MAM
Cannes Lions ’22: India scores 20 more shortlists, takes its tally to 37
MUMBAI: The Indian contingent added a dazzling 20 more shortlists to its tally on Day One of the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity 2022 being held from 20 June to 24 June 2022. This is in addition to the 17 shortlists the contingent garnered earlier, taking the country’s total score to 37 shortlists so far.
Here is the breakdown of the latest shortlisted works:
Dentsu Creative’s ‘The Unfiltered History Tour’ for Vice Media bagged four more shortlists in the Digital Craft Lions.
In Entertainment Lions, ‘Master Ji’ for BYJUS by BYJUS Bengaluru and Dora Digs Mumbai got one shortlist.
In Film Craft Lions, ‘The Missing Chapter’ for P&G’s Whisper by Off Road Films Mumbai & Leo Burnett received three shortlists, while Care Lives On #Touch0fCare for Vicks by Memesys Culture Lab Bambolim and ‘Master Ji’ for BYJUS by BYJUS Bengaluru and Dora Digs Mumbai got two shortlists each. Machine Gun Mouth for Battlegrounds Mobile India by Early Man Films picked one shortlist.
In Industry Craft, ‘A Silent Frown’ created by DDB Mudra Mumbai for Charlie Chaplin Foundation scored one shortlist.
In Design Lions, Unaids’ ‘Unbox Me’ by FCB India and FCB Chicago, , ‘A Silent Frown’ created by DDB Mudra Mumbai for Charlie Chaplin Foundation got a shortlist each.
‘Polly the Polar Bear’ for Montessori Schools India, created by Landor & Fitch Mumbai & Paris, ‘The Missing Chapter’ for P&G’s Whisper by Leo Burnett got two shortlists each.
However, it was a no-show for the contingent in the Entertainment Lions for Music and Entertainment Lions for Sports categories.
In the earlier announcements made on Sunday, the Indian contingent picked up 12 shortlists in the categories Health and Wellness and Radio and Audio Lions. Dentsu Webchutney, DDB Mudra, Leo Burnett, and VMLY&R scored the shortlists, with the former’s The Unfiltered Historical past Tour for Vice Media harvesting upto seven shortlists. There were no Indian shortlists in the Pharma, Print and Publishing, and Out-of-home categories.
In the Health and Wellness Lions, Killer Pack for Maxx Flash and The Adeli Motion for Unipads- both by VMLY&R, and DBB Mudra’s Machine Gun Mouth for BattleGrounds Cell India got a shortlist each, even as Leo Burnett’s The Lacking Chapter for P&G India’s Whisper picked up two Shortlists.
In the Radio and Audio Lions category, Dentsu Webchutney’s The Unfiltered Historical past Tour for Vice Media picked up seven Shortlists.
Before that, VMLY&R had gained two shortlists for the Killer Pack for Maxx Flash in the Innovation Lions and the Adeli for Unipads in the Glass: Lion for Change.
BBDO India too scored a shortlist in the Glass Lions for the When we #SeeEqual, we #ShareTheLoad (Integrated) campaign it did for P&G India’s Ariel.
The Titanium Lions garnered shortlists for Ogilvy India’s Shahrukh-My ad for Cadbury Celebrations and Dentsu Webchutney’s The Unfiltered History Tour for Vice Media.
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.
