Pickle July 13-19, 2020 Issue

www.pickle.co.in JuLY 13-19 | 2020

INDIA’S ONLY MEDIA BIZ MAGAZINE FOR THE WORLD

THE CHANGEMAKER An insightful interview with Gaurav Banerjee, President (Hindi and English Entertainment), Star India, on finding resilience in overcoming post COVID-19 challenges, setting new production benchmarks and almost relaunch of all the shows beginning July 13 when primetime programmes resume after more than 100 days

INSIDE

STORIES

12 Ravi Kottarakara Secretary, Film Federation of India and South Indian Film Chamber Of Commerce.

Producer, Ganesh Pictures

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No Business As Usual For Film Industry

Raagotsav Celebrates Music And Musicians

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Film Shoots To Resume In India Soon

Amit Khanna is media guru, poet, lyricist, writer, filmmaker and historian.

16 34

What’s Wrong With Our News Media Today?

COVID-19 Has Accelerated Shift Towards Digital Across Sectors

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16 Takeaways From Ficci Frames

fro m t he editor

W

e are delighted to present the latest issue of Pickle amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, without stepping out of our homes. For the first time, me and my colleagues attended eFICCI FRAMES 2020 from our home balconies. In terms of productive output,the 21st edition of FICCI FRAMES is by far the winner.

There’s no networking, but it provides an opportunity to get snapshots from 100 speakers in 20 sessions over five days.

The biggest takeaway from FICCI FRAMES 2020 is that whether one likes it or not media sector (also OTT) will be regulated with light touch regulations and there will be no self-regulation. This signal was clearly coming from senior officials of the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting. We will have to wait to see the finer details of the regulatory correction when it gets announced. We have listed major takeaways from eFICCI FRAMES. Our cover features Gaurav Banerjee, President (Hindi and English Entertainment), Star India, who has high hopes of setting new production benchmarks with Star’sfresh programming and in a way re-launch shows to win back viewers and advertisers, and reinvigorate the network.

We will continue to feature young media executives like Gaurav Baneree who are changing the face of Indian media and entertainment sector.

The Indian media ecosystem is changing fast. The Over-the-Top

(OTT) space is gaining traction in the Indian market with the presence of Disney+ Hotstar, MX Player, Amazon Prime, Netflix, ZEE5, Voot, ErosNow, Sony Liv, ALT Balaji, Sun Nxt, expanding and growing the market further.

Amit Khanna’s column on where our news media is heading raises questions on practitioners of today’s journalism, and we will continue this debate in the coming issues.“Everyone is busy outdoing the other in the mad race to grab eyeballs. Views have replaced news,” he says.

Experts point out that market forces have gone out of control, and remedial measures have to come from within the media industry.

Also questions are being raised on will there be state intervention?

If this issue goes unresolved, we may be heading towards a situation when we would need labeling of content as news or ads (with source), similar to labeling of packaged food. While selling food without labels could have serious health implications for consumers, we are close enough to assume that news without label (source) could make readers stupid. Any views? Please share your ideas to stem Fake News.

Feel free to email your thoughts and suggestions.

n vidyasagar pickle media nat@pickle.co.in, www.pickle.co.in

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Blending music and monsoon

Raagotsav celebrates

music AND musicians Raagotsav, dedicated to the rich and age-old tradition of instrument music and its legendary practitioners, will be streamed

by Films Division (www.filmsdivision.org) between July 14 and 16

F

ilms Division is gearing up to present ‘Raagotsav…

Celebration of Monsoon’, an online festival of select pick from ‘precious films’ on Indian classical music in its archive.

First part of the festival, dedicated to the rich and age-old tradition of instrument music and its legendary practitioners, will be streamed between 14 and 16 July, said a statement.

‘These documentaries tell music lovers about major streams of instrument music - string, wind and percussion and also about maestros, Ustad Allaudin Khan, Ustad Bismillah Khan, Ustad Ahmad Jaan Thirakwa, Ustad Alla Rakha, Pt. Ravi Shankar, Pt. Hariprasad Chaurasia, Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, Pt. Ramnarayan, Pt. Sivkumar Sharma, Sheikh Chinna Moulana and others who have influenced music lovers, old and young alike for centuries,’ it said and added: ‘The rare collection will be showcased on Films Division Website and You Tube channel for free viewing.’

FILMS ON MUSIC

In India, many instruments have been skillfully used for music composition, accompaniment and

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for solo performance, from time immemorial.

An informative compile of such instruments through the film ‘Music of India’-Instrument (11min./1952/ Bhaskar Rao) will kick start ‘Raagotsav’.

To understand how passion for music brought an 8-year-old boy from a remote village in the then East Bengal (present day Bangladesh) to the city of Kolkata, the documentary on the life of the legendary multi instrumentalist-composer and music teacher, Ustad Allauddin Khan, ‘Baba’ (15 min./1976/N. D. Keluskar) is a must watch, according to Films Division.

B&W BIOGRAPHY

Produced 50 years ago on life and work of tabla maestro, Ahmed Jaan Thirakwa’ a rare B&W biography (14min./1971/L Shankar) takes us to the golden era of music. The credit for elevating the status of Shehnai, a wind instrument played in marriages and religious processions only to the solo concert stage goes to one and only ‘Ustad Bismillah Khan’ and this short film (19 min./2007/Dinesh Prabhakar) showcases master’s life and his illustrious journey leading to the highest civilian honour, Bharat Ratna.

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SHANKAR & SHEIK

Pandit Ravi Shankar, the worldfamous Sitar exponent and the first instrumentalist to be bestowed with Bharat Ratna has expressed his views about the tradition of Indian Gurukul system in the documentary ‘Moments with Maestro’ (18min./1970/Pramod Pati). Also interesting is the biography of Sheik Chinna Moulana who mastered and popularised Nadaswaram, a double reed wind instrument played mostly in temples and during Hindu weddings in South India, where ‘Shruti & Grace of Indian Music’ (14 min./ 1974/ Shyam Benegal) is majorly on grammar of Indian classical music.

DAY 2...

On day 2 of ‘Raagotsav’, the story of a Tabla genius and his music philosophy is revealed in ‘Ustad Alla Rakha’ (13 min./1970/ C S Nair).

‘Tala and Rhythm –Mridangam’ (11 min./1972/ Shyam Benegal) underlines importance of the ancient percussion instrument in Carnatic music. Through ‘Music of India’- Drum (10 min./1952/Bhaskar Rao), a short overview is taken on variety of drums used in India.

‘Pandit Ramnarayan’ (50 min./2007/ V. Packirisamy) denotes the journey of Sarangi maestro who took the hitherto accompanying instrument to the glorious level of solo excellence.

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‘Bansuri Guru’ (57 min./2014/Rajeev Chaurasia) shows the fascinating musical journey of flute magician Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia whose mellifluous bansuri rendition is enchanting music lovers across globe for over six decades.

LAST BUT NOT LEAST

On 16 July, the last day ‘Raagotsav’Part I, another masterpiece ‘Antardhwani’ (65 min./2008)/ Jabbar Patel) brings to life the musical journey of great Santoor exponent Pt. Shiv Kumar Sharma.

Ustad Amjad Ali Khan belongs to the family that introduced Sarod to the world. His illustrious musical journey, love for Sarod and grooming of his sons…. Music aficionados can listen to all these and more in his own words in ‘Ustad Amjad Ali Khan’ (62 min./1990/Gulzar). The documentary ‘Bansuriwala’ (52 min./2016/Biplab Majumdar) is on ace flutist Pt. Ronu Mujumdar. This documentary gives us the experience of meditation through soothing music.

According to Films Division, ‘Raagotsav’ aims to double the celebration of monsoon and bring pure joy and celestial ecstasy to all music lovers, uplifting their spirit in the present days of isolation and depression. Those interested can visit www.filmsdivision.org and click @ “Documentary of the Week” or follow FD YouTube Channel to enjoy the rare films on Indian classical music.

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POLICY DISCUSSIONS AT FICCI FRAMES

FDI cap of 26% for

news aggregators under consideration Addressing FICCI Frames 2020 virtually, Amit Khare, Secretary, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India, said the demand of 26 per cent FDI limit for news aggregators is being looked into by the government

I

n order to provide a level playing field to print and digital media in India, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting is considering limiting to 26 per cent Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) for news aggregators, which have seen accelerated rate of growth driven largely by investments flowing in from countries like China.

Addressing FICCI Frames 2020 virtually , Amit Khare, Secretary, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India, said the demand of 26 percent FDI limit for news aggregators is being looked into by the government even as the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting believes in playing the role of a facilitator and educator rather than a regulator of the Media and Entertainment Industry.

During the discussion, Girish Agarwal, Promoter and Director, Dainik Bhaskar Group, highlighted that print media and news aggregator

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regulations differ from each other.

His remarks were in the context of the 26 percent FDI cap on print media, which didn’t apply to news aggregators.

Girish Agarwal added that these discrepancies must be harmonized to create a level playing field for print media and digital news aggregators, as well as radio and podcasts.

Khare also invited M&E industry representatives to provide more clarity on the definitions of various infrastructures included in the proposal to give infrastructure status to the M&E industry. Khare said the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Ministry of Finance and NITI Aayog are agreeable to grant infrastructure status to the broadcasting sector. For this, stakeholders should arrive at a common understanding on what infrastructure will be covered within this definition.

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Amit Khare invited M&E industry representatives to provide more clarity on the definitions of various infrastructures included in the proposal to give infrastructure status to the M&E industry.

Khare said that I&B, Finance Ministry, NITI Aayog agree to provide infrastructure status to broadcasting industry, however, there should be clarity as to what constitutes M&E infrastructure

He also acknowledged that digital media in India is growing very fast and changing the consumption pattern and consumer behavior. Citing the example of 11 working groups formed by the PMO to aid convergence between various Ministries to manage the COVID-19 crisis, he said that the I&B Ministry is trying for convergence of regulation of digital content and digital platforms, which currently fall under the purview of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.

Technological changes will outpace regulation, so it would be optimal to create a negative list (No Go Zone) of prohibited activities, just like Singapore has done. Outside this list, any platform or medium can function without other regulations.

Khare said, “From the Spartan world of traditional movie marketing, we have now entered a rather sophisticated universe of digital movie making. While looking at different digital mediums is important, one should not forego the importance of personal touch, as the entertainment industry plays on human emotions.”

He added, “Convergence and coordination of various Ministries is mandatory for the smooth functioning of the entertainment industry.”

Stating that there are different regulatory practices for different media such as the Press Council of India for

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Amit Khare, Secretary, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting

the print media and the Central Board of Film Certification for films, Khare said there has to be a level playing field for all, including OTT platforms such as Netflix and Disney+ Hotstar, which do not come under any regulatory purview as of now.

Khare said OTT is a subject under the Ministry of Electronics, Information and Technology (MEITY), but Information and Broadcasting wants the content part to fall under its purview.

Khare said, “Instead of bringing everyone to the lowest common, the attempt is to have more freedom to all of them. We must try to regulate or rather facilitate the sector. There is definitely a need for a level playing field among the different media.

But, level playing field does not mean getting everyone under very heavy regulatory structures. In fact, the last six years of the present Government has been focused on doing ease of business and having less but more effective regulation.”

Speaking on the challenges being faced by storytellers owing to the fast evolution of technology and digital media, noted Filmmaker Shekhar Kapoor said that both creators and regulators have fallen behind the fast pace of development in the digital media technology, which has thrown a huge challenge for traditional storytellers like filmmakers. He added that the fast emergence of digital platforms keep him on his toes.

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The way forward for M&E post Covid

Making filming in

India more easy “I’m very fond of saying that my country has as diverse locations and post production facilities. You need only one visa to see it all for tourism and one visa for shooting,” said TCA Kalyani, Joint Secretary (Films), Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, while speaking at the e-FICCI FRAMES Summit even half that number would be TCA Kalyani, Joint Secretary great for starting the business of (Films), Ministry of Information film exhibition. There has also & Broadcasting, said that the been a steady growth in content government will soon be announcing export, investment in incentives under the production facilities champion services sector. and technology in “We are going to announce animation, VFX, etc.,” the SOPs for filming in she added.

India and we have got the Health Ministry’s Kalyani further said Total number of foreign film clearance regarding the that the pandemic shoots since 2016 same,” she added. has appended all assumptions of usual Addressing the e-FICCI business for the global FRAMES Summit ‘The People employed in foreign economy, but it has Economic Impact of the only sharpened the Media & Entertainment shoots market trends that Sector: A post-COVID-19 were already visible Lens & The Way before the health crisis, Forward’, Kalyani Employed as film cast such as the increasing said that Media and during the foreign film demand for digital Entertainment industry services. For the Media has always adopted a shoots and Entertainment host of technological industry, this means advancements.

“We faster transition to have a huge capacity for Economic contribution digital mediums and domestic consumption. more pressure to In pre-COVID times, more through foreign film shoots compete for consumers than 2 million cinema as well as for advertisers and tickets were sold on an average, subscription revenue, she stated. daily. With social distancing norms,

BY THE NUMBERS 76 20,000 28,000

$64 Million

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Citing the Prime Minister’s India Global Week 2020 address, where he said that India is laying a red carpet for all global companies to come and establish their presence here, Kalyani said that very few countries will offer the kind of opportunities that India does today.

“We have opened doors for filming in the country, easing the permission process, a single film visa and we are also going to streamline and facilitate single window clearance systems,” said Kalyani She added that the incentives under the champion sector scheme will be open to not only film shooting but also for TV and web series filming. Foreign filming in India since 2016, Kalyani informed, has contributed nearly US $ 64 million with 76 completed productions so far.

“I’m very fond of saying that my country has as diverse locations, whatever you want to see in a film, whether it is the mountain, the river, the sea, the island, the desert the crowds and post production facilities, you name it, we have it and you need only one visa to see it all for tourism and one visa for shooting.”

Speaking about the internet revolutionizing the entertainment sector, Kalyani said that India has enabled digital transformation by increasing economic freedom for the traditional Media and Entertainment businesses to operate. They are also nudging the industry for a better quality of service.

The best example for this is that the OTT segment has grown phenomenally during the pandemic, she added.

The Media and Entertainment sector through innovation consistently has the potential to create jobs, especially in new areas of animation, gaming, etc.

“The government has allowed 100 percent FDI in film content productions.

This sector has the potential to create thousands of jobs including opportunities for the skilled and semiskilled workers,” she said.

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TCA Kalyani, Joint Secretary (Films), Ministry of Information & Broadcasting

Citing the Prime Minister’s India Global Week 2020 address, where he said that India is laying a red carpet for all global companies to come and establish their presence here, Kalyani said that very few countries will offer the kind of opportunities that India does today. “We have opened doors for filming in the country, easing the permission process, a single film visa and we are also going to streamline and facilitate single window clearance systems,” she said.

“The M&E industry is one of the champion sectors, enabling the vision of our honorable Prime Minister to achieve a $5 trillion economy,” she said.

“We will be announcing the incentives under the champion service sector shortly. India has enabled digital transformation by increasing economic freedom for the traditional M&E business,” she said.

“So opportunities exist for great visuals, well written scripts and award worthy acting, but what the Internet has taught us is that consumers want every type of story. The government has allowed hundred percent foreign direct investment in the filmic content productions. This sector has the potential to create thousands of jobs including opportunities for the unskilled and semi skilled workforce.

The incentives under the champion sector scheme will be open not only to film shooting, but also for TV web series filming and foreign filming,” she said.

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COVID-19 IMPACT ON SHOWBIZ

No business as usual for

film industry COVID-19 has stunned film producers in India, who see the pandemic causing major disruptions in the way this unique industry functions. Here are some major challenges and remedial measures that can be taken to help the industry get back on its feet

By Ravi Kottarakara

T

he ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has caused an irreparable damage to businesses and industries globally.

Our film industry too finds itself into quite a predicament and the writing on the wall is absolutely clear. The Indian film industry has a peculiar ecosystem and its mode of functioning is entirely different from the normal industrial practices. In the past few years, the business in the Indian film industry has seen a lot of volatility—marked by lots of failures and a meager success rate of say 15%. Adding fuel to the fire,

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the COVID-19 pandemic has created so much havoc and pandemonium that it’s a difficult task to imagine recovery of the film industry anytime soon.

I have underlined some of issues of the film industry that need to be addressed before we resume business as usual:

PRODUCERS / PRODUCTION SECTOR

The film producers are stunned due to the several issues caused by the novel Corona virus and the lockdown that followed after its outbreak.

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Ravi Kottarakara is Secretary, Film Federation of India and South Indian Film Chamber Of Commerce. He his a film industry veteran for forty years and producer, Ganesh Pictures

Besides the uncertainty that looms over the commencement of film shootings, the Monsoon season will be another factor leading to the total destruction of sets, thus creating irreversible losses to the producers as now they would have to erect new sets and structures again

Released Films Losses Some of the films that were released and screened at the cinema halls and were doing well in terms of box office collection have been abruptly stopped after the announcement of lockdown.

This has caused irretrievable and permanent loss to the film producers

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and distributors [During the lockdown there were around 80 to 90 films in different languages running in various cinema halls pan India].

The financial loss accrued due to abrupt closure of cinema halls during the lockdown is alone expected to amount to more than Rs. 400 crores.

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Shooting Locations and Sets Some film shootings had to be stopped suddenly in the aftermath of COVID-19 crisis that has caused huge losses to film producers.

Adding to the injury, many gigantic sets erected by them for shooting are now wearing out [the shooting sets are temporary and made from perishable materials, so lifespan of these setsis very short]. Besides the uncertainty that looms over the commencementof film shootings, the Monsoon season will be another factor leading to the total destruction of sets, thus creating irreversible losses to the producers as now they would have to erect new sets and structures again. The producers will also have to pay daily rent for the locations where these sets have been erected.It will be an additional cost to him.

Reorganizing and Rescheduling To start the shooting process is another herculean task as the producerswill have to now get new shooting dates from their respective artistes and technicians and reschedule the shooting. Adding to our woes, we are aware that some the artistes and technicians need to travel from different states for shootings. Some films have to be shot in outdoor locations like garden/ parks, bus stands, airports, roads, historical monuments, temples, and farmlands, etc, and shooting at many of these locations doesn’t seem a possibility in near future.

Some of these films have to be shot in foreign locations and it looks like an impossible task to get permissions to shoot in those foreign locations in near future.

Unfortunate Loss of Lives & Displacement of workers In this difficult time, we are experiencing another major issue.

Unfortunately, some of our artistes and technicians have become victims of the COVID-19 pandemic and many are experiencing depression, tensions, mental ailments and other issues due to uncertainty in resuming shootings. Now all these film have to be reshot using new artists which would incur additional costs to the producer. Many of the

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One of the biggest issueswe are facing is the interest accruing on loans after cancellation of shooting and delay in completing and recovering our investments from the projects daily wage/ contract and semiskilled workers have returned to their native states and it would be an uphill task to get them resume work.

Debts & Interest on finances Meanwhile, one of the biggest issueswe are facing is the interest accruing on loans after cancellation of shooting and delay in completing and recovering our investments from the projects. The interests to be paid to financiers are mounting by each passing day. Since films are not financed by banks as the film production is perceived as a high risk industry, film producers borrow money at a very high rate of interest of 30% to 48% per annum which is very exorbitant but there is no other option.

Release of films Even if we complete with a film facing all these hurdles,another major stumbling block would be trying to release the film in these desperate times. The reasons are: a) To think of a worldwide release looks like an impossibility at this time.We would lose money to be received from those territories/ markets. b) The cine goers would think twice to watch films in theatres by taking undue risk of contracting the virus. c) In this volatile market the distributors would not come forward to buy films.

THEATRES / EXHIBITORS Social Distancing at Theatres Social distancing will be maintained very strictly at theatres. Tickets will be sold for every alternate or every third seat to maintain a gap between two occupants.

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Screening Sanitizing Further, prior to every show, before entry each and every individual going in for the show will be individually screened for temperature and sanitized before allowed in the premises.

Issues of Screening Films Post screening, cleansing and disinfection and sanitizing of theatre hall, individual seats, corridors, toilets, will also be done. This will eat into the total time available for shows. The number of shows will have to be reduced to a maximum of three instead of four shows as the lot of time will go into screening, cleaning/sanitization of halls. The time between each show will increase due to checking and sanitizing each individual.Also, the interval time will have to be increased to avoid congestion at food courts/ stalls, etc.

Reduced Footfalls As there exists a fear of Corona in the minds of the public and the entertainment is available to them on digital mediums like satellite TV and OTT platforms, the need for the public to watch cinema at theatres must be encouraged. Since cinema is still the cheapest form of entertainment in India, we are hopeful that the public will revisit theatres and watch films on large screens coupled with quality sound systems.

Relief sought from the State Government • 50% reduction in property tax during lean period* • Flat 30% reduction in Electricity Tariffs/Bills for a limited period* [From rates of April 1st] • Local Body Entertainment Tax holiday for 5 years. [LBET] • No Ticket Price Capping and the unfettered Right to increase the ticket price by the exhibitors due a)restricted sale of 50% capacity of theatre.

• All shooting Locations such as parks, roads, gardens, Bus stand, Beaches, etc should be given for shooting at Rs.1000/- per day only. *Period is three years.

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Relief sought from Central Government: • All Monuments, Temples, Archeological Sites, Railway stations, Dams, must be charge only Rs.5000/- per day[ Indemnity Bond to be given by producer in case of any damages incurred] • Single window permission and clearances for shooting at any location within 72 hours.

• TDS deduction on sale of copyright rights to Digital, OTT, Satellite, etc, to be reduced to 1%.

• Instruct Banks to finance film producers/ distributors/ cinema hall at a concessional rate of interest. [the same Rate as for MSME sectors].

• Central Subsidy of Rs 5 lakh only to be given to the film producer [whose name appears in Censor Board certificate] for every film released [minimum in 10 screens], irrespective of language and where the budget of the film is less than Rs 3 crores[based submissions to Income tax]. The amount to be paid within six months from the date of release of the film.

• Reduction of GST from 18% to 12% and 12 % to 5% ( there are two slabs).

• A service chargeof Rs.30 at Non A/c Theatres, Rs.40 at A/c Theatres, Rs.50 at multiplexes could be addedto every ticket purchased to recover the cost incurred for providing additional sanitization services at theatres and during Film Production [This is collectible by an additional coupon to be issued with every ticket]. The service charge money will be split three ways between the Exhibitor[where film is screened], producer [appears on the censor certificate] and the governmentsin the ration of 40:30:30 –exhibitor 40% ,producer 30% and government 30% [Central 15% & State 15%, respectively] • This service charge is to compensate the exhibitor/producer for the extra expenses/costs incurred on safety measures of sanitization procedures.

These recommendations made by us is just to provide some sort of remedial help to the industry on a temporary basis, but in the long run we would only be able to ascertain the damage after the wrath of corona is over and the industry starts functioning.

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OPINION ABOUT NEWS

What’s Wrong With our

news media today?

Everyone is busy outdoing the other in the mad race to grab eyeballs. Views have replaced news.

So, sometimes, crime shows rule and at other times the leitmotif is supernatural occurrence

By Amit Khanna

T

o me a simple definition of news is organised information about a changed situation, events, happenings and people.

There was a hierarchy of news which was determined by immediacy and social significance. The fact that it’s expensive to publish a newspaper, there is always an underlying business model in publishing. In most cases, it is to make money, in a few to push an agenda — political or otherwise. All the talk of a mission, objectivity and fourth pillar of

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democracy is a lot of rhetoric and utopian eloquence. Advertising was always the major source of revenue as it remains even today.

Alternatively, the funding comes from whoever wishes to back a point of view which obviously benefits him.

For over two centuries in India and elsewhere, the business of news has continued on pretty much the above lines. Till the advent of TV news in India, newspapers (and magazines) imagined themselves to be the

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Amit Khanna is media guru, poet, lyricist, writer, filmmaker and historian.

His latest book Words, Sounds, Images (published

by HarperCollins India) is ambitious and encyclopaedic in scope, a first-of-itskind book that presents the history of media and entertainment in India – from the times of the Indus Valley Civilization right up to the twenty-first century

When the width of your knowledge is Google search and the depth is social media reports or leaks from interested parties, any claim to be independent is bunkum

custodians of the nation’s conscience, no matter their own credibility was coloured by a political tint. However, they were largely confined to mere reportage of events and happenings and occasionally people, leaving the pontification to edit page pundits.

Digital technology, computers and satellite transmission changed news gathering and dissemination a lot. The ability to cover any event or happening in real time altered the way people connected with it.

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Initially, radio and then TV restricted themselves to reports on incidents, people and problems.

From contextualising to interpretation, news then succumbed to biases. The way you edited a story, juxtaposed facts or even positioned it, changed the story itself. This malaise has only got heightened today.

Several decades ago, one of the founding fathers of modern journalism, Walter Lippmann, said, the press is like a roaming spotlight,

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bouncing from topic to topic, story to story, illuminating things but never fully explaining them. “The function of news,” he wrote, “is to signalize an event, the function of truth is to bring to light the hidden facts, to set them into relation with each other, and make a picture of reality on which men can act.” This may appear simple but is the crux of the problem. Media vehicles predicate where they want to go for a story. So, who you talk to, what questions you ask and how much of the answers you retain, what is seen and said determines the final outcome. It does not make an iota of difference whether the perspective is decided by the owner, editor, journalist, advertiser or even the government.

The fact is, objectivity is fiction.

When the width of your knowledge is Google search and the depth is social media reports or leaks from interested parties, any claim to be independent is bunkum.

There is not a single objective media vehicle. The so-called liberal media are as partisan and prejudiced as the saffron and various other leaning towers of verbiage. What will replace this jejune noise is still a matter of, well, debate. The edge of the cliff is in sight but the phoenix is yet to be born

Two well-known English anchors are both the self-appointed questioners of the nation. One bow-tied greyhound spends his day collating news clippings on Google and the evenings questioning hapless guests. Two former editors with similar lineage run their talk shows with opposite political slants. One venerated pioneer is having telethons and others are busy with town hall meetings

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is mixed metaphors apart. There is some sense in an occasional story on TV, online or even print, but these are mere flashes in an otherwise bleak scenario. Print, struggling to survive, is less strident. A large number of left and extremist journals have perished under their own intellectual arrogance and ideological ignorance. The rest keep on batting aimlessly with a straight face rather than a straight bat. A few holier than thou ‘civil society’ “do gooders” and “grassroots workers” spew endless “gyan”, whichever the media it may be.

Everyone is busy outdoing the other in the mad race to grab eyeballs. Views have replaced news.

So, sometimes, crime shows rule and at other times the leitmotif is supernatural occurrences. Now, in online news, which is simple to put together and relatively inexpensive, all and sundry don the expert’s mantle.

Retired bureaucrats, politicians in the electoral wilderness, out of job editors, have-been and wannabe journos, academics, parvenus and celebratii and the strange breed which goes by the name of activists are all spewing petabytes of unconsidered opinion.

It’s another matter that publication/ channel/website, anchor/editor has preselected quote hangers and verbal gymnasts and dial-aminute experts ready to harangue.

Roving microphones, live coverage and random selection of data only peppers up the debate. Forget the investigative journalism of the 1980s.

Or even the pseudo intellectualism of the 1970s. The idealism of the 1950s is best remembered in retrospect.

Investigative journalism is now innuendo, leaks and source-based plants. A vast majority of journalists cannot even write or speak the language fluently they report in.

TV news today is an audiovisual akhara. There are nightly shouting matches. Pompous, ill-informed and amateurish spokespersons wrangle with pesky anchors and a montage of animated faces in agitated voices.

Today, TV news is entertainment.

The ones which a decade ago were watchable are all platforms of premeditated ideological noise.

Some are pretenders of serious journalism, which makes them even more suspect. While the anchors are all heavily made up

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Journalists should be as transparent as possible about sources and methods, so audiences can make their own assessment of the information. Even in a world of expanding voices, accuracy is the foundation upon which everything else is built: context, interpretation, comment, criticism, analysis and debate and coiffured and dressed fancifully, their diction and language leaves a lot to be desired. And it’s not that this problem is restricted to any language or region. Sensationalism under the garb of breaking news and scoops are unleashed with regular ferocity on every medium. Breaking news is more regular than advertising across media.

Unfortunately, in the last 20 years, journalists have become lazy and predictable. Google and Wikipedia are the fountainhead of research. If you notice, TV anchors quote print stories and print journalists take a clue from TV news. Both use Twitter (and other social media) as source of information and then start spreading their points of view as the ultimate truth via WhatsApp. The smarter ones are across different social media platforms. Every now and then a lot of noise is made about fake news and trolling. It’s the pot calling the kettle black. My source is genuine, the others unreliable. If you closely follow news, you realise more than half of it is plants by different interest groups.

Interestingly, media persons and their loyal supporters are the ones who keep the whole trolling game going on social media. What with Bots and algorithms taking over, every slanging match gets millions of likes, dislikes, posts and ripostes by the millions.

Do they represent the voice of the people? No way. One set consists of government apologists and the other government bashers. Political bias is worn as a badge of honour. Just being anti establishment does not make you correct. Nor does being cheering squads for the powers that be.

Secularism and nationalism are two other notions much bandied around by the media today. TV only accentuates the decibel level. If the fat lady screams on one channel, then be sure schoolmarm harangues on another. Two well-known English

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anchors are both the self-appointed questioners of the nation. One bow-tied greyhound spends his day collating news clippings on Google and the evenings questioning hapless guests. Two former editors with similar lineage run their talk shows with opposite political slants.

One venerated pioneer is having telethons and others are busy with town hall meetings. On business channels, one lady is the repository of all the knowledge on banking and economy while a bunch of reporters have turned stock market experts and corporate analysts. The long line of inquisitors has only increased and shouters go on and on and the tone gets shriller. The liberals are as usual paranoid about some imaginary loss of freedom even as some overzealous nationalists are busy boycotting people and countries.

Indian democracy, meanwhile, thrives amidst media cacophony.

One of the major issues is that India has far too many publications (70,000), news channels (300+) and thousands of online news sites. No wonder mediocrity rules. The latest scourge is Webinars, Zoom meetings, Hangouts and virtual conferences.

In these days of Work from Home,it’s a good pastime. Now wait for the innumerable award shows run by various media organisations going virtual. Journalists should be as transparent as possible about sources and methods, so audiences can make their own assessment of the information. Even in a world of expanding voices, accuracy is the foundation upon which everything else is built: context, interpretation, comment, criticism, analysis and debate.

That is a tall ask my friend.

(This column by Amit Khanna was originally published by IANS)

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LEADING DIGITAL CHANGE

Star Unveiled Having worked in the M&E industry for nearly two decades, Gaurav Banerjee, President (Hindi and English Entertainment), Star India, brings to the table his sharp journalistic acumen along with deep insights into business and creative processes to steer Star India network into a new era of programming where technology, and content with global appeal is set to be the new normal

By Natarajan Vidyasagar and Vivek Ratnakar

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Storytelling tops the agendA of Gaurav Banerjee, driving content for India’s number one entertainment channel Star India, now owned

by Disney. He has a huge canvas to draw connecting 600 million TV viewers with social dramas and streaming platform Disney+ Hotstar, which has 350 million active users. “It has a lot of dexterity and modernity that digital brings with the scale of a huge Television Network”

S

tarting his career as a TV news journalist at Aaj Tak in 2000 and then moving to Star News where he covered the general elections and a budget show, Gaurav Banerjee, President (Hindi and English Entertainment), Star India, is among the league of extraordinary TV professionals who have redefined TV viewing experience for the masses in India. “Uday Shankar is one of my major influencer and transformative leader in my professional career,” says Gaurav.

A sincere and intelligent person with a penchant for research, his grip on his viewers has been remarkable. He has been successful in combining creativity with business with his choice of programs to help Star climb the ladder of success. It is, therefore, not surprising that in a career spanning nearly two decades, he has emerged as one of the major pillars of the Indian M&E industry with a lot of similarities with Uday Shankar, President of The Walt Disney Company Asia Pacific, and Chairman of Star India and The Walt Disney Company India, who like him had an illustrious career at Aaj Tak and Star News and was greatly benefitted by the sharp acumen of a journalist combined with a keen sense of creativity and business and the ability to feel the pulse of millions of consumers.

Gaurav was reporting to Sanjay Gupta, MD Star and Disney India.

Gaurav has worked with both Uday Shankar and Sanjay Gupta closely and is now charged with transforming the network in an era, where new technologies, platforms and shifting consumer choices are increasingly disrupting the M&E industry.

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“It’s been a series of happy accidents,” says Gaurav in an exclusive interview with Pickle. “Personally, for me, it’s been a privilege to have been part of this team. And of course, I’ve learned a lot,” he adds.

“Sanjay was my boss for 10 years and I learned a lot from him. But I think the real strength of Star is our team as a whole. And Star has incredible number of very talented people. And I think the fact that we have the best talent in the industry and we have a culture and spirit that allows a lot of that talent to flourish has made us successful.”

Gaurav admits that good work “keeps me inspired and excited” and hopes to “do a few things which will set the framework for a healthier industry”.

The fact that he started his career in a news room has to do a lot with his unique perspective on what viewers want. “In the newsroom when you go in, you don’t really know how that day will shape up. So you just bring in your skills, your intelligence, some of the reading that you might have done. And then it’s about your reflexes, and about what can you add to a story that makes it truly come alive for your fans,” he says while reflecting on his career as a journalist.

He recalls that when 9/11, the world trade center attack in New York happened, he was in the newsroom and Uday Shankar was in the control room, trying to figure out what to do and what perspective to give. “It was really clear that we were witnessing something happening right before us, which is going to change the world forever. That was one real massive moment at the start of my career at Aaj Tak in particular.”

Star India has incredible number of talented people. We have a culture and spirit that allows a lot of talent to flourish and has made us successful. I have had a great run, Star and Uday Shankar have been deeply kind to me. Uday Shankar has been a transformative leader. Star has encouraged me to do good work that keeps me inspired and excited to do few things which are setting the framework for a healthier industry

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We are about those stories we tell and the impact that those stories could have on viewers. And I think everything else sort of comes after that. So as far as I’m concerned, I see myself as a content guy first, deeply interested in shows, writers, in the physical worlds that we are creating, and trying to input it into making our stories richer, more diverse, and more contemporary

Underscoring his learnings from this incident, he says, “It might seem deeply naïve today, but I didn’t look at weekly rating numbers.

And I think nobody actually did except for the senior leadership. But for the rank and file, we were so convinced that we were the best news channel that everything else kind of didn’t matter. I have no idea what the ratings were before that or what they became after that. I have to honestly say that it was an interesting learning.”

Gaurav believes that over-thinking the results often undermines what is needed to be done.

Another memory he shares is that from 2005 when he was in the newsroom and Mumbai got more rain that night than Cherrapunji had ever recorded in the recorded history of rainfall in this country.

“I was sitting on the ticker when this story flashed. I couldn’t really believe what I was reading.” Star News that day decided to “drop everything else, and just stay with the story. We decided that the agony and the spirit of Mumbai should come alive in our coverage.

And I thought that one moment was truly the moment which became the making of Star News.”

However, there is a huge difference in the way stories are conceived in TV and a journalistic thinking of visualizing a story. “Uday Shankar had always been very deeply involved in the creative process at Star. And, we talked about how we could reflect India’s concerns all the time. And how do we show it in a manner that is very, very responsible that inspires people,” says Gaurav.

He adds that one of the big distinctions for Star was its tagline, “Inspiring a Billion Imaginations”, which “has led to some very different programming”.

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“A few years ago, we did the show Satyamev Jayate and it was a very unconventional show for an entertainment network. But for Star it seemed like absolutely the right decision. The way we went about doing it, the scale of investments that we put in, the way the scheduling happened, and the way it was marketed put a very different stamp on what entertainment means,” he says proudly.

“We were so proud of the show. We wanted lots and lots of people to see it wherever they could.”

So, what’s next in programming that could prove to be a game-changer for the Indian Media & Entertainment industry? “If we see the current trend, you know, now it’s the documentary series that are becoming one of the trending elements globally,” he says.

Gaurav is also a trained documentary filmmaker, and he admits that “it’s a fascinating way to tell a story… but honestly, we have not done a lot of it. Though we did one interesting documentary last year but perhaps that was more of a one off. It’s something that I have some feeling for personally. Hopefully, when there is a right subject we can do something which is interesting, exciting and meaningful. I think documentaries is something that we can really open up a wide massive Canvas for. And that’s an opportunity that we haven’t really applied our minds to yet.”

On the evolving diversity of content viewing audience, Gaurav is clear that Star sees itself as a content company first. “We are about those stories we tell and the impact that those stories could have on viewers.

And I think everything else sort of comes after that. So as far as I’m concerned, I see myself as a content guy first, deeply interested in shows, writers, in the physical worlds that we are creating, and trying to input it into making our stories richer, more diverse, and more contemporary.”

He also believes that everything else is about monetization, different brands and different distribution frameworks that are continuously evolving, “and we need to stay ahead of those curves”.

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Personal Trivia Q. What comes first, creativity or business?

A. Creativity. Good creativity leads to great business.

Q. What do you binge watch?

A. Haha, I like a wide range of shows and films. So I watch a lot.

Q. Do you read fiction?

A. I’m not unfortunately a very big fiction reader, but I should read more. But I do read a lot of current affairs.

Q. Who has the major influence in your life?

A. My father and my mother have massive influence on me. Both of them were teachers. And then my father became a public servant and a writer. So he’s always been a massive influence. I’ve had the great privilege of working with Uday Shankar for a very long time. And I’ve learned a lot from him.

So he’s a absolute great influence as well. Also, I have a 14-year-old son who also influences me to a great extent.

Q. Did you ever visualize when you were starting off that you will enjoy what you’re doing now?

A. No, of course not. I always thought that I would probably spend my life in TV journalism.

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“We need to understand where our viewers are, we need to adapt as far as technology is concerned. While doing all that we want to be the place where the best writers come with their most exciting ideas.

And hopefully we sort of become their partners in taking those ideas and making them very big. So personally for me, the width of brands is very exciting. But essentially it’s doing something similar across the board.” He cites the examples of Star Ananda and Star Jalsa, which he helped launch and he feels that “they’re very similar brands. One speaks in Bangla, the other in Hindi”.

Speaking on the importance of data, Gaurav believes that there are “some insights you can get from data, as a lot of us really like to speak to consumers. And, you pick up themes from there. I think Star is a very, very strong consumer company. And we can definitely leverage that. We are sometimes guided by that, but honestly, that’s rare. Usually it is, you know, your heart beats for a particular story, and in a way that someone is thinking about it or narrating it, and you hope that you’ve got it right. The nature of the business is that sometimes you do get it right and many times get it wrong. And then you have to humbly except and learn something, hopefully, and then move to trying something different.”

With English Channel programming added to his job profile, Gaurav has found an innovative way to address the new challenge of convergence in audiences in both language mediums. “it’s a recent development that has happened and I’m particularly excited about it. We just had the release of Avengers and Aladin. And both those movies did really, really well. The new thing that we have done is that we are putting these movies simultaneously across our network. So they come not just on Star Movies, but for example, in Hindi also on Star Gold. So that’s an innovation that has happened very recently, which is very exciting. It sort of allows the marketing to happen together. And the viewership that we got for Avengers was pretty phenomenal, which was very exciting. And I think there is much more to come, hopefully in the days ahead.”

“One of them I’m happy to share with you will be the premiere of The Lion King. And that was a really, really amazing movie. It did wonderfully well in India as well as globally. It has Shah Rukh Khan and his son doing the voiceover in Hindi. So hopefully there’s a lot that fans have to look forward to,” he adds.

I think this is a great opportunity for content teams and for people like me because there isn’t a bigger and more brilliant company than Disney globally, in terms of creating marvelous cinematic franchises. And, which programming person in the world has not learned from people like Bob Iger, Marvel and Pixar. I think to be part of a global company where all of this is available to you is an incredible privilege

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However, there is also a fear in the industry that COVID-19 will have adverse impact in terms of broadcast and TV business. “Our hope, and our strategy is to really try and see that we can keep a big part of the viewership share. And I think if we can continue to do that, we will continue to be able to make big investments into content. Content investments are a strategic part of our business.

We do not think about them as what will be right for one or two quarters. We’re taking the long view on this. We continue to remain deeply committed to being the company that is most invested in high quality storytelling and in curating the best possible stories. So I think, there a road bump or two along the way in the next quarter or two. But we’re here for the long haul, and we are deeply committed to content, which is our most critical resource and our biggest strength.”

Gaurav is also in the leadership team to Originals at Disney+ Hotstar. With the rise of OTT platforms globally, an opportunity has presented itself for Indian content to move to other markets.

However, this is still not happening at a pace the Indian M&E industry would like it to move. According to Gaurav for that to happen “we need to be more ambitious”.

“When we have a deeply local, authentic storytelling style, and bring in a universal insight it makes content travel. I think that’s something that we need to do. Those are the kind of scripts that people like me and others like to commission. But I also think that the challenge with a lot of content that we have done, if I were to be self critical, is that it’s only looking at the Indian market.”

“If we get the insight right, and it’s a universal insight, then it will work very well in India as well and be able to travel across the world,” says Gaurav citing the example of Slumdog Millionaire, an Indian story written by an Indian with the insight which is truly global.

He is hopeful that India can get into that space. “Say for example, in the next three, four or five years, we will be able to tell such stories.

We are not the same India as what we were a few years back.”

However, he adds a caveat, that “if we cannot do that in the next five, then yes, we have let go of a massive opportunity. And we need to find a way around it.”

Take Slumdog Millionaire which is an Indian story, written by an Indian with the insight which is truly global.

If we get the insight right, and it’s a universal insight, then it will work very well in India as well and be able to travel across the world. In the next three, four or five years, we will be able to tell such stories. We are not the same India as what we were a few years back. If we cannot do that in the next five years, then yes, we have let go of a massive opportunity. And we need to find a way around it

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INSPIRING BILLION MINDS

Gaurav Banerjee

President (Hindi and English Entertainment), Star India 27

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The Changemaker An optimist and a staunch believer in making new beginnings, Gaurav Banerjee, President (Hindi and English Entertainment), Star India, who takes creative calls at the network, sees some great opportunities to turnaround the Indian M&E industry during and post COVID-19 while following his Dharma of keeping the fans entertained

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the M&E industry in many ways. How has been your experience of work from home during this time?

It’s been interesting and extremely productive. Honestly, I personally feel that I’m more productive than I used to be in normal times. Having lived in Mumbai since 2004, spending at least two hours commuting to work from home had been one of the major challenges. Now I can spend those two hours far more effectively.

The second thing that has kind of helped is that when you go to office, you end up wasting a lot of other people’s time as well. So, if someone needs to pitch an idea to you, they have to travel distances and then there are security protocols, etc, that take further time.

I personally feel that one must spend time in listening and debating an idea.

But often you feel that you can get to the crux of an idea and understand it better and do it faster. So, if it is a video call and you can finish it in half

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an hour and not 45 minutes then you don’t feel any guilt.

But in a physical meeting there are considerations like the person coming in for a meeting has travelled a long distance, and you feel that you should spend some more time to do justice, whereas in a video meeting, you don’t need to. So, I think it has its set of advantages.

But there are limitations too. I spend most of my time in the creative pursuit of great scripts and you sometimes miss the energy in the room. A lot of people, you know, brainstorming together. We’re trying to get that sort of feeling going on, on Zoom calls with colleagues, but it’s not the same thing. And that’s very hard to sort of grasp. I think that is part of the challenge.

Fortunately, I have been at Star for a very long time, as you know, and that is true for a large number of my colleagues as well. So we definitely know each other really well; there is a long history that one can fall back on.

And I think that is deeply helpful. At

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the same time, I also think that when you meet someone new in person that’s a much better opportunity to have a lot more communication and a deeper understanding. So I think that is a fair challenge. But hopefully we would find a way of connecting better and deeper as we get out of this crisis.

From your perspective where do you see the industry heading from here?

I am the person who spends all my time looking at programming and taking a lot of creative decisions. So, I think it’ll be interesting, and it will definitely be different. I don’t believe for a second that the post COVID world will be the world that used to exist before COVID happened. I think we will end up creating something new and something different.

I think the challenge for each one of us—for our companies and for the industry—is to figure out that how this new and different that we create is better. I think that’s what a lot of us are trying to solve. I think there are some challenges which are apparent. First of which is that giant scale physical production is very hard to do in this environment right now and will probably continue to be a challenge going forward. I think companies like mine where in the past we have never hesitated to have a real massive crew and huge set pieces like battles, for example, will shoot and plan it now very differently.

Yeh Rishta Kya Kahlata Hai, which has run non-stop for 11 years in Star Plus before Covid-19 Pandemic, will connect with viewers in today’s business reality

I think the second thing that we are definitely seeing is the advantage of having a deep pipeline—how many ideas do you have in your funnel?

How many creative people are you working with? How many scripts are in the mix? How many productions?

It will hopefully look even better to viewers. But the way we will go about making it will be powered a lot more with CGI. I think once this massive shift happens, it will really accelerate the opportunity to adopt new technology in production in a very big way.

We’re working together and working across different parts will become very-very important.

I think the challenge for each one of us—for our companies and for the industry—is to figure out that how this new and different that we create is better. I think that’s what a lot of us are trying to solve

The issue of COVID-19 is so enormous and it has affected all of us equally and in so many different ways that perhaps it is not possible to keep it out of our stories. And, therefore, in this there is an opportunity to reduce the degree of deafness that creeps up into a creative industry which is small and is largely still in Mumbai, especially Hindi. How do we overcome that is something that we can do better on.

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Thirdly, I think one of the challenges for us, as as a creative company is, can we do something so that we are not kind of get a little bit locked up in our own loop and away from the larger world and concerns and issues that our viewers face.

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As COVID-19 is going to be the new normal, how is the Indian M&E sector trying to find new ways to function in this new scenario?

We have deeply contributed to the creation of SOPs as an industry across the board. It’s something that is important, and it’s evolving every day. We are talking to the best health policy experts. We are deeply in conversation with the government and with various bodies like the producers and the artists associations. So it’s a deeply collaborative process. And it’s a process that we have created and strongly participated in.

We want to ensure that we do our level best to keep our cast and crew safe. I think more than any other responsibility, this responsibility is of paramount importance. It’s very hard to do it there. It’s a real challenge as nobody truly is fail proof. There are no textbook on it yet. But I think we can continuously learn from our experiences in order to succeed. Thankfully, we are not the first industry which is starting back again, internationally. A lot of work on this front has happened—some of it in Europe, some of it in Australia.

We’ve looked at that and are learning but it’s very hard.

How do you see the Indian M&E industry doing in terms of creating world-class productions?

When people compare it to the global standards, they say that it’s much easier to shoot outside India than in India now.

I come from a humble television background, and before that I was associated with news industry.

All my work has been in India.

All the production that we do for television is in India, which is a lovely country to shoot in. We have, of course, few challenges. But I think if you look across the board, I think those challenges are there in every industry. Therefore, there is no reason to believe that we cannot be a world class production destination.

I think our ambition should be to become world class, and we need to get there as soon as possible. But the question we need to answer first is that are we learning? Are we thinking on making improvements?

The answer is absolutely yes.

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I think a lot of recent shows have set higher production benchmarks than what used to be before. The quality of these shows has started sort of reshaping this agenda in the last couple of years. And I think that’s a good step forward. It puts in face a couple of things—the quality of the talent has become better and a lot more time and effort is going into just writing better scripts.

New institutions, new frameworks have come in, and those are good.

They will ensure over a period of time, far better quality products coming through from our country.

So we are learning. I think a lot of journalists are a little impatient with us. But I keep telling everyone that this industry is roughly 20 years old. The next scale of development of investments is about three years old. So, be a little patient and we’ll hopefully turn this into something that all of us can be deeply proud of.

India Needs Centers of Creative Excellence A new India is emerging that is being more ambitious around what can and should get achieved, says Gaurav Banerjee, adding that the country has the resources and the vision to become a leading player in the global M&E space. But he thinks that India would require public-private cooperation in creating a number of centres of creative excellence to achieve this goal. “I think we haven’t done enough in this area as a country and we should do better and we need to do more. We shouldn’t only have one FTI (Film and Television Institute of India) and we should figure out what do we need to do to have such schools in other parts of the country.

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People have not watched any of the TV serials since March 17. But soon they will be able to watch those serials again on their TVs. How do you think they will recap and pickup the story from where they left off ? What’s on your mind now?

I’m happy that you’ve asked this question when we are only four days away from resuming broadcast of TV serials. So, I don’t need to keep any secrets from you. I can tell you honestly. I think the way we have thought about it is that it’s going to be a re-launch of the shows—all the shows. So whether the shows work or they don’t, is not in our hands, that’s in the hands of our fans and we will humbly accept their verdict.

But in our minds, we were clear that we were not bringing back something that people had stopped watching in March. But we were bringing something new. And we were bringing something different.

And hopefully we were bringing something better. So the way we thought about it is that this was a forced season break. And now a new season will start, where some parts are what you really like to come back, and then some new dimension is brought in, which hopefully, as a fan, you find very exciting. So let me give you a couple of examples. On Star Plus, we have this incredibly powerful show called ‘Yeh Rishta Kya Kahlata Hai’, which has run nonstop for 11 years. We launched it in January of 2009. Other than COVID, nothing has managed to stop it. So it’s the only break that the show has had in 11 years. So now when it is coming back, we said, okay, we need

The issue of COVID-19 is so enormous and it has affected all of us equally and in so many different ways that perhaps it is not possible to keep it out of our stories. And, therefore, in this there is an opportunity to reduce the degree of deafness that creeps up into a creative industry

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In Kasauti Zindagi Ki, Star Plus is bringing in Karan Patel, one of the most loved television actors of the last half decade as the new Mr. Bajaj

to do something totally different. And totally different is that the business family has had a massive problem because of the way their business has got fully stuck with no money coming in due to COVID-19 crisis, and they don’t want to let go of their workers.

So they are in a big financial crisis.

And to overcome that crisis, they need to find a deal with this person who’s deeply conservative. But this person has now run into some trouble with Naira, the most loved character on the show, who now pretends to have a twin sister just to ensure that this deal doesn’t fall through. So we’re adopting our hearts to the great Shakespeare. And it’s something that has never happened on the show earlier. And it’s again contextual; it’s around what people have dealt with in the last several months.

So that’s what we are trying to do on Kasauti Zindagi Ki, which is another really big show of ours. We are bringing in Karan Patel, one of the most loved television actors of the last half decade as the new Mr. Bajaj and hopefully that casting and the rule and the new dimensions to that character that Mr. Patel will excite fans a lot more than what was happening earlier.

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Star Plus’ new social drama Anupama is story of a 40 plus woman who is a mother, who hasn’t got all the respect that she truly deserves in her own home, and how she now fights for her self-esteem and respect

So, those are just two examples by which we are trying to suggest that this is not a restart. It’s a fresh start.

Hopefully better than where we left off.

Will that mindset be reflected in other shows running on the network—making people connect with each other?

Hopefully, yes. The last three-four months have given us an opportunity to pause and to reflect and to think deeply about our channels, our shows and our scripts. So, we are excited. I think we have not been able to physically do any production.

That has only started in the last 10 days or so. But everybody in the team has been working very hard to think about our game, and how can we improve it. So hopefully after all this net practice over the last hundred days or so, when we come out and play a few shots, some people find it exciting.

So will there be surprises of new shows?

Yes, of course. So we are launching a new show on Monday itself.

Anupamaa is a show that we are veryvery excited about. It is the remake of

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a show that has done very well for us in Bengali, in Maharashtra and in Telugu as well. So we are bringing it to Hindi. We’re very proud to bring it to them. And it’s a story of a 40 plus woman who is a mother, who hasn’t got all the respect that she truly deserves in her own home, and how she now fights for her self-esteem and respect. So that’s the theme. It has sold really well. The script that I have heard has been outstanding. Let’s see, we have some fantastic actors on the show. So I hope fans really like it.

It’s a great thing in terms of reconnecting with people. People will also be looking forward to it. Not only the young audience, but also sizable fans of all these shows in every corner of the country are looking forward to it, and especially people who are above 65-70 yrs.

Yes, my mother is a really big fan and she been looking forward to this. And I know there are many people like her who keep us in business. We’re here to entertain them to take care of their evenings by telling them a story.

So that’s our job. That’s what pays the bills. We’re very happy to get back to that and hopefully we get back to it in a very safe manner.

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Disney Star has made the first I think innovation at our end which we have now been doing for the last disrupter in announcing the three months is that we took the entire Disney + Hotstar Multiplex, which process of making ads and made it is a game changing decision. So, remote. We made making of ads work where do you think from home. That’s how OTT heading?

I think our ambition we launched Disney Plus

should be to become I personally believe it is Hotstar. That’s how we world class, and we about fans. It is about a launched a range of shows need to get there as man’s deep desire and on the Star network on our TV business as well as on soon as possible. But love for the movies.

OTT. Just as the lockdown And I think for the time the question we need was starting, we launched being, stepping out in a to answer first is Special Ops. Very recently theater is not possible. that are we learning? we have launched Aria, And therefore, there Are we thinking on both the shows have done is an opportunity making improvements? really well. And that gives to make movies The answer is us confidence that we need available directly at absolutely yes to adapt to this new world. home and you create And a lot of rules and frameworks an environment that makes people will need to change, keeping the new want to cherish. And I think we need realities in mind. And I think the big to innovate and this is an interesting Dharma for all of us is to entertain our innovation in the crisis at hand in the fans, and whether it happens to OTT movies world. There are several such movies or it happens by the way of innovations that have happened. So resuming content production in our for example, international cricket TV shows, or in organizing cricket, or has resumed in the West Indies and in making big series, by ensuring that England, and the cricket board and the promotion and post production have health authorities have found a way of been in a safe environment. I think ensuring that fans and crew are going we’re committed to do our level best to be safe. to ensure all of that gets done.

Shah Rukh Khan in Star Plus’ TED Talks India highlights a vibrant, fast-evolving new India

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REFLECTIONS FROM WPP CEO MARK READ

COVID-19 has accelerated

shift towards

digital across sectors The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has marked a steep decline in the global M&E industry leaving traditional media like print, TV and advertising most affected and cinema worst affected, even as it has accelerated the shift of businesses and organizations towards digital, said Mark Read, Chief Executive Officer – WPP

C

iting the example of 2008-09 economic recession, he also emphasized that some of the spend that was growing in certain traditional media may not come back. Mark said that he anticipated market cap shifting from traditional to new digital media globally.

“I think aggregate advertising spend will bounce back. I think that the biggest difference is changes in consumer behavior, which I think are resilient. We saw in the US and in the UK, in the 2008-09 financial recession, a massive decline in newspaper advertising, and a big decline in newspaper reading subscriptions, purchases, and that spend never came back,” he said.

Speaking at FICCI Frames 2020,

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Read emphasized that more things are expected to move towards digital powered by technology. He said that businesses including those in the M&E sector are currently witnessing a shift to digital for “many-many activities”, which was actually started before COVID-19 crisis but has been accelerated across sectors and is here to stay with big implications for office spaces.

“I think one of the challenges here has been that as our clients get used to driving demand through digital channels, they’re not going to go back to traditional media at the same pace and at the same level. So I think that we will see some decline in traditional media, and digital media’s continued acceleration in growth,” Reed observed.

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Our vision for WPP is to be a creative transformation company. So creative means, we’re in the business of ideas, innovation and growth. I think this is what clients need to succeed, what they’ve always needed but what they’ll need even more than ever, as they come out of the pandemic He said that WP is trying to reshape the company by “really putting technology at the heart of what we want to do”.He said that in a post COVID world it would make sense to put together fantastic brands and bundle them together to form some sort of integrated businesses that are more client centric and not organized around analog media channels.

Mark Read, CEO, WPP

“I think airlines are goingto have to think about what they need to do in a more limited demand for air travel.

Certainly, I’d argue on a three to five year outlook where I think a lot of business travel, you know, may or may never come back. That has implications for the size and shape of airplanes. Boeing has announced that they are stopping making the 747,” Reed added.

going to put much more demand on them to think about what is an online luxury experience.”

Highlighting what the major businesses across the globe would be focusing on in these trying times, he said, “I think companies are going to have to start to think and invest more in technology. Interestingly, what we haven’t seen is companies cut back on big sort of transformation and technology transformation efforts.”

On the investment outlook of WP in India, he said: “WPP has cut its expenses in India by 5 percent in Q1.

We are looking at average figures for at least three months with 50-60 percent cut in Q2, may be 30 percent in Q3 and a little less in Q4. Although these are not official figures these are based on a rough projection.”

He also argued that every industry has its own course to think through.

“Sectors like luxury goods are really starting to think through that are they going to sell online? See, online sales has been a big barrier for luxury goods. Companies in this space believe that you need to have a face to face selling experience to really create the luxury experience.

I would argue that the fact that they haven’t been able to sell really at all in the last three to four months, is

Speaking on the anticipated changes in consumer behavior, Mark pointed out that priorities are bound to shift towards healthcare, physical fitness, business travel, remote working and family.

This, he said, will mean that businesses will have to develop consumer trust in brands as “trust” will play a major role in post pandemic world. This will require businesses to build social platforms based on freedom of speech.

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TAKEAWAYS FROM

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ficci frames

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2 1

LEVEL PLAYING FIELD

Whether one likes it or not, India will soon have level playing field in policy and regulations for the media and digital platforms. This is very clear from signals left by policymakers in various sessions. After years of dilly-dallying, there will be light touch regulation beyond the self-regulation call by the industry.

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NO GO LIST

Technological changes will outpace regulation, so it would be optimal to create a negative list (No Go list). Like how Singapore has done.

Outside this list, any platform can function without other regulations.

NO & YES

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Many in the industry don’t want regulation (specifically on content) in the OTT space. However, they have no issues with regard to investments, protection of investments, piracy and digital platforms.

INFRASTRUCTURE STATUS

The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Ministry of Finance and NITI Aayog are on consensus to grant infrastructure status to the broadcasting sector. For this, stakeholders should arrive at a common understanding on what infrastructure will be covered and definition of infrastructure. Once infrastructure status is granted, broadcasters and distribution platforms will be aided with affordable financing options.

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COLLAPSED BY COVID Industry leaders estimated that Media and Entertainment Sector in 2020 will shrink to $15 billion from $20 billion in 2019 because of COVID-19. Around 20% of workforce may lose jobs, impacting nearly a million people.

GROWTH INDICATOR

The film, television and online video services industry in India generated a total economic contribution of $49.8 billion and 2.6 million in 2019, says a report by Deloitte, Producers Guild of India and MPA. The report indicates a growth of 61% in these sectors.

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OTT ON DEMAND

The demand fo r content streamed via OTT is increas ing day by day in India. Today, India ranks nu mber two in digital video c onsumption in the world. Wit h 8.43 hours of consumptio n per person per week, the second-most populous cou ntry is way above the glo bal average o f 6.8 hours. Ca n you imagine Amazon Prim e has reach in 4000 towns a nd cities in Ind ia?

MOBILE MEDIA Sixty per cent of video streaming worldwide is on mobile devices. The game changer for the media and entertainment sector in the coming days will be 5G. Also, mobile and video gaming will be a huge market in coming years.

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MADE IN INDIA

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The Indian M&E industry is the biggest in the world by output, with over 5 lakh hours of television content made every year, 80,000 newspapers published daily, and Things Lore tem ipi more than 2,600 feature films produced each year – 98% of all these outputs are shaped and made in India.

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Businesses will have to develop consumer trust in brands, as “trust” will play a major role in post pandemic world. This will require businesses to build social platforms based on freedom of speech.

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THRUST ON TRUST INTERESTING INCENTIVES To accelerate filmmaking and fillip to the Indian media and entertainment sector, Government of India is coming up with incentives in all sectors, including TV serials, filmmaking, co-production, animation and gaming.

COEXITENCE MATTERS

It is not OTT versus cinema theatres. But OTT and theatres coexist together. Some of the biggest proponents of OTT are waiting to watch movie in big screen. And Christopher Nolan’s Tenet is their first choice.

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13 14 ‘CAPITAL’ LETTERS

Unlike a few countries like the UK, which has done a $ 1.5 billion to the creative sectors, India as a country might not be in a position to do so at this point of time.

Indian M&E industry sought help from the government to provide access to capital.

The organized verticals within the media and entertainment industry require capital today.

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SOFT POWER There’s no doubt today that Indian cinema is India’s soft power and that our films are seen in over 100 countries.

Thanks to OTT platforms like Netflix and Amazon Prime, it is instantly visible and experienced now.

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FEAR FACTORS The actors and technicians still don’t feel safe to come on board for shooting.

Everyone wants to make a creatively good product.

So when we are working on a film, if the creativity quotient is removed and are only constantly worried about sanitization and other stuff and your whole mind is of that, then you will not creatively come out with a great product.

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AROUND THE WORLD

While Indian c 100 countries ontent reaches platforms, smawith streaming South Korea, Isller countries like bigger media b rael, Turkey have their content tr usinesses with Indian films an avelling globally. not travel glob d TV dramas do the ambitions ally because of immediate prioset are small. The India’s content rity is to focus on to be consume globally. d

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