New Delhi:
India’s manufacturer economy is at a tipping point, which has the ability to emerge as a global center for storytelling. But according to the voices of the major industry, ambition should go beyond copying old formulas. It requires identifying gaps for international relevance, hyper-local thinking and creative scaling.
Talking to Sanjay Pugalia, Sanjay Pugalia on the second day of the World Audio Visual and Entertainment Summit (Waves), Gaurav Gandhi, vice -president of Amazon Prime Video, reflected on an eight -year journey of platforms in India.
He said, “Prime Video our journey with India has exceeded eight years. It is surprising for us – filled with learning and very much in love with customers.” He said, “When we started, we realized that to create an impact in India, you have to think as local. As a market and as a country, we are so diverse that there is no definition of ‘local’. Therefore, we had to think in many ways – local tastes, local language, local millions.”
He said that this approach was vested in identifying the lack of Indian ecosystem. He shared, “The First Gap was the absence of a high cinematic -price story in India, which was already present internationally. The second difference was in films – while we had made a lot of them, there were not enough theaters to screen them. The third was that everyone was locked in their language. Keeping these three things in mind, we tried to bridge the gap.”
Filmmaker Vikramaditya Motwen explained how the rise of streaming platforms has given freedom to the creators which he did not have 10 to 15 years ago.
He said, “From where we were 10–15 years ago – when there was only one format and films were made only for the big screen – so far, the landscape has completely changed,” he said. “Platforms such as prime videos and other streaming services have given the creators freedom to think beyond just two hours of film. Now you can create a crime chain with many seasons and episodes. You can do a comedy series, some Jubilee or Mumbai Diaries – a few stories – the freedom to tell.”
Motwen believes that India is still in the early stage of this change. He said, “We are in a phase where the filmmakers are searching for this freedom and are just going for it. But I don’t think we have reached the point where we have so far benefited it completely. When this happens, the next step will have to be created that will have to build stories that not only work in India, but also globally. When we actually enter the next generation of Indian story,” they said. “Ten to fifteen years ago, people thought that Indian content meant only Bollywood. This stereotype was broken, and over time, it will continue to break down with various types of shows, movies and creators.”
Director Nikkhil Advani, who is currently busy with his upcoming revolutionaries, believes that the historical story should feel alive, not educational. “Whenever you are working on something related to a historical period, rich and more authentic materials, better starting points,” he said. “I did rocket boys, and now I’m working on revolutionaries. It is always about source material,” he said.
Advani’s approach is clear: Entertain first, educate later. “In the case of revolutionaries, I am having a lot of fun making it. The first thing I say,” Let’s make revolutionaries sexy. Let’s have fun with it. ” Because if you give people a lesson of history, then their response is usually, ‘Nahi is Sunna, Nahi is seen’ (don’t want to listen, don’t want to see), “He concluded.
According to the PMO, Waves 2025 will host participants from more than 90 countries, including more than 10,000 representatives, 1,000 creators, 300+ companies and 350+ startups.
The program includes 42 plane sessions, 39 breakout sessions, and 32 masterclass that cover broadcasting, infotainment, AVGC-XR, films and digital media.
India is hosting its first global media dialogue with ministerial participation from 25 countries. Global e-Marketplaces, Waves Bazaar, will combine over 6,100 buyers with 5,200 vendors to 2,100 projects.
The inaugural edition of the NDTV Waves Summit is currently at the Jio World Center in Mumbai. The event brings together which is in India and beyond the world of entertainment for showbiz, creators and everyone. Hold all the updates on NDTV.com from May 1 to May 4.
