American celebrity magazine People makes its debut in India

Time Inc.’s American celebrity magazine, People, hit the Indian newsstands on July 4. The Outlook Group has launched the Indian edition of the magazine under licence from Time Inc.

The Outlook Group claims that the magazine is the first of its kind in India. Speaking to afaqs!, Indranil Roy, president, Outlook Group, says, “It is a celebrity people’s magazine. It offers readers a heavy dose of content on relationships, fun, entertainment and glamour and is inspiring and bold at the same time. Around 75 per cent of the content will be Indian and 25 per cent, international.”

In the US, People is a weekly magazine with a circulation of 3.75 million and a readership of 43 million. In India, it will be a fortnightly because the celebrity entertainment segment here is still evolving and less dynamic than in the West.

Roy says, “The magazine, unlike any other, is all about emotions. However, to begin with, we will have to share space with entertainment and women’s magazines.” This implies that People will have to fight it out with magazines such as Savvy, Society, Filmfare and Stardust.

Roy shares that the first issue of the magazine is an interesting mix of emotions. It captures the real lives of celebrity figures. A write-up on actor Sanjay Dutt and his daughter, Trishala, and an exclusive interview with Telugu actor Nagarjuna as his son makes his debut in Bollywood are the highlights. In the international section, there is a touching account of the pain and loss of Australian cricketer Glenn McGrath, who lost his wife recently to cancer.

People is being promoted as a rundown on incidents, stories, facts and news on celebrities. The editor of the Indian edition is Saira Menezes, who has worked with Savvy and The Emirates Evening Post of Dubai.