of which ‘Errul megangalkkum sooryres mikalkkum madhyee’ won three awards for best tele-film, best script writer, best editing ;while Neermathalathende pookal bagged three awards for best direction, best cinematography and best sound recording. Both these tele -films are in-house productions of the channel.
The Kerala Film Audience Council also presented the best tele-film Award to Neermathalathende Pookal, an in-house production. The LIVE Chancellor awards honoured Amrita TV with best TV channel award. The other Awards comprised the best interview-based programme for Samagamam , an interactive show of the channel which is running since April 2005, and has been recognized as a channel identity programme; and special jury mention for Ularakal, an investigative current affairs programme –both these programmes are produced in-house by Amrita TV.
The Chitram Television Awards adjudged Amrita TV as best TV channel. It also bestowed the best anchor award for Samagamam.
A commissioned serial of the channel – Chitrashalabham- got three Awards for best direction, best serial and best actress.
To maintain the quality and integrity of the channel’s programming character nearly 74 per cent of Amrita TV’s programmes are produced in-house by its team of talented and experienced directors.In May 2006, Amrita TV was bestowed with 15 of the 29 Kerala state awards for excellence in television in different categories–the first channel to be so honoured in its very first year of operation.
People
Devika Prabhu joins Sony Pictures Networks India as business head – Hindi movies
Former Disney Star executive returns to SPNI to steer the network’s Hindi movie business
MUMBAI: Devika Prabhu is heading back to familiar turf. The veteran media executive has joined Sony Pictures Networks India (SPNI) as business head – Hindi movies, marking a return to the broadcaster where she began her early leadership journey.
Prabhu announced the move on LinkedIn, calling it both a new beginning and a homecoming. Earlier in her career, she spent several years at SPNI—then Multi Screen Media—working on strategic planning for Sony Entertainment Television.
The appointment brings to SPNI a media strategist with more than 25 years of experience across content, programming, brand strategy and platform growth. Most recently, Prabhu served at Disney Star as vice-president and business head – kids, youth and infotainment TV, where she led the Disney Kids and National Geographic portfolios following the Disney–Fox merger.
During her tenure, she oversaw a Rs 400-crore P&L while pushing digital expansion, partnerships and operational efficiencies. Earlier roles at Disney Star included leadership across programming, acquisitions, marketing and product strategy for multiple networks, including the UTV movie channels and youth brands.
Prabhu’s career has also spanned building cross-platform intellectual property, developing kids and family content ecosystems, and forging international format partnerships. She was closely involved in bringing global formats and franchises to Indian audiences and is widely credited with helping shape India’s anime fandom into a mainstream youth phenomenon.
At SPNI, she will now lead the Hindi movies business at a time when film channels are rethinking their role in a fragmented viewing landscape. With audiences discovering cinema across television, streaming and digital platforms, the challenge is not just programming films but reimagining how they reach viewers.
Prabhu believes movies still hold a unique cultural power, sparking conversations and creating shared moments long after the credits roll.
Now back where part of her journey began, she is set to write the next act, this time from the business seat of Hindi movie television. Lights, camera, strategy.
