Penguin Set To Publish Vanita Kohli-Khandekar’s THE MAKING OF STAR INDIA

This July Penguin set to publish the gripping story of the company that shaped the Indian media and entertainment business by the country’s most authoritative media writer.

THE MAKING OF STAR INDIA

The Amazing Story of Rupert Murdoch’s India Adventure

Vanita Kohli-Khandekar

When Rupert Murdoch, executive chairman, News Corporation, blew up more than $870 million buying Star TV from Richard Li in the early 1990s, analysts were dismayed. Why on earth had Murdoch invested in a pan-Asian broadcaster that was neither fish nor fowl?

More than twenty-five years later, with revenues of over $2 billion, Star India is one of the country’s three largest media firms. Murdoch’s instinct had done what a hundred investor summits could not: showcased the potential of the Indian media market to the world. Vanita Kohli-Khandekar tells the thrilling story of Indian television through its most notable protagonist—Star TV. The narrative is peppered with delicious anecdotes and a fascinating cast of characters that includes Rathikant Basu, Peter Mukerjea, Uday Shankar, Sameer Nair and the Murdochs, who loom large over every scene.

About the author

VANITA KOHLI-KHANDEKAR is an India-based media specialist and writer. She has been tracking the Indian media and entertainment business for over fifteen years. Currently, she is a columnist and writer for Business Standard, one of India’s leading financial dailies. She is also a contributor to Singapore-based ContentAsia. Her earlier stints were at Businessworld magazine and EY. A Cambridge University press fellow (2000), Vanita has taught at some of the top media schools in India and is a regular speaker at industry forums in India and overseas. She has several research papers to her name.

The four editions of her book, The Indian Media Business, have sold over 14,000 copies. The Hindi edition was released in 2017.