New Delhi: After backing Oscar-winning documentaries such as Period. End of Sentence and The Elephant Whisperers, Sikhya Entertainment Pvt Ltd has brought in the Reliance muscle in the game with Jio Studios acquiring a 50.1 per cent equity stake in the production house for an aggregate cash consideration of Rs 150 crore.
“We are delighted to partner with Guneet, Achin and the Sikhya Entertainment team and by combining their distinctive storytelling legacy with Jio Studios’ scale, distribution, creative prowess and global ambition, we aim to give Indian stories the platform and pathways to reach audiences around the world,” said Jyoti Deshpande, President of Jio Studios (Media & Content Business, RIL), in a joint media statement.
Jio Studios has backed projects like Dhurandhar, Laapata Ladies (2024), and the Stree franchise. Apart from the Academy Award-winning documentaries, Sikhya Entertainment has also produced Neeraj Ghaywan’s National Award-winning film Masaan. On OTT, the production house has made Netflix film Kathal, and Sudha Kongara’s Tamil film Soorarai Pottru.
“Sikhya has stood firm with its commitment towards original and progressive storytelling over the years. Now, together with Jio Studios, I’m confident that they will continue to push the envelope in Indian cinema and take it to more ambitious horizons,” Yashowardhan Mishra, director of Kathal, told ThePrint.
Sikhya is also set to work with Tamil filmmaker Karthik Subburaj, known for films like Jigarthanda DoubleX (2023) and Retro (2025).
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Growing wave of consolidation in Bollywood
The partnership comes on the heels of a growing wave of consolidation in Bollywood. In the past two months, Universal Music has acquired a 30 per cent stake in Excel Entertainment, and Saregama invested Rs 325 crore in an initial stake in film-maker Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s company.
“It is a win-win situation with corporates and bigger conglomerates collaborating with producers, because it gives them confidence to bring new perspectives. Producers have their creative freedom, and get resources to make films that can travel far,” trade analyst Taran Adarsh told ThePrint.
In 2024, Serene Productions, led by business tycoon Adar Poonawalla, acquired a 50 per cent stake in film-maker and producer Karan Johar’s Dharma Productions in 2024. Since then, Johar and Poonawalla have backed Neeraj Ghaywan’s Homebound, which was India’s official entry for the Oscars 2026.
“Adar said, ‘Karan, this is a great opportunity and a great film, let’s do everything in our capacity. Let’s not think of profit and loss on this one. Let’s think of passion over any monetary benefit.’ That’s what we did. It is not a money-making exercise for us. It is about credibility. We will do other films for survival, but Homebound was always a passion project. There is no monetary game in that film,” said Johar in an interview.
(Edited by Saptak Datta)