MUMBAI: SET Discovery president Shantonu Aditya, who quit the company last week, takes charge as chief executive officer of Sahara India Entertainment Management Co Ltd (SIEMCL) on 16 June.

Industry sources have confirmed the development to indiantelevision.com. It needs noting here that as per earlier indications, Aditya was expected to join Sahara on 1 July.

SIEMCL manages all of Sahara's media and entertainment businesses (excluding news) and is the joint venture company that was formed last year along with with Percept IMC. As CEO, Aditya will be replacing Peter Isaac who has been operationally in charge of the JV since its inception. Isaac is returning to Percept and will be taking up a new responsibility.

Under Aditya's ambit are entertainment channel Sahara One, the Sahara Filmi movie channel that launches later this year and the group's motion pictures division.

Sahara has ambitious movie plans with 40 projects on the floor. Aditya will drive this as well as the domestic and international distribution of movies.

Directly reporting in to Aditya are Sahara One Television COO Purnendu Bose, Sahara Filmi business head Ashutosh and the motion pictures division head Sandeep Bhargava.

Aditya joined SET India in 2001 to lead Sony's distribution business. He went on to head the distribution joint venture company between SET India and Discovery Communications India set up in 2002.

A management postgraduate from XLRI Jamshedpur, Aditya had worked with UB group (McDowell & Co) in sales and marketing in Delhi and luggage major Blow Plast in various capacities.

SIEMCL, meanwhile, is funded entirely by the Sahara Group. Percept IMC, the other 50 per cent partner in the joint venture, provides human resources and manages the operations.