MAM
Rainshine launches two new shows on Audible Suno, an Amazon Company
MUMABI: Rainshine Entertainment, a leading entertainment company that creates diverse and iconic content for Indian and global audiences, announced a strategic expansion into the digital audio space through podcasts. The company set the wheels in motion with the launch of two new podcasts on Audible Suno – ‘Thriller Factory’ and ‘Be Stupid with Vir Das’, produced by CM Studios and Weirdass Comedy respectively. Rainshine Entertainment intends to release more than 30 podcasts over the next 12 months, offering consumers a diverse bouquet of stories spanning across genres, ranging from thriller to comedy to self-help. This will comprise content from companies present under the Rainshine umbrella, to be distributed in India and across the globe.
Created by Ruchir Joshi and Pravesh Bhardwaj, with Sameer Pitalwalla as the Producer, ‘Thriller Factory’ is an adapted and abridged version of stories from the bestselling Indian pulp fiction writer, Ved Prakash Sharma. Presented by Anurag Kashyap and produced by CM Studios, one of the content production arms of Rainshine Entertainment, this ten-episodic crime series amalgamates the grit and natural style of Kashyap's cinema with Ved's evocative stories. Leading actors including Tabu, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, and Sachin Khedekar lend gravity and texture to the episodes, thereby creating a peculiar soundscape that merges the old and new, the retro and contemporary, the raw and refined.
‘Be Stupid with Vir Das’, a topical comedy produced by Weirdass Comedy, the foremost comedy content studio and consultancy in India, takes on a lighter persona. In this series, Vir Das discusses how stupidity and stupid decisions across history, his personal life, and the lives of others surprisingly changed the world for the better. From a man who accidentally cycled past the India-Pak border to a young boy who flung his whiskey glass at a politician, ‘Be Stupid with Vir Das’ gives a voice to some of the funniest and the most heart-warming stories of instant regret but ultimate redemption.
Commenting on this development, CM Studios content head Ruchir Joshi said, “We’re very passionate about creating content that’s unique and sets us apart. With the growing potential of audio content and the arrival of international audio OTT players in the Indian market, our strategy was clear. ‘Thriller Factory’ is our entry into a prime space with a standout big-scale property that is quintessentially Indian at heart. Over the course of the next year, we plan on introducing many more compelling stories, and we’re very excited about what’s in store.”
“Comedy can often rely on being visually engaging. So, ‘Be Stupid with Vir Das’ was a cool creative puzzle – trying to get the funny from my mouth to your ears with nothing in between! More than anything else, I got to sit down with amazing people. I'm a storyteller at heart, and I can't wait to bring you their hilarious and stupid stories. I’m so glad I was able to explore this new medium with Audible Suno, and I hope my audience listens to me and the rest of the content on the app, from my particular stupid…all the way to the sensible,” said comedian Vir Das.
Rainshine Entertainment Emerging Business SVP Kiran Nithyanand said, “At Rainshine, we’ve always believed in telling the most interesting narratives in a variety of formats and genres. With the audio streaming space growing globally, podcasts are increasingly becoming a force to reckon with. We believe that our foray into podcasts gives us an exciting opportunity to leverage our expertise and work with a growing base of diverse content creators to provide new and exciting stories for audiences worldwide.”
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.
