WAVES Summit 2025: Rajinikanth, Mohanlal, Shah Rukh Khan Attend Landmark Cultural Initiative

India’s entertainment capital is playing host to a dazzling display of star power as the inaugural World Audio Visual and Entertainment Summit (WAVES 2025) commences at the Jio World Convention Centre in Mumbai.

Inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the four-day summit is being positioned as a landmark cultural initiative, designed to spotlight India’s creative industries on the global stage.

The event, themed “Connecting Creators, Connecting Countries,” aims to strengthen India’s role as a hub for audiovisual innovation and storytelling. The summit brings together a wide spectrum of talent from across the Indian film and music industries—ranging from cinema legends to contemporary icons—alongside global voices in entertainment.

On day one, the red carpet is already a remarkable confluence of generations and genres. Shah Rukh Khan, Rajinikanth, Aamir Khan, Deepika Padukone, Nagarjuna, Ranbir Kapoor, Alia Bhatt, Sara Ali Khan, and Vicky Kaushal were among the many stars who made high-profile appearances. Actor Mohanlal shared photos from the event ahead of his scheduled session, while Shah Rukh Khan formally welcomed guests from the main stage.

Singer Shreya Ghoshal opened the ceremony with a live welcome song, setting a celebratory tone.

The cultural programming on Wednesday featured a 30-member orchestra led by Oscar-winning composer M.M. Keeravaani, a classical performance by maestros Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, Yella Venkateswara Rao and Ronu Majumdar, and sets by contemporary acts like KING x Alan Walker, the Tetseo Sisters, and JHAALA. Shankar Mahadevan is slated to present a musical showcase tracing the journey of Indian film music later in the evening.

Thursday’s agenda includes three marquee sessions. Legends & Legacies: The Stories That Shaped India’s Soul brings together screen veterans Hema Malini, Mithun Chakraborty, Rajinikanth, Mohanlal and Chiranjeevi, moderated by actor Akshay Kumar. A second discussion, The New Mainstream: Breaking Borders, Building Legends, features director S.S. Rajamouli, composer A.R. Rahman and actors Alia Bhatt, Vicky Kaushal and Anil Kapoor, with filmmaker Karan Johar as moderator.

Another highlight is The Journey: From Outsider to Ruler, a conversation between Shah Rukh Khan and Deepika Padukone, also moderated by Johar.

The summit is being positioned as a flagship initiative of the Union government. The event reflects India’s ambition to lead not only in cinema but also in the fast-growing post-production, VFX, gaming, and animation sectors.

Among the summit’s emerging media showcases is a video game pavilion, which includes Detective Dotson, an 8-bit mystery game set in Mumbai and developed by indie studio Masala Games with Microsoft grant support. The government has tied such participation to its broader push to grow the Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming, and Comics (AVGC) sector, formally backed by a Union budget task force since 2022.

With events scheduled through May 4, WAVES 2025 marks a significant push by the Indian government to position culture as diplomacy and entertainment as economic force.