ficci & creative first present fast track...

MUMBAI SEPTEMBER 5, 2019

FAST TRACK INDIA

F I C C I & C R E A T I V E F I R S T p r e s e n t

About MPAThe Motion Picture Association (MPA) and the Motion Picture Association International (MPA-I) represent the interests of the six international producers and distributors of filmed entertainment. To do so, they promote and protect the intellectual property rights of these companies and conduct public awareness programs to highlight to movie fans around the world the importance of content protection. These activities have helped to transform entire markets benefiting film and television industries in each country including foreign and local filmmakers alike.

The organizations act on behalf of the members of the Motion Picture Association of America, Inc (MPAA) which include: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, Netflix Studios, LLC, Paramount Pictures Corporation, Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc., Universal City Studios LLC, and Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. The MPA and the MPA-I have worldwide operations which are directed from their head offices in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. and overseen in the Asia Pacific by a team based in Singapore. For more information about the MPA and the MPA-I, please visit www.mpa-i.org and https://www.facebook.com/motionpictureassociation.

About FICCIEstablished in 1927, FICCI is the largest and oldest apex business organisation in India. Its history is closely interwoven with India’s struggle for independence, its industrialization, and its emergence as one of the most rapidly growing global economies.

A non-government, non-profit organisation, FICCI is the voice of India’s business and industry. From influencing policy to encouraging debate, engaging with policy makers and civil society, FICCI articulates the views and concerns of the industry. It serves its members from the Indian private and public corporate sectors and multinational companies, drawing its strength from diverse regional chambers of commerce and industry across states, reaching out to over 2,50,000 companies.

FICCI provides a platform for networking and consensus building within and across sectors and is the first port of call for the Indian industry, policy makers and the international business community.

FICCI Frames, Asia’s largest and most definitive annual global convention on the business of entertainment, world’s media and entertainment industry are the attendees at FRAMES 2019, with nearly 2000 Indians and over 600 foreign delegates representing the entire gamut of the sector, including film, broadcast (TV & radio), digital entertainment, animation, gaming, VFX, etc. Recently, we celebrated the 20th landmark edition of FICCI FRAMES.

About Creative FirstCreativeFirst is a forum to highlight the vital role played by the media and entertainment industry in India to foster creativity, innovation and culture, which in turn stimulates investment, jobs and economic growth. CreativeFirst provides quality commentary, research and additional resources on the value of copyright and the promotion and protection of the creative industries. For more information, please visit creativefirst.film.

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C O N T E N TIntroductionThe combination of vastly improved technology, high rates of internet connectivity, and a growing demand for quality screened entertainment is great news for audiences, creators and distributors of streamed video. The data promises much: By 2023, VOD revenues in the Asia Pacific region are reported to reach over USD 42 billion while more than 323 million paying subscribers will have signed up for VOD services.

True, VOD growth is a global phenomenon, however India and South East Asia constitute some of the most exciting markets to watch. Existing players are looking to cement a foothold, while proposed services from major U.S and Chinese studios raise expectations by the day. Smartphone adoption and connectivity continue to rise exponentially. The region boasts a massive youth population – one that is increasingly tech savvy and hungry for content – who will continue to stimulate demand for great product and competitive offers.

In the 2019 edition of the Fast Track Creative Digital Economy Forum Series (Fast Track), we zoom in on streaming services and invite expert speakers to assess the current state of the market and where it might develop. Leading VOD company representatives will present a snapshot of the market; production experts will take a deep dive into some of the standout projects made for the streaming sector; and key stakeholders will highlight the opportunities and address the challenges for the sector.

Fast Track will look at how best to stimulate a vibrant digital economy. Welcome to the show.

4 5FAST TRACK 2019

Digital Economy Overview

97%WATCH VIDEOS

ONLINE

1.361BPOPULATION

560MINTERNET USERS

62%STREAM TV CONTENT VIA

THE INTERNET

74%INTERNET USERS USE

USE E-COMMERCE

2H 51MDAILY TV VIEWING

TIME*

*Broadcast, streaming and video-on-demand.Source: Digital 2019: India, WeAreSocial

6 7FAST TRACK 2019

PROGRAM

Image from Gullak,Sony LIV

8 9FAST TRACK 2019

Registration

Inaugural and Unveiling of the Knowledge Paper

Welcome address by:

Mr. Sudhanshu Vats – Group Chief Executive Officer, Viacom18 Media Private Limited

Special address by:

Shri. Kaustubh Dhavse – Officer on Special Duty to the Chief Minister, Government of Maharashtra

Thursday5 S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 9

0930 - 1000

1000 - 1015

1015 - 1115

The Race is on: Emerging Trends in the World of VOD

The VOD landscape has evolved rapidly in recent years. The market involves a growing number of local, regional and international services. Expectations are running high on the proposed launch of Disney+, HBO Max and the yet-to-be named service from NBCUniversal. How are VOD services distinguishing their offer from their competitors? What works and what doesn’t? What are the trends worthy of note? How will the industry keep the customer satisfied?

Moderator:

Girish Menon – Partner & Head, Media & Entertainment, KPMG

Panel:

• Gourav Rakshit – COO, Voot• Karan Bedi – CEO, MX Player• Amogh Dusad – SVP & Head, Original Content

& Partnerships, Digital Business, Sony Pictures Networks India (Sony LIV)

• Nachiket Pantvaidya – Group COO & CEO, ALTBalaji

• Rahul Sarangi – Global Head, Content & Business, The Viral Fever

Maximising the Content Value Chain

10 11FAST TRACK 2019

Blueprint for the Future: Opportunities and Challenges for Growing the Online Video Ecosystem

VOD services have successfully seized the attention of audiences, delivering a wide range of high-quality screen content, resulting in the rapid growth of both SVOD and AVOD services. How will individual services develop their content offering? How are those services partnering with the local and international production community? And how will stakeholders work together to respond to evolving content consumption demands and develop sustainable businesses? This session will talk about the opportunities and challenges for developing the content offering in the online video ecosystem.

Moderator:

Vivan Sharan – Partner, Koan

Panel:

• Ajay Chacko – Co-Founder & CEO, Arré• Ashwin Suresh – Founder, Pocket Aces• Archana Anand – Chief Business Officer, Zee5

Global• Neeraj Roy – Founder & CEO, Hungama Digital

Media Entertainment• Gaurav Gandhi – Director & Country General

Manager, Amazon Prime Video, India

Presentation of the Knowledge Paper and Q&A

• Girish Menon – Partner & Head, Media and Entertainment, KPMG

• Ali Hussein – Chief Operating Officer, Eros Digital

1115 - 1215

1215 - 1240

Thursday5 S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 9

Promoting & Protecting the Value Chain: Utilising the Most Effective Tools on Offer

Whether subscription or advertising supported, the curated VOD service industry has evolved as a unique business model. These services thrive in a market driven environment and respond positively to incentives. They likewise face major challenges such as rampant piracy, and a legacy copyright framework. How best can the various stakeholders deliver a sustainable business while remaining sensitive to the needs of consumers, partners and government?

Moderator:

Uday Singh – Managing Director, Singular Pictures

Panel:

• Lori Flekser – Executive Director, Creative Content Australia

• Alistair Jennings – Vice President, Content Protection, Motion Picture Association Asia Pacific Region

• Devendra Deshpande – Head, Business & Growth, Friday Filmworks

• Anil Lale – General Counsel, Viacom18 Media Private Limited

Concluding remarks

By:

Dr. Ashish Kulkarni – Chairman, FICCI AVGC Forum, Founder, Punnaryug Artvisions

Lunch

1240 - 1340

1340 - 1350

1350 Onwards


SPEAKERSImage from Shaadi Boys,

Voot


ArchanaA N A N D

Ms. Archana Anand is the Chief Business Officer of ZEE5 Global. Archana has the unique distinction of having helmed four successful OTT services, including two of them right from inception. With a strong background of over 23 years in driving P&L and Strategy across businesses, with a keen consumer understanding and an innate instinct for Digital, she has, in her four-year tenure, been at the forefront of the digital charge at ZEE.

Archana has spearheaded the conceptualization and launch of ZEE’s new digital platform ZEE5, first in India in early 2018 and most recently, internationally across 190+ countries. In just a few short weeks of launch, ZEE5 shot to the top in some key SAARC markets like Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. With the recent addition of content across international languages like Thai, Malay, Bahasa, Russian and German, ZEE5 is now a mainstream player catering to both South Asians and mainstream audiences living across geographies.

Archana has also played a pivotal role in establishing and substantially growing the Group’s erstwhile OTT platforms as strong players in their own domains, including leading the disruptive re-launch of dittoTV as the “Bees Ka TV” proposition in 2016. She has also created and expanded strategic partnerships in India across leading telcos including Airtel, Vodafone and Idea, a first in the OTT industry in 2016. This was a route that the other players followed soon thereafter. More recently, she has also carved key partnerships with telcos and ecosystem partners across the globe like Celcom, Dialog, Robi-Airtel, Apigate, and many more.

Chief Business Officer, Zee5 Global

Prior to joining ZEE, Archana was Director & Head of Infotainment Services at Onmobile Global, a leading global VAS player. She also launched and drove to success products like ‘Help me on Mobile’-a safety app for women. Archana’s experience spans Sales, Marketing, Client Relationships, Content, Product, Creative and User Experience. She has worked with various blue-chip companies including the Taj Group and Idea Cellular.

An articulate speaker, Archana is well known for her clarity of thought as also for her ability to speak across a range of topics on OTT from monetization to content and so on.

Archana has received various awards for Business Leadership, including the ‘Inspiring Women Leaders’ Award and has a management degree from IIM Bangalore.


KaranB E D I

As the CEO of MX Player, Karan Bedi brings over a decade of rich experience across the media, technology and education industries. An alumnus of the prestigious Stanford University, it was there that Karan discovered his passion for entrepreneurial ventures at the intersection of media and technology, especially focused on mobile. Karan comes from a family background in the media industry.

Karan co-founded and was CEO of ContentFlow Technologies, a company focused on creating innovative and engaging content experiences in infotainment and education. The success of ContentFlow led to the development of Tutorific, a cutting-edge adaptive learning system.

Post his stint at ContentFlow, Karan helped set up and was COO of Eros Now, one of India’s first and largest OTT platforms focused on Bollywood for the world.

In his current role as the CEO of MX Player, Karan uses his experience to build content and technology to take the OTT platform to the next level. He is responsible for setting strategy and leading teams across all functions including content, tech, product development, sales, marketing and other business verticals.

As a leader in the media technology space, Karan believes in creating original content experiences that are engaging, entertaining and socially relevant to an aspirational Indian audience.

Chief Executive Officer, MX Player

AjayC H A C K O

Ajay is the Co-founder and CEO of Arre, one of the country’s foremost original digital content brands. Arre was founded in 2015 by B. Saikumar, Ajay Chacko & Sanjay Ray Chaudhuri. It offers multimedia content across a broad range of genres and formats, winning many awards and accolades both internationally and domestically for its work in digital fiction and non-fiction.

Arre Studio is also working on original large-format shows in collaboration with domestic and international OTT platforms as well as broadcast television networks. Ajay has over two decades of experience in media and financial services. He spent over a decade with Network18 and was Group COO and also President of A+E – TV18JV in his last held roles with the Group. He has also worked with IL&FS, Sharekhan and the Indian Express Group, prior to his stint with Network18.

Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Arré


DevendraD E S H P A N D E

Devendra Deshpande is a seasoned media content professional and business development leader with over 18 years experience in developing long-term strategic partnerships through a deep understanding of advertising, social, integrated marketing, consumer insights, and media. The partnerships developed are designed to help brands in generating new audience leads, create new messaging and drive revenue through the development and sale of story-led marketing solutions and breakthrough content programs for Mindshare clients.

His role requires collaboration with content sales, integrated marketing, creative and talent teams, as well as brand teams to lead and architect content solutions that are deeply rooted in brand, content and market insights and leverage and deliver on clients’ core marketing objectives.Adept at connecting the dots to drive new business templates, he loves the business of content. Besides the love for his field, he has a proven track record in directing high profile and complex strategic and BD initiatives while interfacing with individuals of all levels, both internally and externally, leading internal brainstorms and working entrepreneurially in a fast-paced environment that often involves juggling multiple priorities.

His key clients include Unilever, Pepsi, GSK, Diageo, Kellogg’s, Idea, and other Mindshare clients. He has had content partnerships with broadcasters, digital content companies, film studios and production companies. For revenue performance, there were new revenue streams created, sustainable IP based revenues, and doubled topline last year. Awards and recognitions include Cannes, Emmvies, Effies and Goafest.

Head, Business & Growth, Friday Filmworks

KaustubhD H A V S E

Kaustubh Dhavse is Joint Secretary in the Government of Maharashtra designated as Officer on Special Duty to the Chief Minister, Government of Maharashtra.

In this role, he drives technology and infrastructure in the state via various programs and special projects. Kaustubh is credited for establishing Aaple Sarkar Portal which is the government's interface for citizen's grievances, government services and collaboration. Kaustubh also runs the CM's War Room which is a unit under the CM to monitor and drive key projects in Maharashtra. Kaustubh is also a Member Secretary and convenor of a high level task force established jointly between Government of India and Government of Maharashtra for building world class International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) in Mumbai.

In addition, Kaustubh is a Director on the Maharashtra IT Corporation (MITC), a unit under the Government of Maharashtra to execute large scale projects and also a member of board of Mumbai Academy of Moving Images (MAMI) which holds the Mumbai Film festival, largest in the country.

Kaustubh is an Biomedical Engineer from D.J Sanghvi College of Engineering, Mumbai University. He also has a MBA from SP Jain Institute of Management Studies and was on the Dean's Merit list and the graduating valedictorian. He also has a Public Policy Degree from the Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University.

Officer on Special Duty (OSD)to the Chief Minister, Government of Maharashtra


AmoghD U S A D

Amogh Dusad leads the content, partnerships and new initiatives division for SonyLIV - the digital arm of Sony Pictures Networks India. In his experience with the network, prior to being assigned the new role, Amogh spearheaded the Digital Products division for Sony Entertainment Television, where he was driving the business strategy for the channel, consumer insights, and collaborations on creative development and P&L management.

Over a career spanning 16 years, Amogh has worked in leadership positions covering different facets of the broadcast and digital industry, including content acquisition, partnerships with content creators, gaming and second screen interactivity initiatives, digital content creation, revenue maximisation for digital products and consumer insight generation. In addition to this, he also headed programming and acquisitions for Sony PIX and AXN. Prior to joining SPN, he was a part of the core launch team for NDTV Imagine.

Amogh has a degree in Digital Strategies for Business from Columbia Business School & Emeritus School of Management. He also holds a Masters in Management (research) from MICA, Ahmedabad. Taking his passion for academia a notch higher, Amogh is a visiting faculty at MICA. In his free time, he loves to read and listen to Urdu poetry.

Head of Content, Parterships & New Initiatives,Digital Business Sony Pictures Networks India (SPN) Executive Director, Creative Content Australia

LoriF L E K S E R

Lori produced films, documentaries and television shows for local and international networks spanning almost thirty years. She worked her way up from a production assistant to a producer for companies including the Discovery Channel, National Geographic, ABC, SBS and Film Australia. She headed the Development Division at the Australian Film Commission (later Screen Australia) before taking up the Executive Director position at the Motion Picture Distributors Association of Australia, representing the major film distributors.

In 2012, she took on the additional role of Executive Director of Creative Content Australia, a non-profit organisation committed to raising awareness on the value of copyright and the impact of film and television piracy in the creative industries. She is a passionate advocate for the increased role that education and legislation have on protecting the work of content-makers and the jobs of tens of thousands of professionals who play a part in bringing stories to screens.


Director & Country General ManagerAmazon Prime Video India

GauravG A N D H I

In his role at Amazon, Gaurav Gandhi is responsible for driving the business of Prime Video in India. Before this, he was the Chief Operating Officer at Viacom18 Digital Ventures, where he launched the company’s Video streaming service, VOOT. He successfully led every aspect of the VOOT business including content, product and technology, marketing, advertising sales as well as other functions. In his 8-year stint with Viacom18, Gaurav built & led various businesses for the company. He joined Viacom18 in March 2010 as Chief Commercial Officer & Head of International Business. In January 2011, he took over as the COO of Sun18 and in May 2012, he helped set-up IndiaCast Media Distribution, a Viacom18 & TV18 joint venture, as the Group COO – where his mandate was to maximize both revenues and reach for content and channel services from the group. Before moving to the Viacom18 Digital Ventures role in August 2015, Gaurav was also responsible for building out the entire International business for the group, including ad-sales, distribution & licensing, and expanding the footprint of the content & services to 135 countries.

An alumnus of NMIMS, Gaurav started his career in advertising with Madison Media in 1998, handling the Coca-Cola India business. In his next role at Turner International in 2000, he handled the research for all Turner India brands. He then moved to STAR India in 2003, where he managed & lead various portfolios over the years – the last being Head

of Commercial & Business Planning for the network. He then moved on to set up NDTV Imagine in 2007 - as a founder member & shareholder - where he was responsible for various business & corporate functions as the Executive Vice President - Business Operations.

Gaurav has represented his previous organization as an elected member of the Governing Council of IAMAI (Internet & Mobile Association of India). Gaurav has also been a key member of BARC’s (Broadcast Audience Research Council, India) technical committee for the soon-to-be-launched digital measurement services as well as the television measurement service.


Image from Modi, Eros Now

AliH U S S E I N

Mr. Ali Hussein is Chief Operating Officer at Eros Digital, a leading global company in the Indian film entertainment industry. He is spearheading the company’s OTT platform, Eros Now.

Mr. Hussein has over 15 years of experience in the media entertainment and digital space. He has been an entrepreneur and board advisor to Discovery Networks and other start-ups in the media, and technology domain. Previously he has worked with Google, Viacom18 and Hungama where he held key positions. His expertise comes from complex mandates across mobile marketing, content syndication and distribution.

Chief Operating Officer, Eros Digital


AlistairJ E N N I N G S

Alistair Jennings is the Vice President in charge of Content Protection of the Asia Pacific region for the Motion Picture Association (MPA), whose global mission is to advance and support the film, television and streaming content industry.

Alistair is responsible for leading all content protection and enforcement issues in the Asia Pacific as well as managing the regional team tasked with implementing effective local and global content protection strategies.

A seasoned media executive with broad commercial and legal experience, Alistair has leveraged expertise in intellectual property, content acquisitions and distribution to build and maintain successful commercial partnerships with a wide variety of media platforms and digital entrants in the Asia Pacific region. Prior to joining the MPA, he served as Vice President of International Distribution with Sony Pictures Television (Hong Kong) for seven years, leading the content distribution business for South East Asia. He was previously Director of Program Distribution for The Walt Disney Company for Australia and New Zealand, having also worked as a Legal Counsel and Business Affairs Manager at Foxtel in Australia. Alistair began his career in commercial legal practice and holds a Bachelor of Laws (Honours) and Bachelor of Arts degrees from the University of Melbourne.

Vice President, Content ProtectionMotion Picture Association Asia Pacific Region

Ashish S .K U L K A R N I

Ashish S.K. is known to be the most dedicated and colorful personality in the animation industry, this side of Hollywood. He has set up world-class animation studios in India, has created the finest original Indian animated contents and has successfully completed and marketed several animation films for studios in Hollywood over the last 19 years. Ashish S K was recently awarded “The Creative Entrepreneur of the Year” for 2015 by the Entrepreneur magazine.

Ashish S K is a founder of Punnaryug Artvision Pvt Ltd. Ashish S K was heading Reliance Animation & Reliance AIMS as CEO. He has taken Reliance Animation to the global arena while carving a niche as the finest Indian animation studio for original IP creation. Well known for his unique creation of shows and characters brands like, Little Krishna, Big Bees, Krishna Aur Kans, Shaktimaan etc. Ashish S K was recently awarded “The Creative Entrepreneur of the Year” 2015 by the Entrepreneur magazine. Ashish S K, has been working for the cause of promoting Arts, Creativity, Performing arts and Sports as a main stream career option for Indian kids for last two decades. In his new initiative Ashish S K is in the process of creating an Art Village called "The Green Butterfly - A Global Art Village” at Lonavala to establish art, creativity, performing arts and sports education and profession eco-system to bring these careers at par with science and commerce.

Ashish S K, in his capacity as a Chief Mentor of ScreenYug Creations Pvt Ltd., is presently creating War Heroes Of India, Amazing Kids, Mary

Chairman, FICCI AVGC Forum, Founder, Punnaryug Artvisions


Kom Jr, Monkey Creek, Map Jacket and several other animated TV shows. Ashish S K in partnership with Bieoscopewala, India & Platinum Image Film, Toronto, Canada is producing the first co-production live action film called The Reunion. Currently, Ashish is working on properties such as War Heroes of India, Mary Kom Jr., Amazing Kids, Monkey Creek and Map Jacket.

Ashish S K, 51, is a science graduate with a Diploma in Marketing and Sales Management, and one in Public Relations. He lives in Pune with his wife Suvarna and their daughter, Awani. Despite his hectic and creatively challenging schedule, Ashish S K finds time for movies, music and a rare hobby to fly remote-controlled model airplanes.

AnilL A L E

Anil Lale is the General Counsel of Viacom18. He leads the legal team which enables all business streams of the organization offering a full spectrum of entertainment including 46 television channels across the world, OTT service, Motion Pictures production and distribution, Consumer Product business with a wide portfolio of domestic and international brands and a Live Events production.

Prior to Viacom18, he was the Group General Counsel for Zee managing legal for their entertainment and news businesses. Anil started his career as a practicing litigation lawyer and has more than a decade of experience in the media sector working in all domains of media starting with television distribution, content production, music, digital, consumer products and live events.

General Counsel, Viacom18 Media Private Limited


GirishM E N O N

Girish has specialized in the Media and Entertainment sector where he has significant experience having advised clients across most media sub sectors covering both national and regional players.

He has more than 15 years of advisory and M&A experience and has advised on more than 150 M&A transactions. Girish has extensive experience on buy-side and sell-side assisting clients in evaluating the risks and opportunities of their intended transactions. He has led a number of high profile and complex transactions and thus has a deep understanding and practical experience of dealing with issues that arise on Indian transactions.

Girish has also had a stint where he briefly ran a startup media venture and also worked with Balaji Telefilms as Head – Strategy and New Ventures.

He brings on board a unique blend of strategic thinking and financial understanding combined with a solid operational understanding of businesses. Working closely with various media companies, he has developed a strong understanding and insight into the dynamics of various media sectors, related issues and the underlying macro and micro drivers and trends.

He leads the KPMG India’s annual publication on Media and Entertainment industry. He is also a member of Chartered Accountants of India.

Partner & Head, Media and Entertainment, KPMG

NachiketP A N T V A I D Y A

Nachiket Pantvaidya is the Group Chief Operating Officer and CEO of ALTBalaji. A veteran and renowned leader of Indian entertainment industry, Nachiket is a visionary and has a distinctive understanding of the entertainment ecosystem having worked across all its facets. He joined ALTBalaji in December 2015 and successfully scaled it up to be one of the leading OTT player in the country with the most eclectic library of originals in Hindi.

Nachiket has the P&L responsibility of the company’s operations spanning Content, Marketing, Distribution and Revenues. With strong leadership and management skills, he is committed to lead the development and implementation of strong processes and controls across the group to deliver on the company’s business plans.

An IIM- Ahmedabad alumnus, he held key leadership positions at Sony Entertainment Television, Star Plus, Star Pravah and Fox Television Studios. His illustrious career also includes working with industry leaders like Disney and BBC as well.

Group Chief Operating Officer & Chief Executive Officer, ALTBalaji

Image from The Test Case, ALTBalaji


GouravR A K S H I T

Gourav Rakshit is COO at Viacom18 & Head of the Voot Digital business. He has over 2 decades of experience working with leading consumer organizations both as an industry practitioner and as a management consultant. Prior to joining Viacom18, he served as the President and CEO at Shaadi.com, and was instrumental in building one of India’s most iconic brands, while delivering one of the few profitable P&Ls in the Indian internet ecosystem. Gourav started his career with Nestle and took two more stops, Planetasia and Infosys Consulting, before joining Shaadi.com. At Planetasia, he had his first brush with the media & tech industry and at Infosys he successfully led consulting engagements for marquee consumer companies like Apple, Safeway and Wells Fargo. Gourav holds a double major in Engineering & Economics from the University of Rochester and an MBA from IIM Ahmedabad.

Chief Operating Officer, VOOT

NeerajR O Y

Neeraj Roy is the Founder & CEO of Hungama Digital Media, India’s leading digital entertainment company.

He has been at the forefront of the Internet revolution in India and has played a pivotal role in shaping the country’s digital entertainment landscape. Neeraj founded Hungama in 1999, at a time when the Internet ecosystem in India was still taking shape and has since led the organization to become one of the largest distributors and aggregators of digital entertainment content in South Asia. Since its inception, Hungama has touched over a billion lives and today, its services are available to users in more than 190 countries.

Under Neeraj’s direction, Hungama has diversified its services allowing the company to interact with the consumers in more ways than one. Available on multiple platforms, its key offerings include Hungama Music – one of the most popular music streaming services in India, Hungama Play – Hungama’s video streaming service, Artist Aloud – a platform for independent artistes, Hungama Games – a publisher, distributor and marketer of mobile games and Hungama Digital Services – a JV with JWT and one of India’s leading digital marketing agencies.

The rapid rise of the Internet ecosystem in India and the growth seen by the company under Neeraj’s leadership got several venture capital firms, domestic and international investors to invest in the company. This

Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Hungama Digital Media Entertainment Ltd


includes ICICI Venture – one of the largest VC players in India in 1990s, Rakesh Jhunjhunwala – an Indian billionaire investor cited as one of the richest Indians, Intel Capital – the venture capital arm of Intel Corporation, Bessemer Venture Partners – one of the most reputed VC firms in the world and Xiaomi – the Chinese technology giant and now the largest smartphone brand in India.

Neeraj also steered the organization towards original content creation. Available in both long-form and short-form, Hungama’s original content benefits from the company’s vast distribution network reaching a wide audience worldwide.

Neeraj was voted amongst the ‘Top Ten mobiThinkers’ and ‘50 Most Influential People in Mobile Entertainment’ globally. Neeraj was also awarded the Sun Microsystems – Economic Times Young Leader Award. He is an active speaker at various international forums such as Mobile World Congress, CTIA and World Handset Forum and on several domestic and international committees advising on the global mobile and digital entertainment economy. In the past, he has served as the Chairman of the Mobile Entertainment Forum – Asia (MEF) and the President of International Advertising Association – India Chapter.

A strong advocate of environmental issues, Neeraj actively supports foundations working to dissuade the use of plastics and building a greener Earth.

RahulS A R A N G I

A seasoned media professional, Rahul Sarangi is the Global Head – Content and Business at The Viral Fever (TVF). In his current capacity, Rahul primarily looks at conceptualizing non-fiction shows across TVF Brands, scaling up content programming across existing fiction offerings as well new non-fiction and reality formats and establishing TVF Play as a destination for all thing’s youth. Previously, Rahul has conceptualized popular non-fiction show The Remix, a non-fiction title that was initially produced in Vietnam and then went on to becoming a global phenomenon, spawning local versions across China, Indonesia, South Africa and India. Rahul has also co-produced a National Award-winning Vietnamese film, Sut, with the writer of Hancock and has closely worked with other A-List Hollywood movies. Co-founder of Greymatter Entertainment, Rahul has also worked for leading companies like Viacom18 where he was a part of the team that launched COLORS, BIG Synergy where he worked as a producer for Kaun Banega Crorepati. Rahul has also worked as a non-fiction creative head at Miditech and Turner Hong Kong.

An alumnus of St. Xavier’s College, Rahul also has an immense talent to direct LIVE events and has directed some of the well-known international events like the Shakira Concert, Roger Waters Live, the Standard Chartered Marathons, IIFA Celebrity Cricket Live, IPL Fun feed-Live on Youtube and horse racing among others. Rahul is the first Indian to ever be invited on the prestigious panel of Spot The Talent (Formats) MIP Formats in Cannes. Some of his key achievements include bagging multiple awards like the Cannes Recognition for an Indian to create a Global Hit Award, Asian Academy Award for Best Non-Fiction (2018), and National Award for Best Movie in Vietnam.

Global Head, Content & Business, The Viral Fever


VivanS H A R A N

Vivan Sharan is a Partner at the Koan Advisory Group, a policy research and advocacy firm based in New Delhi. He is an economist with diverse experience in the policy circuit.

Previously, he has served as the Chief Executive of the Global Governance programme at the Observer Research Foundation (ORF) and as the Business Head of a sustainability company that ran India’s first energy efficiency index. He is a Visiting Fellow at ORF where he is involved with research on the digital economy and a member of several industry committees. He is also on the Board of Esya Centre, a technology policy think-tank.

Partner, Koan Advisory Group

UdayS I N G H

Uday Singh is India’s Representative for the Motion Picture Association and till recently, was the Managing Director of the Motion Picture Association’s Office in India that is responsible for promoting and protecting the commercial and creative interests of Hollywood studios and local screen communities.

In this capacity, he oversees all operations including: strategic partnerships, government advocacy, public relations, content protection and technology. He was on the working committee of the MIB Five Year Plan for the film sector and is currently on the FICCI-IP Committee, CII and FICCI Entertainment Committee. He is also a Jury of the National Awards for the Most Film Friendly State. Among a number of awards, Uday was Lobbyist of the Year for Asia Pacific in 2013 representing MPA and under his leadership, MPDA India was Program of the Year in 2018 for the Asia Pacific region.

He has a varied experience spanning 34 years. Before taking on the role in MPA, Uday was CEO of PVR Pictures where he orchestrated a partnership with Summit Entertainment and Hyde Park. He launched Twilight: New Moon on 468 screens, the widest ever for an independent distributor. He also established distribution across television new media, publishing and gaming platforms. As CEO of PVR Pictures, he supervised the production of a slate of local language films.

Managing Director, Singular Pictures &India Representative, Motion Picture Association


Earlier, Uday was the Executive Vice President for The Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group and is responsible for managing and growing Sony’s portfolio of local Indian films.

Uday was Managing Director of Sony Pictures Entertainment Operations in India for 13 years. Under his leadership, Sony Pictures India emerged as the most successful Hollywood studio in India. He added the theatrical distribution of Buena Vista, a division trademark of Disney and supervised that for 10 years. He produced the first ever Indian film by a Hollywood Studio in India called Saawariya. Under him, 6 of the top 10 Hollywood films in India were from Sony. He has distributed over 300 plus films over his career and is widely regarded as the person who professionalised and changed the face of film distribution in India.

SPE was ranked the top studio for nine years and has the unique distinction of crossing the one billion rupees mark in ticket sales four times in the span of six years. Under Uday’s watch, Sony Pictures India won the prestigious First Sony United Award from Sir Howard Stringer, Chairman and CEO of Sony Corporation, for the film Saawariya in 2008.

Uday also oversaw the establishment of home entertainment operations, including television licensing and syndication for Sony Pictures. Furthermore, he facilitated the arrival of Sony’s Playstation in India.

Uday started his career at Philips India where he held positions in consumer electronics, domestic appliances and multimedia.

An alumnus of Harvard Business School, Uday completed an AMP in 2010. He has a Bachelor of Commerce degree and a Post Graduate Diploma in Systems Management.

AshwinS U R E S H

Ashwin is founder of Pocket Aces, India’s leading digital media entertainment company, whose mission is to solve boredom. The company operates three socially distributed content brands: FilterCopy for short videos, Dice Media for multi-episode web series, and Gobble for food videos, as well as Loco, a direct-to-consumer platform and India’s largest interactive game-show app.

The company’s socially distributed video network has amassed more than 2 billion video views in the last 36 months, with a current run rate of over 300 million monthly views. FilterCopy and Gobble are consistently ranked as the top short video creators in their categories. Dice Media has made some of the most successful long form digital content, including Little Things Seasons 1 and 2, What The Folks Seasons 1 and 2, and Adulting. It is also the first new age creator to have a multi-show deal with streaming giant, Netflix. Loco, India’s first and largest live game-show platform, is one of the fastest growing apps in the country and boasts of 17 million registered users. In July 2019, Pocket Aces announced a ₹100 crore investment from Sequoia India, DSP Group and 3one4 Capital, and other prominent investors.

Ashwin, along with founder Anirudh Pandita and co-founder Aditi Shrivastava were featured on CNBC Young Turks in November 2017, with Pocket Aces being listed as one of the top 10 Indian startups to watch out for in 2018. The trio also have spots on Fortune 40 under 40 2019, Social

Founder, Pocket Aces


Samosa 40 under 40 2019 and IMPACT’s 40 Under 40 Entrepreneurs 2018 Anirudh and Ashwin bagged Digital Entrepreneur of the Year at Talentrack Awards 2018.

Prior to founding Pocket Aces, Ashwin was the Creative Head at Junglee Pictures, Times of India Group’s film studio, which he setup in 2013. Previously, he was a Creative Executive at Reliance Entertainment, where he produced a variety of Hindi feature films.

Before entering the Indian entertainment industry, Ashwin worked at Citigroup and StepStone Global in New York, first in investment banking, focusing on advisory and M&A for financial institutions, and subsequently in private equity investing, including direct investments, co-investments, secondaries, mezzanine debt, and fund-of-funds investing.

Ashwin holds a BS and MS in Electrical Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign as well as a Diploma in Filmmaking from the New York Film Academy. Ashwin is an amateur musician and loves to play sports in his spare time. He’s an avid traveler and has traveled to over 40 countries across 5 continents. He calls Dubai (where he grew up), New York (where he met his wife), and Mumbai (where he currently resides) home.

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