The Director General, Additional DG, and Director of PIB (Press Information Bureau) recently met a select group of journalists in Mumbai and informed them about the upcoming World Audio Visual & Entertainment Summit (WAVES).
This summit will be held from May 1 to May 4, 2025, at the Jio Convention Centre, Mumbai.
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They also mentioned that ministers from 15 to 20 foreign countries are expected to attend. The event aims to position India as a net exporter of content.
Several prominent personalities are part of the advisory board.
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These include actors Shah Rukh Khan, Aamir Khan, Akshay Kumar, Ranbir Kapoor, Deepika Padukone, Diljit Dosanjh, Amitabh Bachchan, Anil Kapoor, Mohanlal, Rajinikanth, Mithun Chakraborty, Anupam Kher, Chiranjeevi, and Hema Malini.
Others from the film industry on the board are Bhushan Kumar, A.R. Rahman, Ekta Kapoor, S.S. Rajamouli, Shekhar Kapur, and Asha Bhosle.
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The rest of the advisory board includes Reliance chairman Mukesh Ambani, Dharma Productions stakeholder Adar Poonawalla, PVR INOX Managing Director Ajay Bijli, Prime Video and Amazon Studios Head Mike Hopkins, Sony Pictures Entertainment CEO Ravi Ahuja, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, Alphabet and Google CEO Sundar Pichai, and Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos, among others.
WAVES is a platform launched by Prasar Bharati to bring more diverse, global content to OTT, with a focus on family-friendly entertainment.
However, since the platform is government-owned, there are concerns about whether it will be used to project a curated image of India on the global stage.
Given the current socio-political climate, where art that shows the evils of the ruling party is often sabotaged, many fear that the platform may serve as a tool to glorify the government and propagate its narrative, rather than encourage diverse storytelling.
It will be interesting to see if this platform, along with so many stars, is capable of bringing some positive change to the film industry or not.
