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Resul Pookutty and Adoor Gopalakrishnan Unveil Radha Chadha’s Book ‘The Maker of Filmmakers’ at the International Film Festival of Kerala
IFFK hosted a special evening in Thiruvananthapuram, celebrating the legacy of Jagat Murari, with two esteemed FTII alums: award-winning filmmaker Adoor Gopalakrishnan and Oscar-winner Dr. Resul Pookutty.
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, India, Dec. 19, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Dr. Resul Pookutty, the Oscar-winning sound designer, and Adoor Gopalakrishnan, the legendary filmmaker, joined author Radha Chadha to release her latest book ‘The Maker of Filmmakers‘ at an event hosted by the International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK).
Radha Chadha’s book, ‘The Maker of Filmmakers: How Jagat Murari and FTII Changed Indian Cinema Forever’, traces the remarkable life and legacy of her father, Jagat Murari, the visionary who built the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII). Published by Penguin India, the book follows Murari’s journey in shaping many of India’s most influential filmmakers.
“It is the Festival’s honour to release a book like this,” said Resul Pookutty, who is IFFK’s Festival Director and Chairperson of the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy. “He [Murari] not only gave us the Institute, but also gave us a very illustrious daughter who could chronicle it for us, for the generation of filmmakers to come, to imbibe this true spirit of cinema.”
Adoor Gopalakrishnan spoke insightfully about the book, saying, “I particularly congratulate Radha for this excellent book. It’s very well-written and it’s well-researched.” He recalled Jagat Murari’s influence on his own creative path. “But for the Film Institute, there was no chance of me ever becoming a filmmaker. Who was responsible for the Film Institute? It was my own great Murari saheb; He was a father figure to us students.”
C. Ajoy, the Executive Director of IFFK and Secretary of the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy, reflected on Jagat Murari’s far-reaching impact, saying, “We have two institutions that changed Indian cinema. One was, of course, FTII, and the other one – Jagat Murari saheb. His life and work as a pioneer of documentary filmmaking, as a part of Directorate of Film Festivals, as a Director of FTII, as part of NFAI…you will be able to walk through this book.”
The panel included Sunny Joseph, the esteemed cinematographer and FTII alum. “What the Institute did to me is something magical. FTII made me a world citizen,” he said.
“There were a very high calibre of names that taught at the Institute, and the scale was enormous,” said Radha Chadha. While writing the book, she unearthed an archive of material her father had left behind – documents, letters, and rare photographs that revealed FTII’s foundational years. “The impact on the students, of course, was extraordinary. Not only did they learn from the best minds, but just seeing these stalwarts in the flesh, breathing the same air, had a ‘role model’ effect. The kind of thinking was ‘If Ismail Merchant and James Ivory can do it, surely I can, too’.”
Talking of his time at FTII, Resul Pookutty said, “When I walked into the Film Institute, when I saw those hanging roots of the Banyan trees, and the low, winding road from the main gate to the boys’ hostel, I knew that I am standing in a place which has a history, which has a time imprinted on it. When I flipped through the pages of this book, [I had the same feeling]… I was taken through those pages of cinema, pages of frozen time.”
Pookutty shared how the book threw light on Murari’s educational vision, which informed the workings of FTII. “It was quite a fascinating read, what this man was, how he made the gospel, and gave us such illustrious people. Very apt name – ‘The Maker of Filmmakers’.”
About the Book
When Jagat Murari, a young film student in post-war America, found himself at the feet of one of cinema’s true giants—Orson Welles—during the making of Macbeth in 1947, the lessons he absorbed on that set shaped not only his future but the future of Indian cinema. Returning to a newly independent India, Jagat went on to build the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) from the ground up.
In The Maker of Filmmakers, Radha Chadha offers an intimate and meticulously researched portrait of her father—a celebrated documentary filmmaker—and the iconic film school he built. With uncanny consistency, FTII turned out top talent—Jaya Bachchan and Shabana Azmi, Adoor Gopalakrishnan and Subhash Ghai, Shatrughan Sinha and Mani Kaul, and other cinema legends. His alumni became the leading names of Bollywood and beyond. They spearheaded the Indian New Wave, kick-started regional language cinema and helped usher television into the country.
How did Jagat go about ‘making’ such extraordinary filmmakers? What was his secret formula? A gripping story of ambition, adversity and artistic brilliance—richly illustrated with rare photographs—The Maker of Filmmakers paints a vivid picture of how one man’s vision and determination helped turn Indian cinema into the global powerhouse it is today.
About the Author, Radha Chadha
Radha Chadha is an author, columnist, speaker and one of Asia’s foremost experts on marketing and consumer insights. Her book The Cult of the Luxury Brand: Inside Asia’s Love Affair with Luxury was a bestseller, and is the go-to book for understanding luxury in Asia. After two decades at top advertising agencies—Ogilvy, JWT, Grey and Bates Asia—she founded her own brand consultancy in Hong Kong. For over a decade, Radha also wrote a widely read column for Mint, one of India’s leading business newspapers. She holds an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, and a BA from St Stephen’s College, Delhi.
Radha grew up on the campus of the Film and Television Institute of India, where her father, Jagat Murari, shaped a generation of filmmakers.
Media Manager
Ritesh Verma
+91 88604 08458
info@chadha-strategy.com
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Reliance Digital Introduces High-Performance iQOO 15R to its Nationwide Store Network
MUMBAI, India, March 11, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Reliance Digital announces the offline retail availability of iQOO, the high-performance smartphone brand built for today’s youth and tech-forward consumers. Following strong traction in online channels, iQOO is now extending its presence into physical retail, allowing customers to experience and purchase its devices first-hand at Reliance Digital stores across India.
Known for pushing the boundaries of speed, and power, the iQOO 15R is powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5, delivering exceptional speed, responsiveness, and sustained performance throughout the day. It packs iQOO’s biggest battery yet in an ultra-slim 7.90mm design, making it India’s slimmest smartphone with a 7600 mAh battery.
The device features a 6.5K IceCore VC Cooling Chamber for stable performance and runs on OriginOS 6.0 based on Android 16 out of the box, supported by 4 years of software updates and 6 years of security updates. It is also equipped with a Sony LYT-700V OIS camera, a 1.5K 144Hz AMOLED EyeCare display, and IP68 & IP69 dust and water resistance, making it a dependable daily partner for professionals on the go.
The brand’s offline expansion marks an important step in deepening consumer engagement by offering hands-on access to its devices, enabling customers to explore iQOO’s powerful performance, advanced display technology, and flagship-grade camera capabilities in a real-world retail environment.
The availability of iQOO at Reliance Digital brings together two brands driven by innovation and consumer experience. While iQOO continues to build its reputation as a performance-led smartphone brand, Reliance Digital strengthens its portfolio by offering customers access to cutting-edge technology brands through its extensive nationwide retail network.
Through engaging in-store experiences, knowledgeable staff, and immersive product demonstrations, Reliance Digital aims to help consumers better understand iQOO’s performance-first DNA. This move further reinforces Reliance Digital’s commitment to staying ahead of evolving consumer preferences and serving as a preferred destination for discovering new-age technology.
With this expansion, Reliance Digital continues to play a key role in shaping India’s consumer electronics landscape by bringing future-ready brands closer to customers, while enabling smartphone brands like iQOO to build stronger connections with a growing, performance-driven audience.
The all new iQOO 15R is now available at Reliance Digital stores nationwide.
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Kotak Alts announces winner of the inaugural Katalyst Awards
Ms Himani Choudhary named Katalyst for the year – India’s Best Financial Content Creator; wins Rs. 25 Lakhs
MUMBAI, India, March 10, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Kotak Katalyst Awards, a national initiative instituted to recognise excellence and responsibility in financial content creation has announced the winner of its first Katalyst edition. Kotak Alternate Asset Managers Limited (“Kotak Alts”) today announced Himani Choudhary as the winner. The winner was awarded a prize of INR 25 Lakhs, positioning Katalyst among the most meaningful recognitions for financial content creators in India.
Srini Sriniwasan, Managing Director, Kotak Alts, said, “The Kotak Alts Katalyst Awards were instituted to recognize content creators who are contributing meaningfully to financial literacy in India. As investor participation deepens, audiences are seeking clarity, context, and credibility. The response from creators was overwhelming and points to the new generation of financial educators. As the inaugural winner Ms. Himani Chaudhary, exemplifies the standard of financial communication that Katalyst seeks to encourage.”
The first edition of the Kotak Alts Katalyst Awards received over six hundred entries from across 19 states and in 8 languages, reflecting the growing role of digital creators in shaping financial awareness. Conceived in response to increasing clutter and misinformation in the financial ecosystem, Katalyst is designed to recognize creators who place accuracy, transparency, and investor interest at the core of their work.
The winning content, ‘Personal Finance & Major Finance Updates’ by Himani Choudhary, was recognised for its clarity, originality, and credibility. The jury noted the content’s ability to explain complex financial concepts in a clear and measured manner, supported by strong research and a consistent focus on investor education over virality.
To ensure a robust and transparent evaluation process, the awards framework was designed and audited by EY. The top thirty entries were assessed by an academic jury.
The top 10 finalists were subsequently evaluated by a grand jury comprising Kunal Shah, Founder and CEO of CRED; Radhika Gupta, Managing Director and CEO of Edelweiss Mutual Fund; and Alpesh Shah, Managing Director and Senior Partner at Boston Consulting Group, and chaired by Ananth Narayan, former Whole–Time Member of SEBI with extensive capital markets and regulatory experience.
The Katalyst Awards recognise financial content creators who priorities financial literacy, substance, and long–term investor interest. Through this initiative, Kotak Alts aims to encourage responsible financial communication and support the development of informed and confident investors across India.
About Kotak Alternate Asset Managers Ltd: Kotak Alternate Asset Managers Limited (‘Kotak Alts’), a part of Kotak Mahindra Group (‘Kotak’), focuses on Alternate Asset Management and Investment Advisory businesses. Kotak Alts was set up in early 2005 and has raised, managed, and advised over USD 22 billion across different asset classes, including Private Equity, Real Estate, Infrastructure, Special Situations, Private Credit, and Investment Advisory. The asset management business and investment advisory vertical are managed by independent specialist teams. For more information, visit https://www.kotakalternateasset.com/
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Paperpal for Life Sciences Establishes HIPAA Readiness, Strengthening Enterprise Adoption of AI in Regulated Medical and Scientific Writing Workflows
MUMBAI, India, March 10, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Paperpal for Life Sciences, an enterprise-grade Artificial Intelligence (AI) platform by Cactus Communications, purpose-built for Medical Affairs and Life Sciences organizations, announced the completion of an assessment evaluating its operational and technical safeguards to support Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) requirements. This milestone reinforces Paperpal’s commitment to meeting the rigorous standards of security, data protection, and regulatory readiness required for regulated scientific workflows.
Growing AI use in medical affairs writing and publication workflows is intensifying scrutiny on data privacy, governance, and regulatory accountability. To support these evolving needs, Paperpal for Life Sciences has undertaken an assessment of its systems and processes to evaluate readiness to support HIPAA compliance, where applicable, and now proudly offers the option to execute a Business Associate Agreement (BAA) for Protected Health Information (PHI) and Personally Identifiable Information (PII). This offering gives customers the confidence that PHI or PII, if received, is handled securely and responsibly, in line with regulatory expectations and enterprise risk management practices.
Paperpal for Life Sciences provides AI writing, literature search, source-grounded summarization with citation support, and critical publication checks, powering medical affairs content creation under stringent data privacy and governance controls. The platform accelerates research-to-publication timelines by upto 25%, supporting faster dissemination of clinical evidence and earlier commercialization of new drugs and therapies.
Nishchay Shah, Group CTO and EVP, Products and AI at Cactus Communications, said, “As AI becomes foundational to regulated scientific and medical workflows, compliance and trust are no longer optional. Paperpal for Life Sciences’ HIPAA readiness measures reflect our secure-by-design approach to AI, strong data governance framework, and alignment with real-world enterprise and regulatory requirements. This milestone enables organizations to adopt AI at scale with confidence that their data, processes, and compliance obligations are protected .”
Elvira Dsouza, President, Cactus Life Sciences, added, “Medical Affairs and Life Sciences teams operate in highly regulated environments where scientific rigor, data privacy, and compliance are non-negotiable. HIPAA readiness positions Paperpal for Life Sciences as a trusted AI partner, one that enables organizations to accelerate evidence generation and scientific communication without compromising regulatory integrity .”
With this announcement, Paperpal for Life Sciences reinforces its position as a purpose-built, enterprise-ready AI platform for medical affairs content generation that supports innovation while meeting the highest standards of privacy, ethics, and regulatory compliance.
Media Contact:
Nidhi Amin
nidhi.amin@cactusglobal.com
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India Emerging as Stable Investment Anchor in Turbulent Global Economy, Say Investors at IGF Mumbai 2026
Reliance Digital Introduces High-Performance iQOO 15R to its Nationwide Store Network
Reliance Digital Introduces High-Performance iQOO 15R to its Nationwide Store Network
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