GECs
Life OK launches Baawre!
He is a director and she is a singer. He wants to stay in his own city Lucknow and make it big while she wants to tread on the path paved by her father. Nikumbh (Abhishek Rawat) is a successful playwright, a purist who believes in his talent, while Yamini (Vinita Joshi) is a singer whose career has been moulded by her father Raghavendra. She is a part of the very world that Nikumbh despises so much. As fate would have it, Yamini ends up as the heroine in Nikumbh’s play and gets drawn to his talent and ideals, falls in love with him.
What happens when these two individuals with different dreams and ideologies cross each other’s path? What happens when conflict forms the premise of love in their lives? Life OK, India’s fastest growing Hindi General Entertainment Channel is all set to launch a love story of these two opposite characters in its new show Baawre chal jahan chalen mann ke paon re.
The new series also marks the television debut of the acclaimed and hugely popular, Neelesh Misra. He has co-produced the show and will also be seen in it as the ‘sutradhar’ who links and holds the story together. Baawre will give the viewer a never seen before experience of an innovative and creative style of storytelling on Television.
Commenting on the distinctiveness of the show and the association with Neelesh Misra, Ajit Thakur, General Manager, Life OK says, “Every show that we have launched, we have introduced our audiences to new and fresh concepts and formats by experimenting, innovating and reinventing the wheel at every step. With the launch of Baawre we are redefining the way a love story is told and presented to the viewers. At the centre of the narrative are not just the two protagonists, but for the first time, a ‘sutradhar’ that is essayed by popular storyteller and Bollywood writer Neelesh Misra. We are confident that with our unique approach to storytelling and extremely identifiable characters, we will be able to connect with the audiences strongly.”
The show is produced by Sunshine Productions’ Sudhir Sharma in association with Neelesh Misra. Shot in the city of Nawabs – Lucknow, the show explores the multiple facets of the city that blend perfectly well with the storyline. With a strong line-up of much-admired and celebrated actors like Abhishek Rawat, Vinita Joshi, Akhlaque Khan and many more, the show promises to charm and capture the imagination of the audiences and make them an integral part of Nikumbh and Yamini’s journey every night on Life OK at 7pm and 10 pm, Monday to Friday from 2nd June.
GECs
ZEEL overhauls sales structure to chase growth across TV and digital platforms
New structure sharpens digital push as viewing habits fragment fast
MUMBAI: Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. is reshuffling its sales playbook as it looks to keep pace with a fast-changing media landscape, where audiences are scattered, screens are multiplying and advertisers are following the data.
According to media reports, the rejig is anchored in the company’s push to build a more integrated, data-led monetisation engine, one that can straddle both traditional television and fast-growing digital platforms with equal ease.
At the heart of the move is a reworked sales architecture designed to deliver cross-platform solutions. With connected TV gaining ground and digital consumption surging, ZEEL is aligning its teams to move quicker, think broader and sell smarter.
The restructuring is being led by chief operating officer, advertisement revenue, Sandeep Mehrotra, at a time when the company says it is seeing tremendous growth. The idea is simple: match the right talent to the right opportunity in a market that is anything but static.
As part of the overhaul, several long-serving executives have been elevated to chief sales officer roles across regions and content clusters. Sanjoy Chatterjee will head the east market, while Gunjarav Nayak takes charge of the west along with high-margin verticals such as hmg, brand works, intellectual properties and digital sales. Rajnish Gupta will oversee bengaluru and chennai markets alongside the kannada and tamil clusters.
In other key moves, Divjyot Dhanda will lead hyderabad and kochi markets and manage zee tv, zee keralam and the telugu cluster. Roshan Vasu Kotian will supervise a diverse portfolio including Zee Marathi, &tv, Zee Punjabi, Zee Anmol, Big Magic and Zee Biskope.
The company is also strengthening its bench, appointing national sales heads across retail, regional clusters, digital and brand solutions. Ankur Kapila’s appointment to lead digital sales signals a sharper push into a segment that continues to outpace traditional formats.
Behind the scenes, dedicated strategy and operations roles have been carved out for both linear and digital businesses. Nitin Shetty, Rajkiran Shrivastav and Priya Nambiar will take on key responsibilities to ensure the new structure runs with precision.
The broader aim is clear. ZEEL wants a bigger slice of advertising budgets that are steadily drifting towards digital and connected TV ecosystems. By integrating its offerings, the company hopes to deepen client relationships while unlocking new revenue streams.
The new structure takes effect immediately, with Mehrotra continuing to report to chief executive officer Punit Goenka and steer the company’s advertising revenue strategy. Senior executive Laxmi Shetty will support the transition, with her revised role expected to be announced soon.
In a market where content is everywhere but attention is scarce, ZEEL’s latest move is less about rearranging the org chart and more about staying in the game.
