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Journalism of Courage
This year seems to be one where heirs of tycoons are being ushered into the open. Now it8217;s Anu Aga8217;s turn. The tycoon behind the Rs 520 crore Pune-based Energy and Environment major, Thermax Ltd announced at one of her board meetings, her decision to step down as chairperson during September next year and her desire to have her daughter Meher Pudumjee take over the reigns.
A little known fact is that the group was previously called Wanson Engineering and was actually founded by Anu8217;s father. It was only after her marriage to Rohinton Aga that the group was renamed Thermax. Aga has made her announcement a year in advance, to provide both the board members and her daughter enough time to prepare for the change. In spite of the Aga family holding 62 per cent stake in the company, the decision has been placed before the nine-member board for approval.
Balaji heads East
Jeetendra Kapoor, the tycoon credited with ensuring that every second Indian woman sits glued to her television every night of her life, is now turning his attention to the eastern market. After tasting sweet success in both north and south India, the tycoon8217;s company, Balaji Telefilms Ltd, already one of India8217;s most prominent and successful media houses, is making efforts to tie up with Akash Bangla a 24-hour satellite channel in West Bengal. In spite of the impending introduction of CAS, the tycoon has been confident that it will not affect him as 8220;content will continue to remain the king8221;. He knows that viewers will continue to pay for the channels which air their popular programmes while advertisers will continue to advertise on channels that viewers watch the most. After the eastern tie up, Balaji Telefilms will produce mega serials based on the same lines as his present serials which are on air, that is, the serials will showcase family ideals and culture, except to click with the Bengali audience, they will depict the traditions and family values of typical Bengali families. This could turn out to be a good move on Kapoor8217;s part as his serials deal with leading women characters, and Akash Bangla is also known to have most of its programmes pertaining to women. So be ready for one more winner from the Kapoor stable.
Dilip Cherian runs public relations firm Perfect Relations and can be contacted at dilipcheriannow-india.net.in
