He is one of the youngest resident dollar billionaires in India. When Sun TV, his flagship, listed on the stock markets on April 24, it ended the day with a market capitalisation of Rs 10,089 crore; the value of Maran's 90 per cent share: Rs 9,080 crore. Few would have thought this likely two decades ago, when, in keeping with tradition, Maran-elder son of late Murasoli Maran and grandson of DMK chief M. Karunanidhi-was an active student leader in Chennai. But fate had other things in store for him. Following an MBA degree from the University of Scranton in the US, he joined his family's publication business. In 1993, he promoted Sun TV, a Tamil entertainment channel, and followed this up by launching a new channel or publication every year since. The Sun network now has a bouquet of 14 Tamil, Kannada, Malayali and Telugu television channels, a lucrative cable network, four fm radio channels, two Tamil newspapers and four Tamil magazines. Insiders say Maran depends on his uncanny business sense while taking decisions and can be very ruthless when implementing them. Sun TV's business model is simple: it allocates slots to content producers for a fee, and retains for itself only a small share of advertising slots. If producers don't deliver the desired TRP ratings, the programme is terminated. Says Hansraj Saxena, VP, Programming, Sun TV: "Kalanithi Maran has to be admired for being proactive and for his ability to take swift decisions."
He's had his brush with controversies, too. There have been allegations that he owes his success to his family's political muscle. A leading south-based newspaper recently alleged that he tried using brother Dayanidhi Maran's clout as Union Telecom Minister to demand a one-third share for himself in the Tata-Star TV direct to home venture. Maran denies the allegation. What's next on the agenda? Sun TV has a DTH licence and is keen to enter this segment. Then again, Maran may at a future date list his other television assets-the market value of his company is based only on six television and one FM radio channels. If that happens, expect him to rise further up the list of the super rich.