By Our Staff

Kumar Siddharath

Madison Media has just announced that the agency has appointed Kumar Siddharath to lead its entertainment unit, Mates. Mates will be integrated within Madison Media and will focus on brand solutions including in-film associations, celebrity associations, and other ancillary services related to entertainment, content and branding. Siddharath will report to Vikram Sakhuja. Former Founder & CEO of Mates, Sooraj Bhalla has decided to pursue other interests.

Bhalla was responsible for steering the company towards gaining industry leadership position and post his 17-year journey with the organisation, he sets to complete his term on December 3, 2021.

Having started his career as an assistant director to Rajkumar Santoshi, Bhall worked on blockbuster projects like Andaz Apna, Damini, Ghatak and Barsaat. Further, he was Executive Producer of Hindi feature film – Shararat starring Abhishek Bachchan, Amrish Puri etc. After procuring prolific experience in content production and direction, his first independent venture – TeamWorks -was bought out by Balsara to create Mates.

Sooraj Bhalla

Said Bhalla: “So far, my focus has been to work towards driving impact for clients and touch an emotive chord with consumers with the power of content and communication. In this next chapter of my professional life, I am looking forward to taking these years of rewarding experience with Mates and continue delivering value through the various channels of communication in the content space,”

With over 14 years of experience, Siddharath has worked with companies like Endemol, UTV, Viacom 18, Reliance Broadcast Network, Optimystix Entertainment, and other productions houses where he has produced big shows including Roadies and created AFPs for brands like  HUL, Hero, Idea and Woodland amongst other brands.

Said Sakhuja: “I am excited to have Siddharath join our team and provide our clients’ brands content solutions and further strengthen our Madison Media offering, all under one roof.”

Added Siddharath on joining Mates, “I am excited to join Madison and look forward to creating a lot of interesting brand solutions that help our premium roster of clients create magic and meet their business goals.”