MUMBAI: JioStar India chairperson Nita Ambani says she can’t wait for the merger between Viacom18 and Disney and Reliance Industries to overall take Indian culture and entertainment to the world.
Speaking to Haslinda Amin on her show Latitude under Bloomberg News, Nita Ambani highlighted: “We have to wait for the magic to happen to take Indian entertainment to the world through our streaming services as we look at putting India on the world map through this merger,” she said.
Nita was otherwise pretty kicked about the fact that she had been given the mantle to head the media side of the Reliance business. “It’s a new chapter. It’s a new beginning. And I am ready to take on new challenges and am very excited,” she told Amin.
She confessed to the news host that even though she fell in love with cricket, she was not fully conversant with the intricacies of the sport. “I started reading about cricket,” she revealed. “I started talking to any cricketer that would have a conversation with me. It took me sometime to pick up and talk to all the boys of cricket. I spoke to Sachin, who is known as the god of cricket and I would ask him such embarrassing questions.But today it feels good, my son Akash is leading the Mumbai Indians cricket team. But what fills my heart with joy Is the Women’s Premier League .”
Nita disclosed that Indian girls go through so much to get to where they are. “Right from seeking permission from their parents who are not willing to let them follow their dreams,” she explained. Financial issues, Once you are injured you have lost your career.It takes them hours to reach their training centre. They have no sporting gear, sometimes no shoes, when they tell you these stories, they are truly inspirational. We feel a shift in parents opinion towards sports, that they can have a career,”
“It’s a dream of 1.4 billion to see the Olympics in India,” said Nita. “ I believe once sport takes over the transformation will be seen not only In the lives of the youth but also on the economy of our country. India is one of the biggest centres for digital usage. The Tokyo Olympics had the highest amount of digital engagement from India and one third of the viewership of the Olympic channel comes from India, India as a sporting market is huge,” she spelt out.
Nita Ambani then highlighted the role that women are going to play in the country going forward. As well as how art (rural and urban) entertainment, and culture are now being given a thrust as more and more foreign acts are performing at the excellent infrastructure that has been put in place at the cultural centre which has been named after her in Mumbai:
Nita told Haslinda, that she began as a teacher. “India has a great history and if we take that legacy and nurture it, and it is cherished for generations to come, that would be our vision to shine the spotlight on India,” she said.
