For many it is a daily struggle – how to balance their daily routines between work and perosnal life. But there are occasions when even the wealthiest man, the most powerful CEO or politician has to forget the position his/her occupation has given him/her. When he/she is at home, the role they enact is simply that of a father or a mother or a son or a daughter and for those who are fortunate enough of a brother and a sister.
Raksha Bandhan – a day that reminds brothers and sisters that they share a bond – for a lifetime. She ties a string on his wrist. She annoints his forehead with tikka, and does his pooja. The brother in turn promises to look after his sister, no matter what, and gives her a gift – and seeks her blesssing. A moment that helps us connect and reminds us that we are human, that all is equal.
On the eve of Raksha Bandhan, a pious festival, we take a look at some of the well-known brother-sister combinations in the industry. Over the years, they have created their own identities in the media and entertainment sector. Whether it be broadcast, television, films or the government, these siblings have become powerhouses in their respective fields.
On this special day, Indiantelevision.com features a few siblings in the media industry.
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Vandana Malik and Raghav Bahl
The two together built an empire that recently shifted hands to another powerful person in the country. Indeed, brother sister duo Vandana Malik and Raghav Bahl gave their all to the Network 18 group in the span of two decades.
In early 1990s when Raghav started producing shows for BBC including India Business Report, he roped in his sister Vandana to head operations from Mumbai. Vandana, a housewife, knew zilch about the industry, took a bold step with her brother’s help and went on to be a core member of the group’s expansion in the years to come.
Raghav stormed into the media industry with JVs with some of the big names across the world- Viacom, CNBC, CNN, Forbes, GS Home Shopping etc.
Now with Network 18 being in the hands of one of India’s richest industrialists – Reliance Industries’ chairman Mukesh Ambani, Raghav has ventured into the hand held personalised news space while Vandana’s next venture is not yet known.
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Anurradha and Ravi Shankar Prasad
She is the managing director of the BAG Network while her brother is the current Union Minister of Ministry of Communications and Information Technology. Anurradha Prasad and Ravi Shankar Prasad have both excelled in their fields, making their presence known wherever they go.
While the sister is a power woman in the field of news and entertainment television, the brother is one of the country’s top leaders of Bharatiya Janata Party.
Anurradha runs two TV channels, News 24 and E24 as well as a production house called BAG. Ravi helped establish Goa as the destination for holding the International Film Festival of India as well as led the Indian delegation to film festivals in Cannes, Venice and London.
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Ila Arun and Piyush Pandey
The godfather of Indian advertising, Piyush Pandey, is brother of Ila Arun, the queen of Indian contemporary music. Born in Jaipur, both Piyush Pandey and Ila Arun are one of the most dynamic brother-sister duos in the media industry.
While Ila, the singer who turned folk-pop into a craze is also a very talented writer, music director and actor, her ad-guru brother Piyush is Ogilvy & Mather India south Asia executive chairman and creative director. It was under his leadership O&M has become one of the largest advertising agencies in India. He has also penned a patriotic song ‘Mile Sur Mera Tumhara’ for the National Literacy Mission of India in 1988.
And as Ila blends the rural and the urban traditions of India; Piyush brings the nation together through his addictive campaigns.
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Madhu Trehan and Aroon Purie
The euphemism, two sides of the same coin, aptly suits the combination of brother sister duo Aroon Purie and Madhu Trehan. The Doon school educated Aroon is well known as the founder of the India Today group while Madhu is arguably one of India’s fiercest media critics today.
Their father, the late Vidya Vilas Purie was a former film financer and owner of the Thompson Press who in 1975 launched a tabloid newspaper called India Today. Aroon and Madhu revived the tabloid into a fortnightly magazine initially targeting NRI’s.
In 1977 when Madhu was pregnant she decided to move abroad to start a family. She handed over the magazine’s complete operations to her brother. When she returned to India in 1988, she launched Newstrack, a video news magazine and in 2012 she went on to launch Newslaundry a web portal that keeps a sharp check on the country’s media houses and people including those owned by her brother.
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Ekta and Tusshar Kapoor
She is the queen of television. Ekta Kapoor, who late into her teens was only known as Jeetendra’s daughter, is today the CEO of one of the finest production houses Balaji Telefilms in India. She was just 17 when she started working and since then, she has breathed, eaten and slept only television. Today, she also has a film production house – Balaji Motion Pictures – to her credit.
Ekta shares a very strong bond with her brother Tusshar who is an actor. He has over 30 films under his belt. He is also the executive director of Balaji Motion Pictures.
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Nalini Singh and Arun Shourie
They are the son and daughter of consumer rights activist, HD Shourie. Nalini Singh is a TV celebrity and senior Indian journalist who is known for her anchoring of the popular television show Ankhon Dekhi on Doordarshan. Her sibling, intrepid journalist Arun Shourie,is known for his writing in Indian Express during the emergency. He has now moved out of media to grace the hallowed corridors of power in New Delhi. He is a powerful politician, columnist and ex-Union Minister.
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Divya and Yogesh Radhakrishnan
Known for always being on the two opposing ends of the table, Divya and Yogesh Radhakrishan are forces to be reckoned with in their respective fields. Divya set up her own specialty company, Helios Media for broadcasters after working in an agency model for over two decades. On the other hand, Yogesh, the former CEO of Prime Connect is now the director of Pioneer Channel Factory.
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Shavon Barua and Kaustav Niyogi
She loves most things old world, fashion, travel off the map, her boys are her world and also happens to be the Havas Worldwide West + South India president. Shavon with over 15 years of experience has led major global brands like Pepsi, Nestle, Colgate, Palmolive and Lakme Lever (Unilever) at various agencies such as JWT, Publicis, Y&R, and SSC&B Lintas. Her brother is the Mad Man of the advertising fraternity. Kaustav Niyogi aka Kausti has worked with the big names like McCann Erikson, Rediffusion Y&R and Publicis as creative head. He is currently, busy directing Pooja Bhatt’s next film Cabaret.
