Next decade will be entertainment industry’s golden period: Mukesh Ambani

Mumbai, Nov 18 (IANS) The coming decade will mark a golden period for the entertainment and digital industry in India, Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani said here.

Ambani was present at the 10th anniversary celebrations of Viacom18, a 50-50 joint venture between Reliance Industries-owned Network18 and Viacom Inc, here on Friday.

He said his "time and support" was a birthday gift for the company's 1,500-plus family.

"In the next 10 years, the digital industry in India and the entertainment industry in India is going to grow manifold. In fact, this next decade, will be the golden period of the entertainment industry," Ambani said.

He pointed out how he was "obsessed" about building the Jio brand over the past few years and that it has reaped benefits.

"We have taken India from 155th in the world to No.1 in the world in mobile data consumption. Last month, on Jio alone, the video viewing was 200 crore hours. And this is just the beginning," added Ambani.

Stressing on the "power of the youth", the iconic businessman said it always helps to have a "young family".

On the three principles that he has lived by, he said: "All leaders and those in leadership roles need courage to dream big, and determination to realise their vision.

"They also have to have curiosity and always have the ability to learn something new. Finally, I believe that empathy is required -- the ability to see and understand what the other feels. It is not about yourself but everybody else. These are three principles that have helped me."

Sudhanshu Vats, Group CEO, Viacom18 Media Pvt Ltd, thanked Ambani for his presence and words of wisdom. He also said the way forward for the organisation is to "bring new techologies and techniques".

Vats said it's the passion of the people, the fun and innovative culture and the ability to be ahead of the curve, are factors that have helped drive the company's growth in the Indian entertainment market.

The celebrations at the NSCI Dome here saw performances by Shankar Mahadevan, Kailash Kher, Mika and others, and in attendance were celebrities like Ashish Chaudhary, Sunil Grover, Bharti Singh and Arjun Bijlani, from the television world.