MAM
K. Anand Raman joins JioStar as vice president
DELHI: K. Anand Raman has traded one Star for another. After nearly 18 years at Disney Star, the media executive has joined JioStar as vice president, marking one of the more notable defections in India’s rapidly consolidating entertainment industry.
Raman’s career reads like a roadmap of Indian broadcasting’s evolution. He joined Star India in 2008 as a senior executive, back when the network was still finding its feet in regional markets. Over nearly two decades, he climbed the ranks, eventually becoming director in 2021 while simultaneously holding the title of assistant vice president since 2017, a dual role that saw him oversee operations across multiple channels.
His most recent stint involved running the Maa Network, a Telugu-language cluster acquired by Star in late 2015. Raman’s job was to stitch the acquisition into Star’s broader regional strategy, a task that involved integrating teams, maximising revenue and building what corporate types call “synergies”. Before that, he led sales for Star’s English infotainment and lifestyle portfolio, including National Geographic and Fox Life, and managed advertising for Star Movies.
The move to JioStar, which began in November 2025, places Raman in Hyderabad at a moment when India’s media giants are locked in a brutal battle for eyeballs and advertising rupees. JioStar, the result of a mega-merger between Reliance’s Viacom18 and Disney Star, represents one of the largest entertainment consolidations in Indian history. For Raman, it is both a homecoming of sorts, given his Star pedigree, and a bet on the next phase of India’s streaming and broadcast wars.
Before his long Star tenure, Raman cut his teeth at Radio City, India’s first private FM station, where he handled key accounts from 2006 to 2008. Earlier still, he worked at Chitralekha Group, managing advertising for a leading Gujarati magazine, and did a brief stint at Bennett Coleman’s Times Syndication Service during the launch of Times Books.
Twenty-two years in media, multiple channel launches, regional integrations and now a vice president’s chair at a freshly minted entertainment behemoth. Whether JioStar proves to be Raman’s biggest stage yet or just another chapter in India’s endless media melodrama remains to be seen. Either way, he knows the script by heart.
MAM
Boost Milkshake launches ‘The New Secret of Mahi Energy’ campaign with MS Dhoni
VML India crafts energetic tribute linking cricketing icon’s legacy to Gen Z fans.
MUMBAI: Boost Milkshake has found a fresh way to charge up its brand by plugging straight into the unbeatable energy of Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his millions of passionate fans. VML India has created an electrifying new campaign for Boost Milkshake titled ‘The New Secret of Mahi Energy’. The multi-channel, social-first campaign celebrates Dhoni’s enduring legacy of excellence, resilience, and drive, while cleverly positioning the ready-to-drink milkshake as the secret fuel behind “Thala’s” iconic Number 7 energy.
Designed specifically for Gen Z’s digital habits and love for authentic, shareable experiences, the month-long campaign blends cultural insight with high-impact creative execution. It features captivating out-of-home activations in Mumbai, Chennai and Guwahati, along with strong social-first initiatives amplified by authentic Dhoni fan pages and influencers, including superfan Saravanan Hari.
VML India managing partner for North Jaibeer Ahmad said, “Boost has always stood for the energy that fuels belief. Today, energy is not just physical, it’s emotional, collective, and contagious. Boost Milkshake taps into this new-age energy, fuelling the passion of a billion fans who power every moment of greatness.”
VML India, senior VP and executive creative directors Nakul Sharma and Tirtha Ghosh added, “MS Dhoni isn’t just a player in India, he’s a phenomenon. We turned fandom from a passive emotion into an active source of energy. The same energy that powers Mahi also lives within his fans.”
Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) head of brand building for lifestyle nutrition Shailee Chatrath Tyagi noted, “Boost is the OG of cricket culture. With the national launch of Boost Milkshake in ready-to-drink format, ‘The New Secret of Mahi Energy’ is a befitting tribute to the eternal equation of Mahi and his million fans.”
Timed perfectly with the ongoing IPL season, the campaign reinforces Boost Milkshake’s connection with a new generation while celebrating Dhoni’s legendary status as he once again dons the iconic Number 7 jersey.
In a country where cricket runs on emotion as much as skill, Boost has smartly shifted the narrative, the real secret of Mahi’s energy isn’t just inside the champion, it’s also inside the millions of fans cheering him on. And now, there’s a tasty milkshake to power that collective belief.
