Abhijat Marathi debuts at Cannes 2026 with global OTT ambitions

MUMBAI: From the bylanes of Maharashtra to the French Riviera, Marathi storytelling just got its passport stamped. Abhijat Marathi, a new OTT platform focused exclusively on Marathi content, made its official debut at the Cannes Film Festival, signalling a bigger global push for regional Indian entertainment on the international stage. The platform was unveiled at the Bharat Pavilion by founder and owner Kedar Narahar Joshi in the presence of Marathi cinema veterans and popular cultural figures including Ashok Saraf, Nivedita Saraf, Prajaktta Mali, Jayanti Waghdhare and Ankita Walawalkar. The delegation later walked the Cannes red carpet following the unveiling ceremony.

The launch marks another sign of how regional Indian entertainment is steadily claiming space in global content conversations, particularly as international audiences show growing curiosity towards language-driven stories rooted in local cultures.

Abhijat Marathi plans to stream Marathi films, web series, music programming and culturally driven storytelling for audiences both in India and overseas. The platform is positioning itself as a digital home for Maharashtra’s language, heritage and creative ecosystem at a time when regional OTT consumption continues to rise sharply across markets.

Speaking at the event, Abhijat Marathi founder and owner Kedar Narahar Joshi acknowledged the support extended by the Maharashtra government and highlighted the wider cultural significance of Marathi receiving Classical Language status.

The Cannes unveiling also reflects a broader shift within India’s entertainment business, where regional industries are increasingly looking beyond domestic viewership and exploring international distribution, festival visibility and diaspora audiences through streaming platforms.

For Marathi entertainment, the message from Cannes this year was loud and clear, subtitles are no longer barriers, they are boarding passes.