Mumbai: Yash Raj Films (YRF) has appointed Usha Rachael Thomas as Head of Communications Strategy as the entertainment company looks to strengthen its global communications and brand positioning across its expanding business portfolio.
In her new role, Thomas will also oversee public relations and social media positioning strategies for YRF Talent, including actors Rani Mukerji, Ayushmann Khurrana, Sonam Kapoor, Ahaan Panday, Aneet Padda, Sharvari, Vaani Kapoor and Shreya Chaudhry.
Thomas will report to Akshaye Widhani, Chief Executive Officer, Yash Raj Films, and will lead the company’s outward-facing communications strategy, including press relations, social media strategy, brand voice, talent positioning and image management. She will also be responsible for enhancing YRF’s engagement with domestic and international media while overseeing communication strategies across the company’s various business verticals.
Commenting on the appointment, Akshaye Widhani, CEO, Yash Raj Films, said, “As YRF’s businesses continue to grow globally, how we tell our stories to the world matters as much as the stories themselves. Usha brings a combination of adaptive & agile newsroom instinct sharpened across two decades of leading communications for some of India’s biggest media and entertainment giants. Her perspective will be instrumental as we shape communications strategies, built for scale and across all our businesses. We look forward to the value she brings to our leadership team.”
Thomas brings experience spanning journalism, corporate communications and brand strategy. She began her career as a journalist with Indiantelevision.com and HT Media before moving into communications leadership roles across the media and entertainment industry.
She has previously led public relations and corporate communications for STAR India’s Hindi, Bangla and Marathi general entertainment channels, Zee Entertainment Enterprises across its Hindi GEC, cinema, free-to-air and premium clusters, and streaming platform MX Player.
During her career, Thomas has led integrated communication campaigns for television, OTT, films, celebrity brands and corporate initiatives. Her work includes the Abby Award Gold-winning #ZeeforAll campaign around the satellite premiere of Dangal, which featured an accessibility initiative for visually challenged audiences, as well as the Cannes Lion-winning “The End” campaign by Lux. She also led one of India’s early OTT business case studies on MX Player in collaboration with MICA, which was published by Ivey Publishing, listed by the Harvard Case Centre and featured on Ivey’s Bestsellers 2025–2026 list.
