M5 Entertainment has seen tremendous growth over the past few years and have successfully built a niche for itself in the entertainment industry under the leadership of Sonya V Kapoor and Amrita Mendonza.
Starting solely as a talent management consultancy offering 360-degree celebrity and brand fit services are charting new territory into the world of films and OTT with a movie already in development.
In conversation with Medianews4u, Sonya V Kapoor and Amrita Mendonza spoke about their new venture, digital collaborations and more.
Excerpts:
1) M5 entertainment has extended the stronghold to films and OTT platforms. Can you talk about the plans and strategies for the new venture?
We are venturing into new territories like Films and OTT because we realise that this is the era of content, and we want to be an integral part of this story to drive good content forward. We have set up a complete Film vertical where the main agenda is getting hold of good scripts and book adaptations. We have already started onboarding bright and upcoming writers who form the backbone of any content. We also plan to collaborate and co-produce films in the OTT space.
2) You have started as a talent management consultancy, and now you have extended it to films and OTT. What are the challenges you have faced through this journey?
To be honest, the only and most extensive challenge we have faced is lack of time and delays due to Covid, like so many people in this and other industries. We are blessed to have been working in an atmosphere where everyone has only encouraged us. Having said that, we are already on the way and are hopeful and excited to consolidate this vertical soon.
3) The OTT sector in India is already overcrowded. What factors will set M5 apart in a market that already has several players operating in it?
True, but there are gaps still. We see those gaps in various content genres, and we will capitalise on these gaps—secondary quality over quantity. The aim is to bring fresh perspectives to the Indian content, which resonates with global audiences. The need for content is at an all-time high, and there will be an audience when the world converges the way we are witnessing today.
4) How do you balance the best interests of the talent and the brand you work with? It is such a fine line to ensure that both sides get the best out of any collaboration.
We figure out the brand’s key strengths in terms of marketing messages and fit it with the talent that resonates with the key ethos and message of the brand – we call it a Fabfit. We recently got Sidharth Malhotra and Kiara Advani for our brand Onefit plus. The brand’s ethos was to keep yourself at home and create a social environment like a gym in your own respective homes by using their Innovative app-based equipment. As we all know, Sidharth Malhotra is a keen fitness enthusiast and loves to work out at home, plus his feel-good personality – we found a fit in him, and we paired him with Kiara Advani because she brings a certain freshness to this space. And it just helped that they were paired together in Shershah, which was released in theatres at the same time as the brand’s launch. So it was like a coup, and we are extremely happy with the results.
5) Digital collaborations have seen a boom in the last 2-3 years. What does the future look like for innovating these collaborations?
The future is robust. We now cannot separate celeb collaborations without Digital integrations. All brands offline or online cannot do without this key platform. And the best part is that one can do much with this. Each and every collaboration has the potential to be unique as there are no set rules here. If anything, it’s the best time to push boundaries and create new rules.
6) What role does creativity and innovation play in the core values of M5?
No one can survive in this industry if you are not creative or innovative. Many times in pitch meetings, we have to think impromptu and weave a concept that may work. Today brands are spoilt for choice, so if we want to work with them, we need to be at the forefront of these concepts. But I must add along with this we believe that cost-effectiveness and transparency, and trustworthy relations with the talent play a crucial part in our core values.
7) You are expanding your expertise into creating content; what’re the plans behind that? What can you tell us about the content that you are aiming to create?
The idea is to explore stories closer to home and stem from the ideology that exists in our immediate atmosphere and yet can be understood or paralleled universally in urban setups. We are rooting to create and bring strong women characters to the screen, and stories around these elements will be M5’s core content drivers.
