MUMBAI: It was during the pandemic that the Producers Guild of India lost its affable and hard-working CEO Kulmeet Makkar who passed away following a heart attack. Now the board of the Guild has found his replacement: Nitin Tej Ahuja. Nitin has had a pretty well-rounded career trajectory and he describes himself as a professional with experience as a film producer/publisher/screenwriter/journalist/music IPR on his LinkedIn profile.
He started his career at Star India as a publicity executive in January 1996, moved on to writing for TV for a few years, hopped on to royalty organisation PPL as the head of mobile and broadcasting, worked with World Space Radio as general manager –music and artiste relations, became publisher of Box Office India, and then finally turning producer with Moving Pictures bringing out movies such as Saheb Biwi Gangster Returns, Bullet Raja, Revolver Rani, Anaamika (Telugu), Zhapatlela, Sata Lota (Marathi).
Guild members revealed that the announcement was made this morning to them and they have welcomed his appointment as the association’s CEO.
Ahuja confirmed this to indiantelevision.com adding that he is happy about getting on to the guild. “As a long-time observer and admirer of the Guild’s wide-ranging and pathbreaking initiatives in championing the interests of content producers, I am honoured to serve in the continuation of the Guild’s untiring efforts. I look forward to working closely with the PGI President and members as we navigate the challenges brought about by the global pandemic and the vastly different landscape that awaits us in the post-Covid2019 world," he said.
Producers Guild of India president Siddharth Roy Kapur said, “I have known Nitin for many years as someone with an expansive and in-depth understanding of the media and entertainment industry. He is uniquely equipped with the knowledge, experience and ability to take on the challenges and to build on the opportunities that will be presented by the unprecedented times ahead of us. I am confident that in this role, Nitin will be a huge asset to the PGI and to the industry as we move forward.”
Siddharth further added, “I also want to take this opportunity to recognize the immense contribution of the late Kulmeet Makkar, in his role as CEO of the Guild for the past decade. His sudden demise left us all in grief, and created a huge void at the PGI. Kulmeet worked long and hard with passion and perseverance to bring the Guild to its present stature, and I have no doubt that Nitin will go on to ably build on this wonderful legacy.
