Digital
Weekend Unwind with: Chalkboard Entertainment creative head (non fiction) Shiv Sethuraman
Mumbai: With another weekend upon us, it is time to unwind with the latest Q&A edition of Indiantelevision.com’s Weekend Unwind—a series of informal chats that peek into the minds of business executives through a fun lens in an attempt to get to know the person behind the title a little better.
In this week’s session, we have Chalkboard Entertainment creative head (non fiction) Shiv Sethuraman.
Sethuraman is one of India’s best-known advertising leaders. An illustrious career spanning over two decades and several countries has seen him lead Ogilvy in France, TBWA in India, and Samsung’s agency across South-West Asia.
During this time, he has built some of the most memorable brands and campaigns including Cadbury, Adidas, Nestlé & Coca-Cola. He is, most notably, associated with creating Louis Vuitton’s first global campaign in 2007 which continues to be one of the most awarded marketing campaigns globally.
So, without further ado, here it goes…
- Your mantra for Life
It’s all about the process.
- A Book you are currently reading?
The Age of Vice by Deepti Kapoor
- Your Fitness mantra, especially during the pandemic?
The same that it has been for the last twenty years – eat sensibly and exercise every day.
- Your comfort food?
Mom’s daal, rice and home made ghee.
- When the chips are down a quote/ philosophy that keeps you going?
Will it matter in 5 years from now? If it won’t, don’t fret it. You’ll be surprised at how many things don’t really matter.
- Your guilty pleasure?
Cake
- When was the last time you tried something new?
Learning Calisthenics this year.
- A Life lesson you learnt the hard way?
Persistence matters more than most other things in life.
- What gets you excited about life?
The ability to shape it with your actions.
- What’s on top of your bucket list?
To go cage diving with a great white.
- If you could give one piece of advice to your younger self, what would it be?
Don’t give up so easily on people.
- One thing you would most like to change about the world?
Man’s arrogance that the planet is built for him.
- An activity that keeps you motivated / charged during tough times?
The gym is my happy place. In good times and bad.
- What lifts your spirits when life gets you down?
Gulab jamun
- Your go-to stress buster?
Any of the following: Hera Pheri or Andaaz Apna Apna or Welcome.
Digital
Content India 2026 opens with a copro pitch, a spice evangelist and a £10,000 prize for Indian storytelling
Dish TV and C21Media’s three-day summit puts seven ambitious projects before an international jury, and two walk away with serious development money
MUMBAI: India’s content industry gathered in Mumbai this March for Content India 2026, a three-day summit organised by Dish TV in partnership with C21Media, and it wasted no time making a statement. The event opened with a Copro Pitch that put seven scripted and unscripted television concepts before an international panel of judges, and by the end of it, two projects had walked away with £10,000 each in marketing prize money from C21Media to support development and international promotion.
The jury, comprising Frank Spotnitz, Fiona Campbell, Rashmi Bajpai, Bal Samra and Rachel Glaister, evaluated a shortlist that ranged from a dark Mumbai comedy-drama about mental health (Dirty Minds, created by Sundar Aaron) to a Delhi coming-of-age mystery (Djinn Patrol, by Neha Sharma and Kilian Irwin), a techno-thriller about a teenage gaming prodigy (Kanpur X Satori, by Suchita Bhatia), an investigative crime drama blending mythology and modern thriller (The Age of Kali, by Shivani Bhatija), a documentary on India’s spice heritage (The Masala Quest, hosted by Sarina Kamini), a documentary on competitive gaming (Respawn: India’s Esports Revolution, by George Mangala Thomas and Sangram Mawari), and a reality-horror competition merging gaming and immersive fear (Scary Goose, by Samar Iqbal).
The session was hosted by Mayank Shekhar.
The two winners were Djinn Patrol, backed by Miura Kite, formerly of Participant Media and known for Chinatown and Keep Sweet: Pray & Obey, with Jaya Entertainment, producers of Real Kashmir Football Club, also attached; and The Masala Quest, created and hosted by Sarina Kamini, an Indian-Australian cook, author and self-described “spice evangelist.”
The summit also unveiled the Content India Trends Report, whose findings made for bracing reading. Daoud Jackson, senior analyst at OMDIA, set the tone: “By 2030, online video in India will nearly double the revenue of traditional TV, becoming the main driver of growth.” He noted that in 2025, India produced a quarter of all YouTube videos globally, overtaking the United States, while Indians collectively spend 117 years daily on YouTube and 72 years on Instagram. Traditional subscription TV is declining as free TV and connected TV gain ground, forcing broadcasters to innovate. “AI-generated content is just 2 per cent of engagement,” Jackson added, “highlighting the dominance of high-quality human content. The key for Indian media companies is scaling while monetising effectively from day one.”
Hannah Walsh, principal analyst at Ampere Analysis, added hard numbers to the picture. India produced over 24,000 titles in January 2026 alone, with 19,000 available internationally. The country now accounts for 12 per cent of Asia-Pacific content spend, up from 8 per cent in 2021, outpacing both Japan and China. Key exporters include JioStar, Zee Entertainment, Sony India, Amazon and Netflix, delivering over 7,500 Indian-produced titles abroad each year. The top importing markets are Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt, the United States and the Philippines. Scripted content dominates globally at 88 per cent, with crime dramas and children’s and family titles performing particularly strongly.
Manoj Dobhal, chief executive and executive director of Dish TV India, framed the summit’s ambition squarely. “Stories don’t need translation. They need a platform, discovery, and reach, local or global,” he said. “India produces more movies than any country, our streaming platforms compete globally, and our tech and creators win international awards. Yet fragmentation slows growth. Producers, platforms, and tech move in different lanes. We need shared spaces, collaboration, and an ecosystem where ideas, technology, and people meet. That is why we built Content India.”
The data, the pitches and the prize money all pointed to the same conclusion: India is not waiting for the world to discover its stories. It is building the infrastructure to sell them.
