MUMBAI -- Subhash Chandra, the gutsy and influential founder of Zee Entertainment Enterprises, India's biggest listed TV media empire, with a market valuation of 300 billion rupees ($4 billion), was once labeled "India's Rupert Murdoch.'' So when he appeared on prime time news early this month in the middle of a corporate battle with Zee's largest shareholder, everyone expected fireworks.
Instead, the viewers of Zee News, a channel owned by Chandra, were appalled to see the 70-year-old patriarch of the Indian entertainment industry break down on live TV, promising to fight off a hostile attack by U.S. fund manager Invesco, which wants to end his family's dominance at the company.
