If you’re buying weekend tickets to an IMAX screening of the latest release, you’re probably spending upwards of Rs 2,000 for a family of four. That’s not counting the popcorn and drinks, maybe a dinner afterwards near the theatre. One would imagine IMAX to be a phenomenon limited to the affluent, with demand coming largely from … Read more
One fine morning in April, three middle-aged men stood in a circle at the lobby of the Radisson Blu in Ghaziabad, chatting. Two of them had distinct NRI accents. The third complained about Delhi’s spring and pollen irritating his nose. Had you overheard their gripes, you could have never guessed that these urbane men were … Read more
This is part one of a two-part series on the growth of Tata Motors and Hyundai Motor India. In August 1998, a new series of advertisements hit Indian TV screens. They showed a mysterious Asian man, “Mr Kim”, trying to convince actor Shah Rukh Khan to advertise his company’s new car in India. “Why me?” … Read more
In 2019, when UK-based arthouse cinema streaming company MUBI came to India, it was hailed as the answer to cinephiles’ prayers. That year, it launched with Oscar-winning producer Guneet Monga as a content advisor. MUBI also had a dedicated channel for Indian films, curated across genres, years, languages, and directors. This ranged from from Basu … Read more
In the 2024 edition of Edelman Trust Barometer, released in January, India ranked second after China in trust in business-government partnerships over technology-led businesses. It topped the charts in terms of trust in businesses and non-governmental organisations, but was fourth in terms of trust in media and fifth for the government. “(In India) there’s high … Read more
When Mumbai-based Raphae Halim bought a Mahindra e2o electric car in 2013, he joined a niche of India’s earliest EV adopters. Nine years later his battery degraded to a point where he couldn’t drive it more than 10 km after a single charge. It was time to replace the battery pack. While Halim was prepared … Read more
It was pitch black. The shortcut that Google Maps directed them to, off the highway, got narrower as they drove on. No shops. No other vehicles. No street lamps. Just eerie silence. “It didn’t seem like we were headed to the airport,” Nivedya said. “But we pressed on, assuming Google Maps knew best.” In an … Read more
Indian consumers want entertainment, but for free (see this edition of The Impression). At last year’s edition of the annual media and entertainment business conference called FICCI Frames, a massive report and a three-day conference concluded that media subscriptions were stagnating, meaning the industry must come up with as many ad-funded business models as it … Read more