Aashish Singh
Senior Vice President (Yash Raj Films)
www.yashrajfilms.com
Under his leadership, YRF became the studio with the maximum number of movies shot in different countries owing to his in-depth knowledge of international support mechanisms and negotiation skills with the agencies of host countries. He thus produced Befikre (2016), the first Indian movie shot entirely in France and the first Indian film having benefited from the International Film Tax Credit to the extent of 30% of its expenses. The 55-day shoot employed 293 French professionals and incurred expenditure worth €8 million on French territory.
Kassim Jagmagia
Creative Head (Excel Entertainment)
www.excelmovies.com
Excel Entertainment, one of the most important Bollywood studios, was founded by Ritesh Sidhwani and Farhan Akhtar. The Indian road-movie, Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, directed by Zoya Akhtar and shot almost entirely in Spain, kindled an extraordinary interest in Spain amongst Indians: a few weeks after the movie was released in India (15 July 2011) the Spanish tourism department is reported to have received 600,000 requests for information. According to the Spanish authorities, the number of visas issued after the movie released rose by 60%. Kassim Jagmagia is also an associate producer as well as scriptwriter.
Kanchan Marathe
Director (Creative & Production Viacom 18 Media Pvt Ltd)
www.viacom18.com
Kanchan Marath has been working at Viacom 18 for more than 7 years as Production Director. Under her leadership, several films were produced, such as Padmavat, its latest Indian blockbuster in 2018. Previously, she was a scriptwriter and assistant director. Manto, a film produced by Viacom 18, was screened at the Cannes Film Festival in the “Un Certain Regard” category.
Nishanthan Niruthan
General Manager (Lyca Productions)
www.lycaproductions.in
Nishanthan Niruthan has been working in the media for more than a decade. He has managed numerous programmes for the radio, the television, the big screen as well as video games and events abroad. Since 2014, he has been managing the Lyca studio, an important studio of the Tamil film industry in India. In 2014, he gained recognition as a promising young producer for his film Kaththi. He would like to shoot the film, Indian 2, in France. His next project, a very ambitious venture, will be the most expensive in the Indian film industry as it will be simultaneously shot in three languages.
Kulmeet Makkar
Chief Executive Officer (Producers Guild of India)
www.filmtvguildindia.org
Kulmeet Makkar is the CEO of the Producers Guild of India. This association is responsible for various initiatives in cinema, television and new media (anti-piracy, copyrights, taxation, coordination with the Indian government, etc.). He has been invited by around 15 countries as a member of a producers’ delegation to be acquainted with different features and sets. He can promote the Occitanie region among many Bollywood producers.