iWorld
The Script Room completes one year with 41 films over five brands
MUMBAI: – Having successfully created over 40 ad films across youth brands like Netflix, OYO, Chumbak, Beck’s Ice and Groww, a financial services app, The Script Room, a fast-growing writers' hub is celebrating its one-year completion amidst lockdown.
A company born out of an enthusiastic and engaged eponymous WhatsApp group, once created by one of the founders, Ramsam as a place to share and discuss writing in advertising and movies has now structured itself as a full-fledged company – The Script Room, as a registered trademark, with offices in Mumbai and Bangalore.
Founded by Rajesh Ramaswamy (Ramsam) whose last job was with Lowe, Bangalore and Ayyappan Raj (Ayyappan), whose last engagement was with Lowe (Unilever Global/Lowe Singapore), The Script Room built itself with a singular focus on writing for audio-visual advertising and content. They strongly believe that great writing is behind every single piece of celebrated content, both branded and unbranded, and the purpose of The Script Room is to celebrate writers and give writing it’s due.
The newly formed entity bagged its first project for Netflix India for a campaign around one of its originals – Selection day. Nine films were shot in one night. The ads appeared sequentially on last year IPL matches. The campaign won the fledgling company the Best Digital Creative Award at Star ReImagine awards. Their second campaign with a series of ten ads titled ‘So, what are you watching?’ for Netflix was on air on last World Cup and was an Effie Finalist.
The Script Room founder Ayyappan Raj said, “We don’t have any typical organisational structure as such. We operate more as a writers hub and we spend a lot of time in jamming on what to write before we actually put pen on paper. Since we are a few and we are focussed, we are super conscious of the task, the consumer, limitations of execution and it reflects in the final output, our work. And about completion of first year, it has been a terrific one, extraordinary in all sense. Ramsam and I started up The Script Room working out of home, added more and more writers, got offices in Mumbai and Bangalore, finished more than 40 ad films, one 30 minute short film (branded content) and with a slate of campaigns in scripting stage and bam! we are back to working from home again! Overall it’s been a fantastic first year, we don’t know if we’re creating something big or something small but we’re having a real good time doing what we’re doing”.
Rajesh Ramaswamy said, “We have pulled together some of the best writers in the country, who have been very successful in telling insightful, engaging, crafted-to-perfection audiovisual stories. And we make sure that we write for the brand, for the context, for the budget, for the duration – no artificial colours, no preservatives, no added sugar. 100 per cent pure, handwritten ads that effortlessly do their work. We don’t want to do anything that’s art for art sake and stuff that lies in one corner of the internet. And we have clearly chosen to stay away from other channels of advertising, storytelling is our forte and what better medium than audio-visual to tell your stories?
About one year, I am personally very excited by the spirit of the place and the collective sort of a model that we’re building. ”.
Prior to lockdown, The Script Room had just wrapped up a series of films for Chumbak and Beck’s Ice which are in various stages of production and slated to release in the coming months.
iWorld
ITSA 2026: India’s streaming revolution gets its grandest night yet
Black Warrant sweeps the technical categories, Manoj Bajpayee and Huma Qureshi bag multiple honours at the fourth edition of ITSA.
MUMBAI: They came, they streamed, they conquered. India’s OTT universe descended on NESCO, Goregaon in full star-dusted fury on 27 February for the fourth edition of the Indian Telly Streaming Awards (ITSA) 2026 and the evening made plain, in glittering, unmistakable terms, that the country’s digital entertainment industry has long since stopped being a footnote to Bollywood. It is the main event.
Hosted by Nakuul Mehta and Mukti Mohan, the ceremony drew the biggest turnout in ITSA’s four-year history. Manoj Bajpayee, Huma Qureshi, Ali Fazal, Ishaan Khatter, Boman Irani, Rasika Dugal, Imtiaz Ali, Soha Ali Khan and Munawar Faruqui led a red carpet that sparkled without apology. Behind them surged a second wave of talent: Tanya Maniktala, Anand Tiwari, Vineet Kumar Singh, Deepak Dobriyal, Harman Baweja, Surya Sharma, Rahul Bhat, Sufi Motiwala, Rajat Bedi, Abhishek Sharma and dozens more, making the night feel less like an awards show and more like a census of the people reshaping what India watches.
Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, JioHotstar, ZEE5 and Amazon MX Player carved up the major categories between them, their logos flickering across a room packed with directors, writers, editors, cinematographers and production-house bosses: Abundantia Entertainment, Applause Entertainment, hoichoi, Pocket Aces, Pritish Nandy Communications, Ultra, Shemaroo and many more. Regional-language content held its own with strong representation from Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Bengali, Marathi, Odia and Gujarati fare, a sign that ITSA’s ambitions stretch well beyond the Hindi heartland.
The big winners
If the night had a single star, it was Black Warrant, Applause Entertainment’s taut Netflix series about Tihar jail, which swept the technical categories: best director (series), best cinematography (series), best background score, best story (series), best ensemble cast, best supporting actor in a series (Rahul Bhat) and best crime series. Vikramaditya Motwane and his co-directors took the directing honour in a category that acknowledged the collaborative nature of modern prestige television.
Imtiaz Ali’s Amar Singh Chamkila, the Netflix biopic of Punjab’s doomed folk star, proved almost as dominant in the film categories: best drama OTT film, best OTT film, best director (OTT film), best cinematography OTT film (Sylvester Fonseca) and best original song (Vida Karo). It was a night that confirmed Ali’s return to form.
Manoj Bajpayee won the jury’s best actor prize for OTT film for his performance in Despatch on ZEE5, while also claiming the fan favourite male award for The Family Man season 3 on Prime Video, a double that speaks to his rare ability to straddle critical esteem and popular affection. Huma Qureshi was equally feted: the editorial choice jury named her best actress (series) for Maharani season 4 on Sony LIV and best actor in a negative role (female) for Delhi Crime season 3 on Netflix. Playing heroes and villains in the same season, and winning for both, is not a bad night’s work.
Munawar Faruqui, the stand-up comedian turned streaming star, scooped two prizes: fan favourite OTT personality of the year (male) and the editorial choice best male debut (series) for First Copy on Amazon MX Player. In a room full of veterans, his trajectory from reality television to a full-blown streaming career was perhaps the most discussed subplot of the evening.
The night’s most eyebrow-raising moment came when Aryan Khan collected the editorial choice best directorial debut award for The Ba***ds of Bollywood on Netflix. The eldest son of Shah Rukh Khan said nothing publicly, but the prize and the ripple of applause that accompanied it suggested that the streaming world is willing to judge on merit what tabloid culture has long judged on bloodline.
Ishaan Khatter won the editorial choice best actor (male, series) for The Royals on Netflix; Ali Fazal took the most impactful performance of the year prize for Mirzapur season 3 on Prime Video. Rasika Dugal, his co-star in that series, claimed the editorial choice best supporting actress (series) for the same show. It was a sweep for Mirzapur’s Lucknow chaos.
Sanya Malhotra took the jury’s best actress prize for OTT film for Mrs. on ZEE5, a quiet, devastating performance that has been gathering awards-season momentum since the film dropped. The fan favourite vote for Hindi OTT film also went to Mrs., produced by Harman Baweja.
Vikrant Massey won a jury best actor prize for OTT film for Sector 36 on Netflix, joining Bajpayee in that category, a rare decision by the jury to hand the award jointly. Deepak Dobriyal won best supporting actor (OTT film) for the same film.
On the comedy front, Pratik Gandhi and Yami Gautam both won jury acting prizes for the Netflix caper Dhoom Dhaam: he for best actor (comedy, OTT film) and she for best actress (comedy, OTT film). Sunil Grover took the comedy series equivalent for Sunflower season 2 on ZEE5, a reminder that the veteran performer’s second act on streaming has been thoroughly successful.
Boman Irani won the editorial choice best director (OTT film) for The Mehta Boys, the family drama he directed for Prime Video, another instance of a Bollywood stalwart finding fresh purpose on streaming. Pooja Sarup, who stars in the same film, took the breakthrough performance prize.
Nakuul Mehta, who hosted the evening, also left with a prize: the editorial choice outstanding performance (comedy/drama series) for Do You Wanna Partner on Prime Video. Hosting and winning in the same night is the kind of feat ITSA’s producers will be dining out on for some time.
Scale, sponsorship and what it all means
The event was presented by Waman Hari Pethe Jewellers, with DS Spice as official spice partner. The IP is owned by Anil Wanvari, founder of the ITV group, with Mishaal Wanvari and Prerna Wanvari overseeing the operational execution of the fourth edition. National television networks, leading digital publishers and top paparazzi agencies ensured that the red carpet’s glow reached well beyond NESCO’s walls.
What ITSA has understood, in a way that older Indian awards ceremonies have sometimes struggled to, is that streaming is not a lesser form of cinema or television. It is a category unto itself, with its own economics, its own aesthetics and its own stars. The industry’s most influential platforms have taken note: their presence at ITSA, and the seriousness with which they treat its results, is now a matter of record.
The awards also honoured the invisible workforce of OTT: editors, art directors, composers, hair and make-up artists, casting directors, showrunners and VFX supervisors. Kanika Dhillon won best story for an OTT film for Phir Aayi Hasseen Dillruba on Netflix. Pushkar Gayatri took best showrunner (Tamil series) for Suzhal: The Vortex on Prime Video. These are the prizes that the industry notices most, even if they don’t make the tabloids.
India’s streaming boom, it turns out, has found its awards ceremony. After four editions, ITSA has done what it set out to do: it has made winning matter. The fifth edition, whenever it comes, will have a hard act to follow.
FULL LIST OF WINNERS
JURY: PERFORMANCE
- Best actress, OTT film: Sanya Malhotra, Mrs. (ZEE5)
- Best actress, series: Tanya Maniktala, Loot Kaand (Amazon MX Player)
- Best actor, OTT film (Odia): Devesh Ranjan, Jajabara 2.0 (Kaustav Dreamworks)
- Best actor, OTT film: Manoj Bajpayee, Despatch (ZEE5)
- Best actor, OTT film: Vikrant Massey, Sector 36 (Netflix)
- Best actor, series: Bobby Deol, Ek Badnaam Aashram season 3 part 2 (Amazon MX Player)
- Best actress comedy, OTT film: Yami Gautam, Dhoom Dhaam (Netflix)
- Best actress comedy, series: Grusha Kapoor, Half Love Half Arranged season 2 (Amazon MX Player / Dice Media)
- Best actor comedy, OTT film: Pratik Gandhi, Dhoom Dhaam (Netflix)
- Best actor comedy, series: Sunil Grover, Sunflower season 2 (ZEE5)
- Best actress negative, OTT film: Soha Ali Khan, Chhorii 2 (Abundantia Entertainment)
- Best actress negative, series: Sonakshi Sinha, Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar (Netflix)
- Best actor negative, OTT film: Shaheer Sheikh, Do Patti (Netflix)
- Best actor negative, series: Surya Sharma, Undekhi season 3 (Applause Entertainment)
- Best supporting actress, OTT film: Shalini Pandey, Maharaj (Netflix)
- Best supporting actress, series: Aditi Rao Hydari, Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar (Netflix)
- Best supporting actor, OTT film: Deepak Dobriyal, Sector 36 (Netflix)
- Best supporting actor, series: Rahul Bhat, Black Warrant (Applause Entertainment)
- Best debut actress, OTT film: Arrchita Agarwaal, Despatch (ZEE5)
- Best debut actress, series: Riva Arora, Power of Paanch (JioHotstar)
- Best debut actor, OTT film: Junaid Khan, Maharaj (Netflix)
- Best debut actor, series: Zahan Kapoor, Black Warrant (Applause Entertainment)
- Best ensemble cast, series: Black Warrant (Applause Entertainment)
- Best voice-over artist, series: Rohit Varghese, Oops! Ab Kya? (JioHotstar)
PROGRAMMING
- Best comedy, OTT film: Dhoom Dhaam (Netflix)
- Best comedy series, Tamil: Thalaivettiyaan Paalayam season 1 (Prime Video)
- Best comedy series, Telugu: Sivarapalli season 1 (Prime Video)
- Best comedy series: Maamla Legal Hai (Netflix / Posham Pa)
- Best crime, OTT film: Sector 36 (Netflix)
- Best crime series, Bengali: Feludar Goyendagiri: Bhuswargo Bhoyonkawr (hoichoi)
- Best crime series, Tamil: Suzhal: The Vortex season 2 (Prime Video)
- Best crime series: Black Warrant (Applause Entertainment)
- Best drama, OTT film: Amar Singh Chamkila (Netflix)
- Best drama series, Marathi: Saubhagyawati Sarpanch (Ultra Media and Entertainment)
- Best drama series: Black Warrant (Applause Entertainment)
- Best family drama, OTT film: The Mehta Boys (Prime Video)
- Best family drama series: Bandish Bandits season 2 (Prime Video)
- Best horror/supernatural, OTT film: Kakuda (ZEE5)
- Best horror series, Bengali: Bhog (hoichoi)
- Best horror series: Khauf (Prime Video)
- Best horror series, Tamil: Inspector Rishi (Prime Video)
- Best limited/mini-series: IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack (Netflix / Matchbox Shots / Benaras Mediaworks)
- Best limited/mini-series, Malayalam: Soul Stories (MM TV)
- Best non-fiction, Telugu: Unstoppable with NBK season 4 (Sol Production LLP)
- Best non-fiction: Realme Hip Hop India season 2 (Amazon MX Player)
- Best documentary, OTT film (English): The Dupatta Killer (Docubay Media)
- Best documentary series: Angry Young Men (Prime Video)
- Best reality show: Fabulous Lives of Bollywood Wives (Netflix)
- Best regional OTT film, Odia: Dasama (Kaustav Dreamworks)
- Best regional series, Bengali: Dainee (hoichoi)
- Best regional series, Malayalam: Poacher season 1 (Prime Video)
- Best regional series, Tamil: Suzhal: The Vortex season 2 (Prime Video)
- Best rom-com series: Oops! Ab Kya? (JioHotstar)
- Best rom-com series, Malayalam: Coupling (Malayala Manorama Television)
- Best sci-fi/fantasy series: Gyaarah Gyaarah (ZEE5)
- Best OTT film, Malayalam: Her (MM TV)
- Best OTT film: Amar Singh Chamkila (Netflix)
- Best series: Panchayat season 3 (Prime Video)
- Best series: Criminal Justice: A Family Matter (Applause Entertainment)
- Best thriller, OTT film: Phir Aayi Hasseen Dillruba (Netflix)
- Best thriller series, Marathi: IPC (Ultra Media and Entertainment)
- Best thriller series: Paatal Lok season 2 (Prime Video)
- Best thriller series, Malayalam: Poacher season 1 (Prime Video)
- Best youth series: Big Girls Don’t Cry (Prime Video)
- Best youth series, Malayalam: Coupling (Malayala Manorama Television)
TECHNICAL AND CREATIVE
- Best director, OTT film (Odia): Abhishek Swain, Jajabara 2.0 (Kaustav Dreamworks)
- Best director, OTT film: Imtiaz Ali, Amar Singh Chamkila (Netflix)
- Best director, series: Vikramaditya Motwane / Rohin Raveendran Nair / Ambiecka Pandit / Satyanshu Singh / Arkesh Ajay, Black Warrant (Applause Entertainment)
- Best album, series: Parmish Verma, Kanneda (JioHotstar)
- Best art director, series: Rajat Poddar, Ranneeti: Balakot and Beyond (JioHotstar)
- Best background score, series: Ajay Jayanthi, Black Warrant (Applause Entertainment)
- Best cinematography, OTT film: Sylvester Fonseca, Amar Singh Chamkila (Netflix)
- Best cinematography, Tamil series: Bargav Sridhar, Inspector Rishi (Prime Video)
- Best cinematography, series: Saumyananda Sahi, Black Warrant (Applause Entertainment)
- Best dialogue, series: Harman Wadala / Sandeep Jain / Sameer Mishra / Anurag Pandey, Criminal Justice: A Family Matter (Applause Entertainment)
- Best editing, OTT film: Jahaan Noble, CTRL (Netflix)
- Best editing, series: Antara Lahiri, Ziddi Girls (Pritish Nandy Communications)
- Best hair and make-up, OTT film: Jitendra Mhatre / Yogesh Santosh Patil / Vardan Nayak / Arjun Bundela / Annapurna Vhanne / Bharti Deepak Chavan, Chhorii 2 (Abundantia Entertainment)
- Best original song, OTT film: Vida Karo, Amar Singh Chamkila (Netflix)
- Best original song, series: Anurag Saikia / Madhubanti Bagchi / Amarabha Banerjee / Raj Shekhar / Varun Jain / Romy, Mismatched season 3 (Netflix)
- Best showrunner, Tamil series: Pushkar Gayatri, Suzhal: The Vortex (Prime Video)
- Best VFX, series: Anubhav Sinha / Dipen Bhavsar, IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack (Netflix)
- Best screenplay, series: Harman Wadala / Sandeep Jain / Sameer Mishra, Criminal Justice: A Family Matter (Applause Entertainment)
- Best story, OTT film: Kanika Dhillon, Phir Aayi Hasseen Dillruba (Netflix)
- Best story, series: Satyanshu Singh and Arkesh Ajay, Black Warrant (Applause Entertainment)
BUSINESS
- Best brand integration, Telugu series: Bingo in Telugu Indian Idol season 3 (ARHA Media and Broadcasting)
- Best brand integration, Bengali series: Snigdha (hoichoi)
- Best brand integration, series: L’Oreal Paris x Dice Media, High Heels (Pocket Aces)
- Best branded video, Gujarati OTT film: Super 13 (Shemaroo Entertainment)
- Best marketing campaign, Gujarati OTT film: Congratulations (Social Experiment) (Shemaroo Entertainment)
- Best OTT communication, Malayalam: Coupling (Malayala Manorama Television)
- Best OTT marketing, OTT film: Mrs. (ZEE5)
- Most watched show, series: Power of Paanch (Balaji Telefilms)
FAN FAVOURITE
- Fan favourite Hindi OTT film: Mrs. (ZEE5 / Harman Baweja)
- Fan favourite Hindi original series: Mismatched season 3 (Netflix)
- Fan favourite Hindi non-fiction series: Shark Tank season 4 (Sony LIV)
- Fan favourite onscreen couple: Rohit Saraf and Prajakta Koli, Mismatched season 3 (Netflix)
- Fan favourite male, original series: Manoj Bajpayee, The Family Man season 3 (Prime Video)
- Fan favourite OTT personality, male: Munawar Faruqui
- Fan favourite OTT personality, female: Prajakta Koli
- Fan favourite Hindi supporting actor: Rahul Bhat, Black Warrant (Netflix)
- Fan favourite performer, actress: Mona Singh, The Ba***ds of Bollywood (Netflix)
- Fan favourite Hindi villain: Manish Chaudhari, The Ba***ds of Bollywood (Netflix)
- Fan favourite regional original series: Be Dune Teen (ZEE5)
- Fan favourite regional non-fiction show: Superdogs (JOJO Gujarati)
- Fan favourite regional supporting actor: Ojas Rawal, Auntypreneur (Cineman / ShemarooMe)
- Fan favourite regional supporting actress: Brinda Trivedi, Auntypreneur (Cineman / ShemarooMe)
EDITORIAL CHOICE
- Best documentary series director: Namrata Rao, Angry Young Men (Prime Video)
- Best actress, series: Huma Qureshi, Maharani season 4 (Sony LIV)
- Best actress in a negative role, series: Huma Qureshi, Delhi Crime season 3 (Netflix)
- Best supporting actress, series: Rasika Dugal, Mirzapur season 3 (Prime Video)
- Best male debut, series: Munawar Faruqui, First Copy (Amazon MX Player)
- Best actor male, series: Ishaan Khatter, The Royals (Netflix)
- Best supporting actor male, series: Rajat Bedi, The Ba***ds of Bollywood (Netflix)
- Most promising performer: Anya Singh, The Ba***ds of Bollywood (Netflix)
- Best director, OTT film: Boman Irani, The Mehta Boys (Prime Video)
- Most disruptive content format: Rise and Fall (Amazon MX Player)
- Best musical drama: Abhishek Sharma and Sagar Thakker, Hai Junoon (JioHotstar)
- Breakthrough performance, OTT film: Pooja Sarup, The Mehta Boys (Prime Video)
- Best casting director, series: Nandini Shrikent and Karan Mally, Criminal Justice: A Family Matter (JioHotstar)
- Outstanding performance, comedy/drama series: Nakuul Mehta, Do You Wanna Partner (Prime Video)
- Most impactful performance of the year, series: Ali Fazal, Mirzapur season 3 (Prime Video)
- Most versatile actor: Vineet Kumar Singh, Rangeen / Rangbaaz: The Bihar Chapter (Prime Video / ZEE5)
- Commercial breakout face of the year: Sufi Motiwala
- Best directorial debut: Aryan Khan, The Ba***ds of Bollywood (Netflix)
- Best original song / single, OTT digital: Neeti Mohan, Mirza
- Best actress comedy, series: Nidhi Bisht, Maamla Legal Hai (Netflix)
About ITSA: The Indian Telly Streaming Awards, now in its fourth edition, is India’s premier awards platform dedicated exclusively to the OTT and streaming ecosystem. It is owned and produced by the ITV group under Anil Wanvari.
Scenes from ITSA 2026
