At the Asia Pacific Video Operators Summit (APOS) 2025 in Bali, the fireside session titled ‘Inside the Next Wave of Indian Storytelling’ brought together two of the most influential voices shaping India’s entertainment landscape—Krishnan Kutty, Executive Director and Head of Cluster – Entertainment (South) at JioStar, and Alok Jain, President and Head of Entertainment Cluster at JioStar. Moderated by Vivek Couto, Executive Director and Co-Founder of Media Partners Asia (MPA), the session offered sharp insights into the forces reshaping how India tells—and consumes—stories across screens.
The Gift of Diversity in Storytelling
Krishnan Kutty opened the session by underscoring India’s unique advantage: its inherent cultural plurality.
“The diversity of India is a gift from a content creator perspective — every state, every region is a source of different perspectives which provides a wealth of stories,” he said. “What’s remarkable is how audiences across the country embrace content beyond their own language or state. A small state like Kerala, for instance, creates stories that travel nationwide. 80% of the consumption on JioHotstar for Malayalam content is outside the state.”
This idea of content travelling beyond its origin was echoed throughout the discussion. According to Kutty, JioStar’s 10-language network has enabled successful formats to be adapted across regions—demonstrating that “great stories truly transcend borders.”
A Cinematic Reset in Theatres
In contrast, Alok Jain reflected on the state of theatrical entertainment in India—a space that is still navigating post-pandemic behavioural shifts.
“Every industry goes through phases of change, and the theatrical space is no different,” he said. “We’ve been in a difficult period where people aren’t coming to theatres unless the movie is really, really good.”
He believes the way forward lies in authenticity, innovation and experience:
“Creators need to tell more authentic stories, and theatre owners must reinvent — whether through pricing, experience, or value delivery. Watching a film today means a three-hour commitment, and that’s a big ask. Theatrical viewing needs to feel like an experience, not just a screening.”
Massive Scale, New Models
India’s digital video boom was another key theme, with Kutty sharing staggering usage metrics:
“India’s digital video scale is massive with 500–600 million users consuming 4–5 hours of content daily across all formats. The real challenge isn’t what to do, but what not to do.”
He sees a unique opportunity in the space between premium long-form dramas and short-form social storytelling. The key to unlocking this, according to him, lies in India’s multilingual fabric:
“What makes India truly exciting is its multilingual ecosystem, where diverse storytelling formats and innovative monetization models are actively being explored and adopted.”
However, Kutty did not shy away from addressing the economics:
“In streaming, we’ve escalated prices to a point where producers have become B2B entities, creating primarily for the platform, not the end consumer. That has led to a disconnect… Unless the model is reset, I believe it’s deeply broken.”
Resetting with Youth and Authenticity
Jain, too, emphasized the urgent need for a systemic reset, not just in theatres but across India’s content economy.
“If the industry is to run in a sustainable manner, we must drive content profitably — and focusing on youth is a big part of that,” he said. “There’s a big reset required. But that also means there’s a big opportunity to rethink, reformat, and rebuild.”
India, he added, is uniquely positioned for this transformation.
“With a billion young people, 22 languages, and a thriving economy across sectors, India is unmatched in scale and diversity,” Jain noted. “What makes it unique is how TV and digital coexist — 800 million viewers watch the JioStar network, and 400 million viewers stream on JioHotstar.”
From Tirunelveli to Global Screens
Both executives stressed the importance of authenticity and regional voice in unlocking India’s next storytelling wave.
“Whether it’s a creator from Tirunelveli crafting a youth drama or a gripping cop story rooted in Kochi, we’re seeing incredible authenticity,” said Kutty. “We’re especially looking at young creators from smaller towns who’ve earned audience trust and who bring lived-in perspectives.”
For Jain, the common thread is emotional truth:
“There are approximately 320K hours of content on JioStar, cutting across many languages. The common thread across them is human emotion and shared experience. That emotional truth is what allows Indian content to scale and even travel globally.”
Kutty concluded with what could well be the mantra for India’s storytelling future:
“What we’re backing are stories that speak to universal values — stories about identity, aspiration, family and justice. These are the kinds of narratives that connect deeply and scale widely… stories that will travel across regions, platforms and generations.”
India’s video entertainment landscape is undergoing a fundamental transformation—rooted in regional stories, powered by digital scale, and shaped by a hunger for authenticity. From streaming models in need of recalibration to theatrical formats ripe for reinvention, the session made one thing clear: the next wave of Indian storytelling will be more inclusive, inventive, and globally resonant than ever before.
