Vivek Krishnani is new MD of Sony Pictures India

He will be responsible for the theatrical distribution of all Sony Pictures Entertainment films in the territory.

Vivek Krishnani has been appointed managing director, Sony Pictures India (SPE Films India). His appointment will be effective from November 1. He replaces the recently retired Kercy Daruwala, who held the appointment since 2008. Under his leadership, Sony Pictures India will handle all theatrical distribution for Sony Pictures Entertainment's films the company produces, acquires, and distributes under its various film labels - Columbia Pictures, TriStar Pictures, Screen Gems, Sony Pictures Animation, Sony Pictures Classics, Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions and Sony Pictures International Productions.

Before this, Krishnani was senior vice president of revenue and marketing at MSM Motion Pictures, the film production arm of Multi Screen Media, which is a part of Sony Pictures Entertainment Television Network. Sony Pictures Television's media networks are available in 178 countries on 81 unique channels in 29 different languages. Sony's MSM Motion Pictures co-produced the Hindi film Piku earlier in the year.

Prior to his tenure at MSM Motion Pictures, Krishnani spent six years at 21st Century Fox, Fox Star Studios heading distribution, marketing and syndication, where his work included Hollywood titles such as 'Avatar', 'Slumdog Millionaire', the 'Ice Age' franchise, 'Life of Pi', the 'X-Men' franchise and Indian films like 'My Name is Khan' and 'Jolly LLB' among others.

Commenting upon his new role, Krishnani said, "It's been a great experience to be a part of the Sony family. I now look forward to a new role with Sony Pictures India. With a legacy of over 80 years since the first Columbia Pictures office opened here, Sony Pictures has, over the decades, continued to entertain Indian and global audiences. We are committed to further strengthen our distribution network in India and overseas. We look to scale up our local acquisitions as well. We have a great line-up ahead and I'm excited to hit the ground running."

Brett D Hogg, senior vice president, and International Distribution - Asia, commented on the new appointment. "I'm very pleased to welcome Krishnani to Sony Pictures India. He's a media veteran with very valuable experience in the unique and dynamic Indian market, in both Hollywood and Local Language productions. Under his leadership, we look forward to take Sony Pictures India to even greater heights."

Prior to Fox Star Studios, Krishnani was executive director, marketing -- Asia Pacific, at Turner Entertainment Networks. Based out of Hong Kong, he was responsible for marketing and interactive strategy for the entertainment channels for Turner Entertainment (Cartoon Network, POGO, Boomerang and TCM). He joined Turner from Radio City where he was part of the start-up team. Before that, he was with Star Plus and was responsible for strategic planning and marketing. He began his career with Lowe Lintas (previously Ammirati Puris Lintas).