Kunal Dasgupta Exits Sony’s Indian Business

MUMBAI: Kunal Dasgupta, the long-time head of Sony Pictures Television International’s channel business in India, is stepping down from his post "for personal reasons."

Dasgupta is the CEO of SPTI’s networks business in India, Multi Screen Media Private Limited. Man Jit Singh, the chairman of the board of Multi Screen, will assume Dasgupta’s CEO duties on an interim basis and will lead the search for a successor. During his many years with the company, Dasgupta has expanded Sony’s Indian portfolio from a single channel, Sony Entertainment Television (SET), to a bouquet that also includes SET MAX, SAB and SET PIX. Dasgupta also played a key role in the formation of a distribution bouquet, TheOneAlliance, a joint venture between Multi Screen and Discovery Communications India that distributes 18 channels throughout the subcontinent. He joined the company prior to the July 1995 launch of SET.

SPTI’s president of international networks, Andy Kaplan, noted: "Kunal was one of the first people to join what was then our only channel in India, Sony Entertainment Television, and has played an instrumental role in growing our channels business to what it is today. Kunal has amazing relationships with India’s top directors, producers and actors, plus close ties to the cricket world. While Kunal’s experience and leadership will be greatly missed, we are fortunate that Multi Screen has strong existing management and the business is strategically focused."