Ashwin GS         

Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta           

“An Artist, a musician, a sports person, and a right-brainer; I believe in stories & purpose over crunching numbers for logic.”

Hometown: Bangalore, Karnataka, India

Fun Fact About Yourself: I have acted in 3 television series in south Indian language. I am a State-level athlete/table tennis player and a Mridangam percussionist along with being a volunteer at the ISHA foundation.

Undergraduate School and Major: R.N.S Institute of Technology; Bachelors in Electronics & Communication

Most Recent Employer and Job Title: N M Entertainment; Head of Operations & Marketing

Aside from your classmates, what was the key part of IIM Calcutta’s MBA programming that led you to choose this business school and why was it so important to you? The pedigree of the program and the focus of the school on inclusivity and diversity was the key attraction. When I interacted with the alumni, they were extremely welcoming and supportive.

What has been your favorite course or extracurricular activity at IIM Calcutta? What has been the most important lesson that you have learned from it? My favorite course till now has been ‘Human Behavior At Work’. The most important lesson I learned from the course was that self-awareness and social awareness are important contexts in the corporate setup and that changes can be nurtured through practice at the workplace.

What has been the best part of studying business in Calcutta? The pedigree and the brand name of the institute make you feel majestic. I feel like I am a celebrity all over again, but this time off camera. The 7 beautiful lakes on the campus, getting back to student life, the fun-filled moments with my peers, and the amazing professors who bind you to your seats in awe; every aspect of it has left a deep impression on my campus life at Calcutta.

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: My biggest accomplishment so far is figuring out the power of resilience and embracing change with the understanding that failures can bring new vitality to life.

In 2016-17, I was involved in the release of century-defining films like Baahubali-2, Fast and furious-8, Batman vs Superman, and many of the NBC Universal franchise movies, Pan-India. With things going extremely well and with the release of over 100 + movies in the period, things seemed very picturesque.

But in 2018-19, the shift towards digitization and OTTs led to huge losses in the film 2.0 (starring superstar Rajnikanth) for our firm. With investors backing out from future projects and the lenders’ negative bias growing, we stood to lose significant revenue for a while to come. Hence, we had to think of innovative ways to generate revenue. We mediated the satellite and non-theatrical distribution rights of several South Indian films to several OTT studios. This helped us recoup the majority of our losses.  Amidst this, I was fortunate enough to get many opportunities to act in south Indian television shows.

Again, in Jan 2020; as an actor, things were going extremely well for me with a couple of movie offers and television shows in the pipeline that was garnering me fame. But in May, all my projects got shut down with the advent of the COVID’19 pandemic. The entertainment sector was hit hard by the pandemic and it ushered in a huge shift in user/audience preferences. As the OTT space was growing exponentially, I planned to switch from the conventional film distribution to the new age distribution e.g., Netflix, Amazon Prime, etc.

Hence in 2021; I took the GMAT and went on to secure admission in IIM Calcutta.

The most fun and yet difficult part of this journey have been facing uncertainties right from start. I have realized that change is the only way forward. Contingency management has thus become my prime skill.

The greatest lesson I learned: ‘Nothing is really a make or break in life’.

What led you to pursue an MBA at this point and what do you hope to do after graduation? Digitalization in cinema, the introduction of new formats of movie distribution, and the emergence of new platforms have brought a huge change in the audience’s perspective. Earlier, a star-led film, even if it turned out to be average, would garner a certain minimum level of revenue because of the star’s value. However, with OTTs coming into the picture and increasing the ease of availability of content, audiences prefer to watch only the most talked-about movies on cinema screens. Additionally, while acquiring the rights to distribute star-cast films, it is acquired based on the stars’ market value as producers do not screen the whole content to enable decision-making based on overall quality. In the post-pandemic world, the OTT market has boomed, bigger than ever. This is why I planned to make a transition to the OTT sector and MBA was the way forward to get ready for a corporate journey with the right skill-set. Post graduating, I plan to get into strategic marketing roles in the OTT space.

What advice would you give to help potential applicants gain admission into IIM Calcutta? Focus on getting a good GMAT score while simultaneously building a solid profile. Lastly, identify your strengths, niche skills, and your story to create a powerful ‘Statement of Purpose’.

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