In New York, when the Prime Minister met the media moguls of the world, there was one man who was the architect of the entire meeting. Uday Shankar, the Star India CEO, a self made man who revolutionised the media industry in India. Shankar has come a long way from his humble beginning.
He, along with senior officials of the PMO, got Modi’s team to understand that it is the global media czar’s who create perceptions and for India’s digital revolution and for the success of PM’s digital India initiative it was important for him.
The economics major from Jawaharlal Nehru University and one of the founding editors of Down to Earth, he always looked ahead of time and was the architect of the brand Aaj Tak which changed the news TV landscape of India and now with the Star and its digital property hotstar becoming the top notch digital property, Shankar is redefining the media scene in India.
It is with his perseverance that he won the trust of the Murdochs — Rupert and his son James the global media moguls who were at the helm of the Modi’s power media interaction.
Even at university, Shankar dreamt big with single malt and a fetish for good shoes being his pet indulgence even in those frugal days, it is now that the jet setting media honcho redefining the rules for a new digital revolution in India and in Modi he has found a crisp listener who understands the nuances of a new media revolution in India.
Friends say that he is a doer and even at the height of his success his biggest quality is being down to earth.
“He has the remarkable ability to spot unique fro ordinary. That is the huge strength that he has,” says Tripurari Sharan, an IAS official who has been an old friend of Shankar frm his JNU days.