Siddharth Roy Kapur
Managing Director Disney India
After a B.Com from Sydenham College and a Masters in Management Studies from the Jamnalal Bajaj Institute, Siddharth began his career with the Procter & Gamble Company in Mumbai in brand management.
From P&G, Siddharth moved to STAR TV in the strategic planning division. After a brief stint in Hong Kong as part of the Newscorp Executive Development Program, he moved back to Mumbai to work on the launch marketing of the first season of 'Kaun Banega Crorepati' on Star Plus. In recognition for the ground-breaking marketing efforts behind the success of the show, he was nominated for the Team Newscorp Global Excellence Awards. Siddharth then moved to the STAR TV Middle East operations, based in Dubai, where he was Regional Marketing Manager for the network, responsible for Ad Sales, Marketing, PR and Corporate Communications for the region.
In 2002, Siddharth moved back to the STAR headquarters in Hong Kong, as Director (Marketing) and was promoted to Vice President in 2003. At STAR headquarters in Hong Kong, he led the Central Marketing & Creative Services team, which developed marketing campaigns for STAR channels across India, China, Taiwan, Southeast Asia, the U.K. and the U.S.
Siddharth joined UTV in Mumbai in 2005, as Senior Vice President, Marketing & Communications for the Group, across Motion Pictures, Broadcasting, TV Production, Animation and Corporate. He led the marketing efforts responsible for taking Hungama TV to a leadership position in the competitive kids broadcasting space. He also led the marketing efforts behind multiple path breaking films, including the cult blockbuster Rang De Basanti and the sleeper hit Khosla Ka Ghosla, both of which released in 2006 and started a new trend in the way movies were marketed in India. In his next role, he took over the Revenue function at UTV Motion Pictures and was responsible for Distribution & Syndication worldwide, in addition to his Marketing responsibilities.
In January 2008, Siddharth took over as CEO of UTV Motion Pictures and after the integration of UTV with The Walt Disney Company (India) in 2012, he held the role of Managing Director, Studios. Responsible for all aspects of Development, Production, Marketing, Distribution and Syndication, he led the studio to incredible commercial success and critical acclaim across a six year period, producing and releasing some of the most important and successful films of the decade, such as Taare Zameen Par, Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na, Jodhaa Akbar, Fashion, Aamir, A Wednesday!, Dev D, Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye!, Kaminey, Wake up Sid, Raajneeti, Udaan, Peepli [Live], Welcome to Sajjanpur, No One Killed Jessica, Delhi Belly, Paan Singh Tomar, Shahid, Rowdy Rathore, Barfi!, ABCD, Kai Po Che, Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani, The Lunchbox and Chennai Express. The films produced by UTV under Siddharth’s leadership won numerous awards, including the prestigious National Awards, Filmfare Awards and many others, establishing UTV Motion Pictures as one of India’s most admired and successful studios. 5 of the movies that were selected to represent India at the Academy Awards during this period were either produced or released by UTV.
In January 2014, Siddharth was promoted to Managing Director of Disney India, with the responsibility for driving the strategy and growth for The Walt Disney Company in one of its most important growth markets in the world. Disney India’s business spans across broadcasting, movies, consumer products, digital experiences and live entertainment, and is represented through multiple brands namely Disney, UTV, Marvel, Lucasfilm, Pixar, ABC, bindass, Indiagames and Hungama TV.
Under Siddharth’s leadership, Disney is today one of India’s leading media and entertainment companies. It is one of the most successful movie studios in the country, one of India’s top 5 broadcasters with the No. 1 Kids network, one of the largest branded licensors of consumer products and India’s leading mobile gaming company. It has co-produced and released both India’s Highest Grossing Movie of All Time (PK in 2014) and India’s highest grossing Hollywood movie of All Time (The Jungle Book in 2016), as well as a host of other successful movies like Kick, 2 States, ABCD 2, Haider, Heropanti, Highway, Khoobsurat and Filmistaan. Most recently it pioneered a new format of entertainment in the country, producing the first-ever Broadway-scale theatrical show to be mounted in India with a completely local cast and crew, Disney’s Beauty and The Beast, which opened to huge commercial and critical success in Mumbai and Delhi.
Siddharth is the Vice President of The Producers Guild of India, a Managing Trustee of the Mumbai Academy of Moving Images (MAMI) and is on the Board of the Indian Broadcasting Federation. He was featured on The Economic Times Top 40 Indian Business Leaders Under 40 and The Hollywood Reporter Next Generation Asia Inaugural Class of Young Leaders, amongst numerous other awards for his leadership and achievements.