Smita Vats Sharma, Director General, PIB (Press Information Bureau) West Zone, Dharmendra Tewari, Additional DG, PIB and Sayyid Rabeehashmi, Director, PIB met a select group of journalists on April 16 in Mumbai and informed them about the upcoming World Audio Visual & Entertainment Summit (WAVES) which will be held between May 1 and May 4, 2025 at Jio Convention Centre, Mumbai. Also present were PIB Media & Communication Officers Sriyanka Chatterjee and Sonal Tupe.
BREAKING: Shah Rukh Khan, Aamir Khan, Ranbir Kapoor, Deepika Padukone, Diljit Dosanjh and other prominent celebs on WAVES advisory board; expected to attend WAVES Summit in Mumbai in May
Before the presentation, Sayyid Rabeehashmi informed the journalists, “We are also expecting ministers from 15-20 foreign countries. We are having this event so that India can be the net exporter of content.”
Smita Vats Sharma added, “We are scheduling a lot of cultural programs during the summit. We’ll have cultural troupes from across the country. Between sessions, if there’s time, there will be performances by them.”
The presentation was presided by Sriyanka Chatterjee who revealed, “The Indian M&E sector is valued at USD 2.96 trillion as of now. It is poised for significant growth, with a potential market size of $50 billion by 2029.”
She also talked about the vision of WAVES, that is, “To position India as an unparalleled global powerhouse in the dynamic Media & Entertainment landscape while setting new standards of creativity, innovation, and influence worldwide.” The mission behind WAVES is, “Empowering global Media & Entertainment leaders with exclusive investment opportunities through the premiere platform of WAVES.”
Sriyanka added that the WAVES Summit is divided into four verticals, covering the various media platforms – Broadcasting & Infotainment, AVGC-XR, Digital Media & Innovation and Films.
As for the components of WAVES, she stated that the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, will have a round table discussion with Top Global CEOs. The first-ever summit of WAVES would also consist of conferences, breakout sessions, exhibitions, WAVEXcelerator (Investment opportunity for Startups in the M&E sector and live pitching sessions), CreatoSphere (a hub for creators) and cultural events. Lastly, similar to the Film Bazaar at IFFI, a Waves Bazaar would be set up.
And that’s not all. There are various competitions and tournaments which will be held at WAVES like the Anime Challenge, Animation Filmmakers Competition, WAVES VFX Competition, Esports Tournament, AI Avatar Creator Challenge, Film Poster Making Competition, Trailer Making Competition, Theme Music Competition, Anti-Piracy Challenge etc. The WAVES team has already received thousands of entries for these various categories.
Sayyid Rabeehashmi added about one more component of WAVES, “The I&B ministers and cultural ministers of prominent countries across the world have been invited to attend Global Media Dialogue on May 2. Here, we plan to discuss the challenges faced in terms of media and technology like copyright violation, rights in terms of using AI etc. We intend to discuss this topic and come up with a uniform policy. We also expect a WAVES declaration that will address the concerns of the content makers and artists and hopefully come up with a beneficial policy.”
He exulted, “In the world of economy, the World Economic Forum held at Davos, Switzerland became an important meeting and discussion point created thanks to the foresight of an economic leader. Similarly, we feel that before any other country takes the initiative, India should come up with a platform where media and entertainment-related issues can be discussed and addressed.”
Starry presence at WAVES
Sriyanka Chatterjee listed out the names of prominent personalities who are a part of the advisory board. These are actors Shah Rukh Khan, Aamir Khan, Akshay Kumar, Ranbir Kapoor, Deepika Padukone, Diljit Dosanjh, Amitabh Bachchan, Anil Kapoor, Mohanlal, Rajinikanth, Mithun Chakraborty, Anupam Kher, Chiranjeevi and Hema Malini. Others from the film industry who are also on the board are Bhushan Kumar, A R Rahman, Ekta Kapoor, S S Rajamouli, Shekhar Kapur and Asha Bhosle.
The rest of advisory board members are Reliance chairman Mukesh Ambani, Serum Institute of India CEO and majority stakeholder in Dharma Productions Adar Poonawalla, PVR Inox Managing Director Ajay Bijli, late Vinod Khanna’s wife Kavita Vinod Khanna, Biocon chairperson Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, Prime Video and Amazon Studios Head Mike Hopkins, Prime Focus and DNEG Founder and CEO Namit Malhotra, Sony Pictures Entertainment President and CEO Ravi Ahuja, RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group chairman Sanjiv Goenka, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, Alphabet Inc and Google CEO Sunday Pichai and Netflix CEO Theodore Sarandos.
Smita Vats Sharma said, “Our advisory board has people from media and entertainment. We are hoping that they’ll attend the summit. We also have an A R Rahman concert on May 3 at DY Patil Stadium. He’s also a part of the advisory board.”
As per an article in The Economic Times dated April 12, Theodore Sarandos and Mike Hopkins are among the headline speakers. As per the WAVES website, the list of confirmed speakers includes YouTube CEO Neal Mohan, HRH Prince Faisal Bin Bandar Bin Sultan Al Saud, Sony Group Corporation CEO Hiroki Totoki, Head of Instagram Adam Mosseri, Game of Thrones producer Vince Gerardis etc.
To conclude
With an unprecedented confluence of global media leaders, entertainment stalwarts, tech innovators, and cultural icons, WAVES is not just a summit—it’s India’s resounding declaration to the world that it is ready to lead the Media & Entertainment revolution. As the world tunes in from May 1 to 4, 2025, at the Jio Convention Centre, Mumbai, the stage is set for transformative dialogue, groundbreaking collaboration, and a celebration of creativity that could redefine the future of global content.
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