Mumbai (Commonwealth Union)_ Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the first-ever World Audio-Visual Entertainment Summit (WAVES) at the Jio World Convention Centre in Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC), Mumbai, on May 1. The four-day global event, hosted by the Maharashtra government under the leadership of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, will bring together all top elites of politics, entertainment, and the media industry. The WAVES summit aims to position India as a global hub for media and entertainment by fostering international collaboration, driving investments, and showcasing India’s creative and technological prowess. The event is being billed as the media industry’s equivalent of the World Economic Forum in Davos.
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Prime Minister Modi will be joined by top leaders, including External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Ministers Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar. The inaugural session will also feature addresses by Chief Minister Fadnavis and Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw. The summit will serve as a comprehensive platform for key sectors such as film, broadcasting, animation, VFX, gaming, music, advertising, radio, print, digital media, comics, and emerging technologies. According to official sources, WAVES aims to build a bridge between Indian creators and global media players, fueling the growth of India’s burgeoning creative economy.
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Participation from 33 countries, including ministers and senior officials, as well as CEOs from 120 international companies, underscores the global scale of the summit. Bollywood icons including Shah Rukh Khan, Amitabh Bachchan, Rajinikanth, Mohanlal, Hema Malini, and Chiranjeevi will grace the event. Stars from Tollywood and the Marathi film industry are also expected to participate. One of the most anticipated sessions of Day 1 is a star-studded panel titled “Legends and Legacies: The Stories That Shaped India’s Soul”, moderated by actor Akshay Kumar. The panel will include cinematic legends like Amitabh Bachchan, Mithun Chakraborty, Rajinikanth, and others. Another key session, “The New Mainstream: Breaking Borders, Building Legends”, will bring together filmmaker S. S. Rajamouli, Alia Bhatt, Anil Kapoor, Vicky Kaushal, and music maestro A. R. Rahman, moderated by producer-director Karan Johar.
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Adding a personal dimension to the summit, Shah Rukh Khan will sit down with Karan Johar for a candid conversation titled “The Journey: From Outsider to Ruler”, recounting his inspirational rise in the Indian film industry. The third day of the summit, May 3, will feature a grand musical extravaganza at DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai, with performances by AR Rahman, Norwegian DJ Alan Walker, rapper King, and singer Shreya Ghoshal. WAVES will also address critical issues facing the media and entertainment landscape. Key discussions will revolve around digital broadcasting regulation, copyright for content creators, artificial intelligence in media, and the future of the AVGC-XR (Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming, Comics, and Extended Reality) ecosystem. In addition to thematic plenaries and expert panels, the summit will include roundtable discussions, networking pavilions representing India, Maharashtra, Telangana, and other stakeholders, as well as cultural showcases.
The first two days will focus on cinema, filmmaking, and marketing, while the latter half will feature business meetings and open access for the general public. External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar is expected to lead a Global Media Dialogue with international leaders and policymakers, further cementing India’s role in shaping the future of global entertainment. The summit will culminate in the first edition of the WAVES Awards, celebrating winners of 32 creative and technological challenges held in the lead-up to the event. With Mumbai likely to be the permanent home of the WAVES summit, the event is poised to become a landmark annual fixture in the global media and entertainment calendar.
