MAM
Weekend Unwind with: Manish Solanki co-founder & COO of TheSmallBigIdea
MUMBAI :With yet another Saturday upon us, it’s time to unwind with a dose of our weekend special series. Weekend Unwind is a tete-e-tete with an industry executive—akin to a virtual water cooler chat—an attempt to get to know the person behind the title a little better.
This week we have with us TheSmallBigIdea co-founder & COO Manish Solanki, sharing his nuggets on dealing with the curveballs life throws at us.
A digital media professional with more than ten years’ experience in content, design, and technology, Manish began his career in client service with SSC&B Lintas and Publicis Ambience, honing his marketing skills. After a stint in advertising, he moved to CRISIL Ratings and later entered into the television sector with ZEE TV and Times Television Network (International Business) before being bitten by the entrepreneurial bug in 2014. An alumnus of Welingkar Institute of Management, Manish’s decade-old learning curve has taken him through diverse roles and the ups and lows of branding lifecycles.
So without further ado, here goes…
A Book you are reading or plan to read
I was recently inspired to read ‘The Ikigai Journey’ by Hector Garcia and Francesc Miralles, courtesy of Harikrishnan Pillai (TSBI founder and CEO).
Your Fitness mantra, especially during the pandemic
Eat simple and focus on your breath, a mantra that the pandemic taught a lot of us.
Your comfort food
Jeera rice and dal fry.
When the chips are down a quote/ philosophy that keeps you going
Trust the universe; everything is working out as it should. You’re not behind. Have faith
Your guilty pleasure
Binge-watching a complete season of a web-series.
When was the last time you tried something new?
Three years ago, I took a solo trip to explore the lesser-known, meeting unknown people and taking each unplanned day as it came.
A life lesson you learnt the hard way
When you fall, get up with a smile…even if your lip is cut.
What gets you excited about life?
My work excites me. On days when I love my job, I do well. On days when I hate my job, I do even better.
What’s on top of your bucket list?
Among other things, a cycling trip through the by-lanes of an attractive town.
If you could give one piece of advice to your younger self, what would it be?
‘Risk hai to ishq hai!’
What lifts your spirits when life gets you down?
One cool friend and a glass of drink.
An activity that keeps you motivated / charged during tough times
Introspection in silent mode.
Your go-to stress buster
Golden oldies.
One thing you would most like to change about the world
Make it kinder.
Your mantra for Life
If flowing with the tide is inevitable, enjoy the swim, own the sea.
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.
