iWorld
ChanaJor OTT taps UPI AutoPay to scale subscriptions across India
DELHI: India’s subscription economy is learning to move at thumb speed. As UPI cements itself as the country’s default way to pay, ChanaJor OTT is leaning into AutoPay to lock in millions of mobile-first users, especially beyond the metros.
The short- and mid-format Indian-language platform has made UPI AutoPay central to its growth playbook, using recurring mandates to smooth renewals and cut drop-offs in price-sensitive markets. For users, it means fewer reminders and no monthly payment grind. For the platform, it means stickier subscriptions and fewer failed renewals.
Pratap Jain, founder and ceo of ChanaJor OTT, says the logic is simple. Match payments to behaviour. UPI is how most Indians already transact, particularly in smaller towns and semi-urban areas. AutoPay lets users opt in once and forget about it, while retaining the ability to cancel anytime.
The upside is clear. Subscriptions run uninterrupted, access stays seamless and affordability improves. The familiarity of UPI, Jain argues, lowers psychological barriers to paying for content, helping digital services reach audiences that cards never quite managed to capture.
Yet friction persists. AutoPay is still a new habit. Many users balk at the idea of recurring debits, spooked by fears of endless deductions and unclear exit routes. Mandate creation does not help. Too many steps, PIN prompts, vague bank messages, app timeouts and uneven experiences across UPI apps all chip away at completion rates. Add the occasional bank-side glitch and approvals suffer.
Even so, the numbers leave little room for doubt. On ChanaJor OTT, payment volumes skew roughly 15:85 between cards and UPI. Cards may deliver higher success rates, but they come with baggage. Card numbers, expiry dates, CVVs and OTPs slow things down. UPI, by contrast, is a single-PIN affair. With intent-based flows gaining ground, it is getting faster and slicker still.
For merchants, economics seals the deal. Cards work for higher ticket sizes. But for small, frequent payments, the lifeblood of OTT, gaming and music, UPI wins on convenience and cost. Lower MDRs mean platforms keep more of what they earn, a critical edge when subscription prices are deliberately modest.
Jain sees UPI AutoPay as more than plumbing. It is an access layer, bringing digital content within reach for millions while giving platforms a sustainable path to scale. As India’s next wave of users comes online from Bharat’s heartland, the message is blunt. If you want reach, you ride UPI.
And if you want renewals to stick, you make them automatic.
iWorld
Why Peaky Blinders is one of television’s biggest hits that still deserves more attention
Six seasons, multiple awards and the release of Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man bring the Shelby saga back into the spotlight
In the crowded universe of streaming content, only a handful of shows manage to leave a lasting cultural footprint. Peaky Blinders is overwhelmingly considered one of the biggest global hits of the past decade. Yet many viewers still haven’t fully explored the dark, gripping world of the Shelby family.
Originally produced for the UK’s BBC and later finding a massive global audience through Netflix, the series quietly grew from a British period drama into a worldwide streaming phenomenon.
Created by Steven Knight, the show follows the rise of the Shelby crime family in post-First World War Birmingham. What begins as a gritty street-gang story gradually expands into a sweeping narrative about ambition, politics, power and survival.
At the centre of the saga is Thomas Shelby, portrayed with extraordinary depth by Cillian Murphy. The casting of Murphy is widely regarded as perfect for the role. With piercing eyes, restrained dialogue and an almost hypnotic screen presence, he transforms Shelby into one of the most unforgettable characters in modern screen storytelling.
Murphy’s brilliance lies in his restraint. He rarely shouts or performs theatrically. Instead, a quiet stare, a calculated pause or a subtle shift in expression conveys the emotional storms within the character. Beneath the ruthless gang leader is a war veteran carrying trauma, guilt and loneliness. Murphy captures this complexity with remarkable precision, making Thomas Shelby both terrifying and deeply human.
Beyond its central performance, Peaky Blinders stands out for its unfiltered portrayal of reality. The show does not romanticise crime. Instead, it exposes the harsh social conditions of early 20th-century Britain, from poverty and class struggle to political extremism and the psychological scars left by war.
The series also presents powerful female characters who hold their own within the Shelby empire. Polly Gray, played by Helen McCrory, is the strategic backbone of the family and one of the most formidable figures in the story. Women in the series shape decisions, influence power structures and challenge the rigid social norms of the time.
Across six seasons, the narrative grows dramatically in scale. What begins in the smoky streets of Birmingham evolves into a story involving political conspiracies, fascism and international criminal networks.
The series has also earned significant critical acclaim. It won the BAFTA Television Award for Best Drama Series in 2018 and multiple National Television Awards for Best Drama, cementing its reputation as one of Britain’s most celebrated modern shows.
Another defining feature of the series is its iconic music. The show’s opening theme, Red Right Hand by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, became instantly recognisable and widely associated with the Shelby universe. Combined with a powerful soundtrack featuring artists such as Arctic Monkeys and Radiohead, the music helped shape the show’s dark, stylish identity and became hugely popular among fans.
And the Shelby story is not over yet.
In fact, its legacy is unfolding right now. The long-awaited feature-length continuation, Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man, was released on March 6, 2026, bringing the Shelby universe from streaming screens to cinemas and giving fans a new chapter in the saga.
For viewers who have not yet stepped into this world, the timing could not be better.
Six gripping seasons are ready to binge on Netflix. A new film has just arrived in theatres. And at the heart of it all stands one of the most magnetic performances in modern drama by Cillian Murphy.
So if Peaky Blinders has been sitting on your watchlist for years, this weekend is your moment.
So, by order of the Peaky fookin’ Blinders, consider this your cue to finally step into the ruthless world of Thomas Shelby. Pour yourself a drink, clear your schedule and press the play button. Because when the Peaky Blinders give an order, you listen.
