Saregama India partners up with Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s studio to secure exclusive film music rights

Saregama India on Tuesday announced a strategic partnership with filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Bhansali Productions Pvt Ltd, backed by an equity investment from the music and entertainment company. The deal will combine Bhansali Productions’ film and OTT content capabilities with Saregama’s music and live events business, as the company focuses on partnerships rather than in-house film production.

As part of the arrangement, Bhansali Productions will exclusively sell the music rights of all its future films to Saregama under a pre-agreed pricing formula. According to Saregama, the structure will ensure a steady supply of premium film music, eliminate competitive bidding, and help control acquisition costs.

While Bhansali Productions retains ownership of intellectual property for its films and full creative control, Saregama will provide governance oversight and financial discipline under the partnership framework.

Saregama plans to gradually streamline its in-house film production over the next one to two years, aligning its content strategy toward strategic collaborations. The company expects the investment to be earnings-per-share accretive by FY27 and improve margins across its music and video segments.

Founded in 1996, Bhansali Productions is known for films including Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, Devdas, Bajirao Mastani, Padmaavat, and Gangubai Kathiawadi, as well as the Netflix series Heeramandi. The studio plans to produce more than 10 feature films over the next three years.

Its near-term slate includes Love and War, directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali and starring Ranbir Kapoor, Alia Bhatt, and Vicky Kaushal, and Do Deewane Shehar Mein, directed by Ravi Udyawar and starring Siddhant Chaturvedi and Mrunal Thakur.

For FY25, Bhansali Productions reported revenue of ₹304 crore, EBITDA of ₹60 crore, and profit after tax of ₹45 crore.

Avarna Jain, vice chairperson at Saregama India, said, “The partnership aligns with the company’s strategy of working with established creative studios to generate long-term shareholder value.”

Bhansali added, “The partnership was built on shared values around artistic integrity, music, and storytelling.”

Kotak Investment Banking acted as the exclusive financial advisor to Bhansali Productions on the transaction.

Saregama India, part of the RP–Sanjiv Goenka Group, operates across music, digital content, television, artiste management, and film production.