MAM
This Children’s Day #UnmutetheKids, says Voot Kids
KOLKATA: In the last eight months, on account of the Covid2019 pandemic, kids have been home bound. Summertime fun, then back to school, spending time with friends, indulging in outdoor play, coming back home full of stories – everything has come to an abrupt halt. Voot Kids recognizes that while staying indoors and studying online is essential, the joy of childhood has gone amiss because of it. So, this Children’s Day, Voot Kids, with its new campaign #UnmutetheKids is letting kids say their piece.
Ab bachhe batayenge, bacchon ka new normal (Now kids will speak up about their new normal) is a movement that calls for kids across the country to openly express themselves and share their views on what’s happening around them all these months. #UnmutetheKids is set to bring these big, small voices center-stage.
Kickstarting the campaign, Voot Kids has introduced a series of light-hearted and endearing brand films that speak through the lens of a child. Embracing innocence and honesty amidst the new normal, each film is thoughtfully created to capture moments in a child’s life reflecting at times their reality and at times, their parents’. The philosophy of unmuting kids, empowering them, bringing their stories forward and infusing fun and goodness in their lives, will be continued through the year with various initiatives that reflect the thought. This Children’s Day is going to be the start of a year that’s all about kids.
The first adorable brand film observes a kid standing with a placard that says, Aryan’s Bhook Hartal (Aryan’s hunger strike) as he revolts against the paani wali daal (watery daal) cooked by his father, sharing the message of Ab Hum Bolenge (It’s our turn to speak). Continuing with the message, the second film, again through the eyes of a little girl who has been confined in her home, rebels against the locked parks and playgrounds. Adjusting to the new normal of work from home, the third brand film showcases a little boy who is stopped from making noise in the house while his mother is on an important work video call. With a purpose in his eyes, the little boy is determined to now expose his mother’s secrets, highlighting the message of Ab Hum Bolenge. Further in the fourth film, making an unpleasant face after being told to drink a kaadha (medicinal brew), the kid amplifies the message of Ab Hum Bolenge.
Viacom18 Digital Ventures marketing head Vigyeta Agrawal said, “This year has been full of disruption for the kids and we wanted to give them an outlet to voice their side of the story. #UnmutetheKids is our endeavour to bring this conversation mainstream and we will keep building momentum on this, throughout the year via multiple initiatives.”
With the #UnmutetheKids campaign, Voot Kids aims to give voice to children by encouraging parents to tweet or send videos or pictures of the things their kids say, while living through this new normal. The campaign will be amplified through a 360-degree campaign including TV, YouTube, FB, IG and TW, along with high impact influencers-led communication that makes a clarion call to #UnmutetheKids.
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.
