iWorld
JioHotstar’s Tadka explained: India’s big new bet on bite-sized drama
The streaming giant goes short with vertical micro-dramas timed to ride the IPL’s massive reach
MUMBAI: India’s biggest streaming platform has a new trick up its sleeve. JioHotstar has launched Tadka, a vertical micro-content offering that serves up episodic dramas in 60-second to two-minute bursts, built not for the binge-watcher sprawled on the sofa but for the thumb-scroller on the bus. The name, borrowed from the Hindi culinary term for a flavour-charged tempering of spices, signals intent: quick, punchy, unmissable. And the timing is no accident. Tadka’s launch coincides with the Indian Premier League, one of JioHotstar’s biggest audience moments of the year, giving the new format an instant audience of tens of millions.
What exactly is Tadka?
At its core, Tadka is JioHotstar’s answer to the global micro-drama boom, a format that has quietly become a multi-billion-dollar category in China and is fast gaining ground elsewhere. Content is shot vertically, native to the mobile screen, and runs in episodes of 60 seconds to two minutes. Crucially, nothing is edited down from longer cuts: every story is conceived and produced specifically for the short form.
The genres span romance, drama, thriller, comedy and youth-oriented stories, all anchored in contemporary Indian life. Titles already in the library include Mitti Ka Sher, Section F Ka Only Boy, Undercover Boss: Scam Smash and Punch Dialogue Prince Ki Oka Chinna Love Story. Content is available in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu, with more languages to follow.
At launch, the platform has more than 100 original titles on offer. By year-end, JioHotstar plans to have 1,000-plus titles in the catalogue.
Production beyond Mumbai
One of the more striking aspects of Tadka is where it is being made. JioHotstar is deliberately breaking with the Mumbai-centric logic of Indian entertainment, shifting shoots to smaller cities. Game Over Gold Digger and Billionaires vs. Middle Class Mom were shot in Indore; Mitti Ka Sher and Startup Junoon: Rinki Bani Bazigar in Lucknow.
The platform has partnered with more than 50 production houses, ranging from established players such as M5 Entertainment, Salt Media and Tamasha Studios to digital-native outfits such as Incnut, Fourth Wall and Kaijuhouse Productions, many of them new to the long-form ecosystem altogether. The content and production team was built entirely from scratch, drawing talent deliberately from outside the traditional long-form world. Television production veterans, it turns out, are rather well suited to the high-volume, fast-turnaround demands of micro-content.
How the money might flow
Monetisation is still early-stage, but the roadmap is taking shape. Advertising is the primary near-term opportunity: several brands have already approached JioHotstar about integrated content formats, and ad revenues are expected to scale with viewership. Further down the road, the platform may explore subscription packs and coin-based unlock models, a path already well-trodden in global micro-drama markets, where 65 to 70 per cent of revenue has shifted over time from pay-per-episode unlocks to recurring subscriptions.
Fully AI-generated content, story and visuals alike, is also in the pipeline for specific genres, including animated and fantastical formats.
Partners are enthusiastic
Those building content for the platform are bullish. Firdaus, owner and partner at Salt Media, says Tadka “lowers traditional barriers, allowing storytellers across sizes to participate without being constrained by large budgets or legacy structures.” Sonya V. Kapoor, owner and partner at M5 Entertainment, calls micro-content “where the next generation of IP is going to be built and tested.” Anish Surana, founder of Ananta Productions, says Tadka is “formalising micro-content as a serious entertainment category within the mainstream ecosystem.”
Jehangir Irroni, assistant vice president of video divisions at Incnut Digital, puts it bluntly: “When a platform at JioHotstar’s scale backs a format, it has the ability to expand the category itself.”
The bigger picture
Within days of its launch, Tadka has already pulled in a share of JioHotstar’s active user base that, the company claims, is comparable in size to the entire user base of several standalone short-form or regional OTT platforms. That is a remarkable early signal, though, as with any new format, the harder test is whether that initial curiosity converts to habit.
If it does, Tadka could do for Indian micro-drama what JioHotstar’s backing of the IPL did for streaming sports: drag a format from the fringes firmly into the mainstream. The spice, as always, is in the timing.
iWorld
Crocs India ropes in Rakesh Bedi for quirky new digital campaign
Veteran actor brings humour and nostalgia to brand’s latest ‘Crocshake’ film.
MUMBAI: Crocs has decided to shake things up quite literally by teaming up with veteran actor Rakesh Bedi for its latest digital campaign. The campaign, conceptualised by One Hand Clap, cleverly taps into the current wave of nostalgia and character-led content. It features Rakesh Bedi, who is currently enjoying renewed popularity after Dhurandhar, in a series of increasingly chaotic yet humorous everyday situations.
At the centre of the film is a simple handshake that spirals into a chain of unexpected twists, culminating in the fun “Crocshake.” The light-hearted narrative highlights how ordinary social moments can turn into memorable ones, perfectly aligning with Crocs’ brand ethos of individuality, comfort, and self-expression.
Crocs India country manager Manoj Juneja said the campaign reflects the brand’s desire to stay culturally relevant. “This collaboration with Rakesh Bedi blends humour, nostalgia, and contemporary trends to create content that entertains and sparks conversations,” he noted.
Rakesh Bedi added, “What I loved about this campaign was how naturally the humour came through. It takes a simple, everyday situation and turns it into something completely unexpected. It’s always exciting to be part of something audiences can instantly connect with.”
The campaign builds on Crocs India’s ongoing strategy of creating relatable, digital-first storytelling that resonates with a wide audience while staying true to the brand’s playful personality.
In a crowded footwear market, Crocs continues to stand out by keeping things fun, comfortable, and conversation-worthy proving once again that sometimes all you need is a good shake (or Crocshake) to make your mark.
