Cinema VinesYash Raj Films (YRF), India’s flagship entertainment house, has announced the appointment of Usha Rachael Thomas as its new Head of Communications Strategy. Thomas will report directly to CEO Akshaye Widhani and will oversee the company’s outward narrative across press, social media, brand voice, talent positioning and image management, while deepening YRF’s ties with both global and local media outlets.
In the role, Thomas will steer communication strategies for all of YRF’s business units, shaping how the studio’s stories reach audiences worldwide. “As YRF’s businesses continue to grow globally, how we tell our stories to the world matters as much as the stories themselves,” said Widhani. “Usha brings a combination of adaptive & agile newsroom instinct sharpened across two decades of leading communications for some of India’s biggest media and entertainment giants. Her perspective will be instrumental as we shape communications strategies, built for scale and across all our businesses. We look forward to the value she brings to our leadership team.”
Thomas’s background spans journalism, corporate communications and brand strategy. A former journalist with Indiantelevision.com and HT Media, she headed Public Relations and Corporate Communications for STAR India’s Hindi, Bangla and Marathi GEC division, Zee Entertainment Enterprises (ZEEL) across its Hindi GEC, Cinema, FTA and Premium clusters, and MX Player. Her work has built integrated strategies for Indian television’s most iconic fiction and non-fiction properties, covering OTT, film, celebrity brand campaigns and corporate mandates.
Her career is marked by award‑winning campaigns, including an Abby Award Gold for the pioneering #ZeeforAll initiative during the satellite premiere of “Dangal,” which introduced an industry‑first accessibility feature for visually challenged viewers, and a Cannes Lion for Lux’s “The End” campaign. Thomas also authored one of India’s first OTT business case studies on MX Player, in partnership with MICA, published by Ivey Publishing and listed by the Harvard Case Centre, and featured on Ivey’s Bestsellers 2025–2026 list.
In addition to corporate communications, Thomas will craft positioning strategies in PR and social media for YRF’s talent roster, which includes Rani Mukerji, Ayushmann Khurrana, Sonam Kapoor, Ahaan Panday, Aneet Padda, Sharvari, Vaani Kapoor and Shreya Chaudhry. The studio’s upcoming theatrical collaboration with Posham Pa Pictures, starring Khurrana in “Mupapa,” is set for release on 19 February 2027.
