Stardust founder Nari Hira dies at 86

Business: Stardust magazine founder and editor Nari Hira died on 23 August at the age of 86. His family said in a statement, “We are deeply saddened to share the news of his demise. A pioneer of the print media, a family man and an incomparable father, he leaves us deeply saddened by his absence.” A prominent film producer and owner of Magna Publishing, Hira was an important figure in the Indian media industry, known for his pioneering work in publishing popular magazines such as Stardust, Savvy, Showtime, Society and Health. Born in modern-day Karachi in 1938, Hira and his family were forced to move to Mumbai after the partition in 1947. Initially, he started his career as a journalist in the 1960s but later ventured into publishing. He was also called the ‘King of Indian magazines’ by many. Hira also received several awards for his contribution to Indian publishing. He was involved in film production through Hiba Films, which made about 15 video films in the 1980s, and later through Magna Films, which he founded in 2007. Not much is known about Hira’s personal life. He was known to be a private person. After him, his son, Rahul Hira, took over as the managing director of Magna Publishing. Novelist-columnist Shobhaa De and journalist Vir Sanghvi condoled his death. “Rest in peace to Nari Hira, the genius of Indian publishing. The magazine revolution began when she launched Stardust. She broke every convention of film coverage and then built a magazine empire based on those principles; be sharp, be clear but write well and make it good. I will miss her (sic),” Sanghvi wrote in a post on X (formally Twitter).