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Pradeep Guha

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Pradeep Guha, also known as PG (1953 - August 21, 2021) was an Indian media personality and film producer.[1][2] He is best known for his work at Bennett, Coleman and Company (BCCL), the publisher of the The Times of India, where he served for almost three decades (1976-2005) and transformed the flagship newspaper and magazine brands such as Filmfare and Femina.[3] He also served as CEO of Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd, and Managing Director of 9X Media Private Limited. He was credited with introducing several innovative practices in the Indian media industry. He was also known for producing films such as Fiza (2000) and Phir Kabhi (2008).[4][5]

Early Life

Pradeep Guha was an alumnus of St. Xavier's College in Mumbai, where he studied BA in Economics.[5] He did his schooling at Don Bosco in Mumbai.[6]

Career

Pradeep Guha started his career at The Times Group, where he worked for almost three decades and served as the president of the company. He later joined Zee Entertainment as CEO for three years.[7]

He was the Area Director and VP of Asia Pacific of the International Advertising Association from 2008-2013. He was the Managing Director of Culture Company during the period 2008 – 2010. From 2005-2009, he was working as the CEO of Zee Entertainment Enterprises and he was the President of Bennett, Coleman and Co (Times Group) from 1986 – 2005.

Pradeep's board affiliations include Raymond Ltd, Puravankara Projects Ltd., and Whistling Woods International. He has been the Ex-President of the The Indian Newspaper Society, Ex-Chairman of the National Readership Studies Council and Ex-President of the Advertising Club Bombay. He was the first Chairman of the Broadcast Audience Research Council. He was also elected as chairman of the Asian Federation of Advertising Associations.[8]

When he took over as Managing Director of 9X Media in March 2009, the company had huge losses of eight hundred crores and a hundred crore debt. He sold the entire loss-making area of the network Hindi entertainment channel, 9X, to Zee Entertainment. He then turned his focus to the music channel 9XM and in just four years, he turned the company into a profit-making Rs 200-crore network. He launched four more new music channels at both national and international levels named 9XO (international music), 9X Jalwa (all-time Bollywood hits), 9X Tashan (Punjabi) and 9X Jhakaas (Marathi).[9] He also encouraged middle-level leadership in the company and moved his office to suburban Mumbai.

Guha has also contributed to liberal journalism and to setting up the Centre of Education and Documentation (CED) in Mumbai, a news clipping library that was used by hundreds of students and researchers before the internet and Google made it irrelevant.[5]

Death

He was suffering from cancer and receiving treatment for a few years before passing away on January 23, 2021, at the Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital in Mumbai. His death was announced by his wife Papia Guha and son Sanket Guha in a statement issued to the media.

Reaction

Pradeep Guha's death was condoled by many in the film and media industry[10], including Manoj Bajpayee, Subhash Ghai and Adnan Sami, among other film industry figures, shared their condolences on social media upon news of Pradeep Guha's death. Priyanka Chopra also shared a heartfelt note on Instagram, praising Guha's contributions to her journey in Bollywood. Vineet Jain, MD of Times Group and Subhash Chandra, chairman emeritus of ZEE and chairman of Essel Group also paid condolence to him.[11]

References

  1. ^ Sangghvi, Malavika (August 27, 2021). "Malavika's Mumbaistan: Sounds of Silence". Hindustan Times.
  2. ^ Chakraborty, Aditi (August 23, 2021). "Pradeep Guha: The Man I Knew As A Young Media Professional". Outlook India.
  3. ^ Bhatia, Sidharth. "How Pradeep Guha Revamped the Times Group and Turned it Into a Commercial Behemoth". The Wire.
  4. ^ "Media pioneer Pradeep Guha passes away". The Economic Times. August 21, 2021.
  5. ^ a b c Singh, Gurbir (August 29, 2021). "The many sides of media man Pradeep Guha". New Indian Express.
  6. ^ "Notable Alumni".
  7. ^ Moniz, Christina. "FAREWELL TO AN INDUSTRY LEGEND BY CHRISTINA MONIZ". Impactonnet.
  8. ^ "Pradeep Guha named the new AFAA Chairman". Campaign Asia. March 27, 2012.
  9. ^ Shashidhar, Ajita (March 2, 2014). "How music brought 9X Media back from the brink of bankruptcy". Business Today.
  10. ^ "Pradeep Guha combined creativity with business sense–and a big heart". Times of India. August 22, 2021.
  11. ^ "Fiza producer Pradeep Guha passes away". Indian Express. August 22, 2021.