JK Rowling responds as India Willoughby reports author to police over misgendering

Naman Ramachandran The first edition of India’s Cinevesture International Film Festival and market (Chandigarh, March 27-31) will feature a range of masterclasses and panels headlined by a range of luminaries including filmmakers Shekhar Kapur (“What’s Love Got to Do with It?”) and Karan Johar (“Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani”). The lineup also includes actors Jaideep Ahlawat (“Paatal Lok”), Roshan Mathew (“Paradise”), Suvinder Vicky (“Kohrra”), Rajshri Deshpande (“Trial by Fire”), Boman Irani (“Dunki”), Rasika Dugal (“Mirzapur”), Abhay Deol (“Trial by Fire”), actor-producers Richa Chadha and Ali Fazal (“Girls Will be Girls”), filmmakers Tahira Kashyap (“Sharmajee Ki Beti”), Sudhir Mishra (“Tanaav”), Ajitpal Singh (“Tabbar”), Anurag Singh (“Kesri”) and Saugata Mukherjee, head of content at streamer SonyLiv.

Naman Ramachandran Prime Video is bullish about the large, diverse and volatile Asian streaming market, driven by growth in India and Japan, the streamer’s top executives responsible for the region have said. The region’s online video component, excluding China, where international streamers cannot be present, is projected to grow at 9.2%, to reach $46 billion by 2028, according to a study from research and consultancy firm Media Partners Asia.

India has driven more subscribers to Amazon than any other country bar the U.S. over recent years, according Head of Prime Video & Amazon MGM Studios Mike Hopkins.

Naman Ramachandran Prime Video has unveiled a 69-title 2024 slate of new and returning series and original and licensed films. The slate was revealed at a star-studded event in Mumbai on Tuesday hosted by Indian media personality Karan Johar. Amazon executives present at the event included Mike Hopkins, head of Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studios, Kelly Day, VP Prime Video International, ⁠James Farrell, VP, international originals, Gaurav Gandhi, VP, APAC and MENA, Sushant Sreeram, country director, India, Aparna Purohit, head of originals, India and Southeast Asia, Manish Menghani, director, content licensing, India, and Nikhil Madhok, head of Hindi-language, India.

Naman Ramachandran Top Bollywood star Ajay Devgn‘s Indian visual effects studio NY VFXWaala has set a strategic partnership with Sweden’s Goodbye Kansas Studio. NY VFXWaala has secured a major stake in Goodbye Kansas, through an offshore subsidiary, while simultaneously launching a joint venture studio in India.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor International sales agency Lightdox has acquired documentary “Marching in the Dark” in advance of its world premiere at CPH:DOX. The feature debut from Kinshuk Surjan focuses on how the growing number of suicides among farmers in India is affecting the agricultural community. The trailer debuts exclusively on Variety below.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Paramount Global has sold its 13% ownership stake in TV and streaming company Viacom18 to Reliance Industries for $517 million. Reliance was already the majority owner of Viacom18. The pact comes two weeks after Disney and Reliance Industries announced a blockbuster $8.5 billion deal merging their massive Indian TV and streaming businesses.

Paramount Global has sold its 13% equity interest in Viacom18 Media to Indian conglomerate Reliance Industries for the equivalent $517 million.

EXCLUSIVE: PhantomFX, an Indian VFX powerhouse that has worked on everything from The Avengers and The Walking Dead franchise to Outlander, is set to acquire a majority stake in Tippett Studio, the animation and visual effects production company of Oscar-winning filmmaker Phil Tippett.

Naman Ramachandran India premieres of France’s “The Taste of Things” and Korea’s “Exhuma” will open and close respectively the first edition of India’s Cinevesture International Film Festival. Tran Anh Hung won best director at Cannes 2023 for “The Taste of Things,” which was subsequently submitted as France’s official entry to the Oscars’ international feature category.

Naman Ramachandran Upamanyu Bhattacharya‘s animated feature “Heirloom” has the emerged from the crucible of Annecy, one of the world’s top animation festivals. The Indian work-in progress film has been selected for the 22nd Hong Kong — Asia Film Financing Forum (HAF), the project market that operates concurrently with FilMart. In the film, Sonal, a teacher, grapples with a hereditary disease, mirroring her mother’s untimely demise.

Naman Ramachandran Punit Goenka, MD and CEO of Indian media giant Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd, will now work directly with the revenue department of the company’s broadcast business. Ashish Sehgal, chief growth officer, advertisement revenue, will now directly report into Goenka. Rahul Johri, who led the revenue and monetization vertical, has stepped down after a three-year stint with Zee.

J.K. Rowling is back at it again — but this time instead of getting canceled online, her comments got taken straight to the police!

Ellise Shafer Broadcaster India Willoughby has claimed that she filed a police complaint against “Harry Potter” author J.K. Rowling over alleged transphobia. In an interview with Byline TV on Wednesday night, Willoughby — a former “Celebrity Big Brother” contestant and “Loose Women” co-host — claimed that she reported Rowling to Northumbria Police for repeatedly misgendering her online as part of an ongoing feud.

A simmering, years-long row between JK Rowling and broadcaster India Willoughby has spilled over into a police complaint against the Harry Potter author over alleged transphobia.

Naman Ramachandran The India heads of some of the world’s top media groups outlined their growth plans for the market at the Mumbai’s FICCI Frames media conference. The conference is organized by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI).

Naman Ramachandran Bollywood A-list star Rani Mukerji was in refreshingly candid form at Mumbai’s FICCI Frames media industry conference, proffering frank opinions on the Indian theatrical business. The usual Hindi-language domination of the all-India box office was reversed for a period in 2021-22, when films from the south of India, including “RRR,” “Kantara,” “Ponniyin Selvan” and “Vikram” dominated, and the northern counterparts from’ Bollywood’ struggled to become hits. Since then, the north-south competition has evolved again.

EXCLUSIVE: The now-released serial killer known as The Serpent, who was played with aplomb by Tahar Rahim in the eponymous mini-series, is to appear in a Channel 4 documentary where he will face psychological and criminal interrogations over murders he was never tried for.

EXCLUSIVE: Actor-producer Esha Bargate is launching a production company that aims to challenge how Hollywood views and portrays Indian culture and society.

Sainsbury's and Waitrose have urgently recalled a popular curry product as it 'may contain glass'.