Alok Jain, president of General Entertainment at Jiostar, and Krishnan Kutty, head of Entertainment Cluster (South), have identified youth-oriented programming and collaboration with emerging creators as key growth areas for the Indian media conglomerate.
At the APOS entertainment Summit, past June, Kutty stated that streamers have not produced enough content for Generation Z, and Jiostar aims to ‘increase the volume by seven to 10 times’ for this demographic. Outlined three strategic content priorities for the company: seeking out ‘young creators from small towns’ to diversify storytelling, continuing to invest in veteran creators who have a track record of success, and producing stories centered on popular themes such as ‘aspirations’ and ‘justice’.
Innovating formats and pushing boundaries
Jain noted that Jiostar is not afraid to innovate with new formats and lengths, moving beyond the typical ‘Western phenomenon’ of six to nine-episode series. He cited Thukra Ke Mera Pyaar, one of the company’s top-performing shows last year, which had 19 episodes of 30 minutes each and featured a debut director and cast. Also called the show a ‘blockbuster from the day it started’ and credited its success to a bit of luck.
Kutty added that Jiostar‘s most successful shows are those that are ‘bold and boundary-pushing’. ‘Our shows are not big spectacles as it was five or six years ago, but are rather about pushing societal norms within the context of India’, he noted. ‘These series are challenging gender norms, and are becoming increasingly popular, especially since the pandemic’..
Both Jain and Kutty stressed that language is not a barrier to a project’s success, as a good story will always travel. Kutty used the example of creators from Kerala, a relatively small Indian state, noting that 80% of the consumption of their stories comes from outside the state. Jain also cited Payal Kapadia’s acclaimed film All We Imagine As Light, which features Hindi, Malayalam, and Marathi, as an example of a story that achieved critical success by transcending linguistic boundaries.
Jain also shared his concerns about the Indian theatrical business, suggesting that three-hour movies face a difficult challenge in a world of 15-20-second shorts. He called for theater owners to be more innovative with pricing, stating that the theatrical business is struggling because ‘people are not coming to theaters unless the movies are very good’. Kutty added that the streaming business has driven up content prices to a point where ‘the economic model is broken’, causing many producers to become B2B suppliers for streamers rather than focusing on the end consumer.
