MUMBAI: When the Producers Guild of India met for its sixty ninth annual general meeting on 27 September, one of the jobs on hand was to elect a president for the coming year. And guess who did they turn to once again? The publicity shy and reticent Shibasish Sarkar who is also the group CEO of Reliance Entertainment. This will be his third consecutive term at the leadership role in the guild. 

Other members who have been re-elected include Manish Goswami, Madhu Bhojwani, Aashish Singh, Dipti Kotak and Ankur Garg as vice presidents, along with Ashim Samanta and Fazila Allana as treasurers. 

“I am honoured and humbled by the confidence my peers have reposed in me by re-electing me as president of the guild for the third year,” said Sarkar. “I look forward to our members’ continued counsel and support, which lies at the heart of all that the guild strives to achieve.”

The guild is India’s leading organisation for  film, television and digital content, representing top producers. The body plays a key role in the development of entertainment production, and it works closely with stakeholders and the Indian government to address regulatory challenges, policy matters, copyright protection, taxation, and ease of filming, among other things. 

Overall, its focus is more on Indian cinema as compared to the Indian Film & Television Producers Council which places a greater emphasis on television. The guild has Nitin Sethi as its CEO.