Mumbai: Yash Raj Films (YRF) has announced a strategic investment in digital-first entertainment company Rusk Media, marking its entry into India’s rapidly evolving vertical entertainment ecosystem focused on Gen Z and Gen Alpha audiences.
The partnership aims to accelerate the creation of original vertical storytelling intellectual properties (IPs), with a focus on animation and micro-drama formats designed for mobile-first consumption.
As part of the collaboration, YRF will lead the creative direction for original animation and vertical micro-drama content, while Rusk Media will be responsible for production and distribution through its proprietary platform Alright! TV and global digital channels.
The investment reflects YRF’s broader strategy of expanding beyond traditional formats and participating in emerging storytelling models shaped by changing audience behaviours and digital consumption patterns.
Speaking on the partnership, Akshaye Widhani, CEO, Yash Raj Films, said, “The instinct to evolve has always been central to YRF’s DNA. Platforms are infrastructure, content and IP are culture. Mayank and his team at Rusk Media have built a deep understanding of how the next generation discovers and inhabits stories, and that is exactly the kind of vision we want to invest in. Together, the aspiration is to build worlds, not just content.”
Rusk Media, known for creating digital-native entertainment properties, sees the collaboration as an opportunity to move beyond scale and focus on building enduring content franchises.
Commenting on the investment, Mayank Yadav, Co-Founder and CEO, Rusk Media, said, “Vertical entertainment in India has produced extraordinary reach, but not the enduring IP that defines a category. That is the gap this collaboration is designed to close. We bring a native understanding of how digitally native audiences discover and build community around content, and with YRF’s backing, we are building for longevity, not the algorithm.”
The move comes at a time when content consumption patterns continue to shift across mobile, digital and short-form formats, creating opportunities for entertainment companies to develop scalable, franchise-led IP ecosystems..
