Soumya Vilekar, the co-founder of the first ever Marathi OTT app, Planet Marathi, has parted ways and announced her exit from the organization.

Soumya has been associated with the brand since 2017 and played a key role in the forming and execution of the entire app right from its inception to the stage it has reached at present, a media statement issued by her stated.

Planet Marathi as a brand was established with a vision of creating a niche platform for Marathi films, arts and culture across the world map. The company forayed into the streaming business during the Covid19 pandemic after having produced films in Marathi like ‘AB Aani CD’ and the National Award winning ‘Goshta EKa Paithanichi’.

At present, the company is currently valued at approximately Rs. 200 crore, while the app has a robust user base of more than a million subscribers spread across the globe in 100 countries, the media statement stated.

The venture was seed funded by Vistas Media Capital Company, based out of Singapore. Soumya, who has contributed largely towards building the organization and its growth, is now stepping down from her established role as a co-founder, the statement added.

Soumya and her son, Anitya Vilekar, who served as Directors of the organization have resigned from the Board of Directors. While the compliances and statutory processes are going on, the effective date would be from January 31, 2024.

According to Soumya, “It has been an exciting journey with Planet Marathi over the years. Building the brand and the organization right from scratch was an interesting learning experience .Working with the team, associates and everyone else in different projects for the entire tenure has been quite enriching.

“Besides being a Co-Founder and CFO, I also had the privilege of taking on various responsibilities and playing multiple roles similar to CXO as well. As this journey comes to an end, all I would say is that bigger things are in the offing. There is always a greater journey when one decides to be constantly in the process of creating new worlds. About moving forward, I will announce my next venture soon.”

Post her exit, Soumya has ambitious plans for a new venture that will focus on a media based SaaS platform along with several other initiatives on the technology front.

Soumya is a published author, poet, entrepreneur and film producer. She also works in the field of women empowerment.