Mumbai: Reinforcing its focus on regional entertainment, India’s fastest growing media conglomerate Viacom18’s filmed entertainment division Viacom18 Motion Pictures, has appointed Nikhil Sane asBusiness Head to lead its enhanced focus in Marathi cinema.Nikhil will report to Ajit Andhare, COO – Viacom18 Motion Pictures.
Welcoming Nikhil to Viacom18, Ajit Andhare, COO – Viacom18 Motion Pictures,said, “Viacom18 Motion Pictures is the only studio that operates in all the three Hindi, Hollywood & Regional segments. Our success in Hindi & Hollywood is well established. Our endeavour is to make a similar impact in regional cinema. As a first step we are going after Marathi Cinema which has tremendous potential & clear synergy with our broadcast business. Nikhil with his keen understanding of this market will be an asset to spearhead our move.”
Nikhil had previously been managing the Marathi Film division of Zee Studios. Nikhil’s producer credits have some of the Marathi industry’s most commercially successful films which includes the biggest box office grosser in Marathi cinema ever – ‘Sairat’. The other prominent films include
Natsamrat, Lai Bhaari, Time Pass, KatyarKaljatGhusli & Duniyadari and critically acclaimed award winning films such as Natarang, Fandry, Killa& Elizabeth Ekadashi. During his career spanning 18 years, Nikhil has immensely contributed to theremarkable growth of the Marathi entertainment genre, by bringing about innovative content that has carved a niche for Marathi TV and Cinema in the regional space.
Speaking about this new position, Nikhil Sane said, “Marathi film industry is going through an amazing phase of resurgence and evolution. I have had the privilege of working with some of the best talent from the industry. With Viacom18 Motion Pictures, I intend to combine the strength of the organisation’s experience in the Hindi & English film industrieswith the remarkable strength of the Marathi film industry in story telling and experimentation. I look forward to chanelising my best efforts and strengths into creating the next big leap in Marathi cinema.”
Viacom18 Motion Pictures has steered focus on regional markets such as Marathi, increasingly aggressively. Conducive factors such as zero entertainment tax, exhibition window mandated by the government, the presence of large general entertainment channels and movie channels, controlled cost of production and an audience base that is keen to consume regional cinema, makes Marathi cinema an excellent growth potential area.
