GECs
Zee hunts for actors with ‘Cinestars ki Khoj’
MUMBAI: Add a dash of glamour to reality and you have a crowd puller! That’s what happened back in 2004 when Zee TV launched its massive talent hunt, India’s Best Cinestars Ki Khoj. A decade later, the channel is all set to revive the popular format, albeit with slight alterations in approach and presentation.
Post IPL, the Essel Vision produced show will replace Zee TV’s current favourite, Dance India Dance (DID) Li’l Masters, which airs every Saturday and Sunday at 9pm.
Auditions are already on while for participants from outside India, the makers are deploying another casting process. It is learnt that 20 versatile contestants (Indians) from across the globe will compete for the crown of ‘cinestar’.
The first auditions started on 15 April in Amritsar to scout out the most impressive candidates. It will be followed by other countries like UK, North America, South East Asia and many more. 18-40 years of age can participate and showcase their talent which can open up a million new doors to a career in Bollywood.
They will be groomed by Bollywood’s most popular casting directors, filmmakers, actors and choreographers, and will in turn showcase their acting and dancing talents to an international audience over a span of 15 weeks. Celebrity judges, exhilarating dance numbers and performances will mark the show.
“We are inviting Indians from all over the world to come and participate. We are not doing massive public auditions but have another casting process which is being used. We have not formulated the exact flow but have already started working with the communities and offices there,” says Zee TV programming head Namit Sharma, who is hoping to attract talent from everywhere.
“Zee TV has always stood for celebrating the talent of India’s common man. In 1995, the channel created the Mecca of singing talent in the country with Sa Re Ga Ma Pa and introduced the entertainment fraternity to some of its leading singers. Year 2009 saw a landmark day in the history of Indian television when we launched Dance India Dance, giving hope to a million dance enthusiasts across the country. The show not only emerged as one of reality television’s biggest successes but opened up several new career avenues in dance for its participants,” says Sharma.
After revolutionizing the worlds of singing and dancing, Zee TV is all set to make a similar impact in the world of acting with its reality series India’s Best Cinestars Ki Khoj. “We have a knack of identifying the right talent; we look forward to an interesting season of this show!” he adds.
About the format of the show, Essel Vision producer Nitin Keni reveals: “We are working on a different design, but nothing is finalized as yet. We are still ideating, but the series will be about finding out the best actor/actress through various levels and then from the EVPL side, we will also be giving them a chance to act in our projects.”
Repeating the property was a conscious decision, following the response to the last season. “There is a lot of aspiration among people in the country to become actors/actresses. And now that we have a production house, we require actors all the time and we are also into films,” says Keni.
As the producer of DID which is being replaced by the newbie, Keni says it will be a good break. “With back-to-back launches, there is too much of DID happening. Whether it’s Cinestars ki Khoj or otherwise, DID needs to be given rest,” he says.
With the show’s earlier outing having produced stars the likes of Ankita Lokhande (Pavitra Rishta), Sarwar Ahuja (Punar Vivaah), Aditi Sharma (Ladies vs Ricky Bahl), Sharad Malhotra & Divyanka Tripathi (Banoo Main Teri Dulhann), Yuvika Chaudhary (Om Shanti Om) and Himanshu Malhotra (Bhagonwali), all eyes are peeled on the return of the star maker.
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.
