Deepak Dhar
Banijay confirmed the successful reorganization of Banijay in Asia, combining two market-leading entities, Endemol Shine India and Banijay Asia, under the leadership of Deepak Dhar, who has been appointed the Founder & Group CEO of Banijay Asia and Endemol Shine India. Building a regional content powerhouse, the move follows the full buy-out of Endemol Shine India from CA Media and sees media veteran and entrepreneur, Dhar, take on an overarching role. Having led Endemol's Indian operations between 2005 and 2018 before launching Banijay Asia and overseeing its strategic growth, he will now continue his focus on leading the wider group's content strategies, partnerships, new business, and alliances, in addition to building both companies' reputations in generating new IP, which can travel the world.
In line with the changes and to unlock greater synergies, Dhar will now finesse the structure of Banijay in Asia, setting group-wide roles and dedicated creative positions within the respective production labels. Key personnel-related news is expected to be shared in the coming few weeks. Talking about the developments, Deepak Dhar, Founder & Group CEO of Banijay Asia & Endemol Shine India, commented: "The reorganization of Banijay in Asia is our biggest and boldest move yet and aligns with our ambition to drive further growth in India and Asia at-large. Leveraging both brands' creative potential and possibilities, we will now strategically pursue complementary yet independent creative portfolios to offer the most diverse and compelling cross-genre content from all across the globe to our Indian and Asian platforms and screens."
Marco Bassetti, CEO, Banijay, added: "Deepak is a leading creative and entrepreneurial force in Asia, and in our partnership thus far, he has successfully created an impressive slate and a host of fruitful partnerships with major buyers and partners worldwide. In this new phase for the business, he will now focus on unlocking and aligning other strategic growth avenues to put Banijay in a dominating position, both in India and Asia."
"I've been fortunate to have been involved in the growth of both businesses since their inception in India; now, leading them both through the next phase of growth is a surreal feeling. I look forward to working closely with my colleagues at Endemol Shine and Banijay Asia to continue creating path-breaking content and having fun along the way," Dhar added.
Over the last few years, Banijay Asia has delivered mega-hit scripted adaptations like "The Night Manager," "Call My Agent Bollywood," "Hostages," and "Fall," and successful originals like "Dahan," "Matsya Kaand," "Undekhi," "Tribhanga" amongst many others. The content studio's upcoming shows include Indian reimaginations of "The Good Wife Monk," "House," and "Suits." On the non-scripted front, Banijay is leading the genre with blockbuster titles like "The Kapil Sharma Show," "MTV Roadies," "The Voice," "The Big Picture," "Into The Wild with Bear Grylls," "Case Toh Banta Hai," "Nach Baliye" and more. The content studio's upcoming shows include "Survivor" and "Temptation Island."
Meanwhile, since 2005, Endemol Shine India has established a strong reputation as the leading producer of "Bigg Boss" across nine regions, as well as the Indian adaptations of "Fear Factor," "MasterChef," and "Deal or No Deal." On the Scripted front, apart from "Bombay Begums," "Trial By Fire" and "Tooth Pari," the label has announced a third season of International Emmy-nominated "Aarya," and a Hindi adaptation of "The Bridge" (Bron/Broen). Now, some of the biggest global and original Indian IPs would be available and produced between the two entities under the leadership of Dhar.
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