MAM
Manoti Jain to be only Indian woman at Cannes Lions 2019 ‘See It Be It’ programme
MUMBAI: Supari Studios chief operating officer Manoti Jain , is the only Indian to be selected for the Cannes Lions 2019 ‘See It Be It’ programme. 15 women from across the globe were chosen for the programme this year, all of whom will benefit from a curated learning experience at the Cannes Lions festival.
Jain and the 14 other women were selected from over 760 global applicants across the globe. The programme supports the next generation of female creative directors and takes an active role in shaping the industry to become more representative of the world we live in.
At the age of 22, Jain, along with co-founders Advait and Akshat Gupt set up Supari Studios in late 2012, after sensing a gap in the country’s digital media landscape. Since then she has helped the company grow into one of the leading content studios in India, winning international awards and building a global audience for brands such as Red Bull, Estee Lauder, Google and Twitter. She strives to create content at the intersection of film, design and technology that is empowering and relevant to audiences.
Through its ‘See It Be It’ initiative, launched in 2014, Cannes Lions has fully funded over 70 women to attend the festival, providing them with an exclusive learning opportunity and exposure to the global creative community.
Speaking on the selection, Jain says, “I am extremely honoured and fortunate to share the See It Be It platform with this cohort of resilient and diverse creative minds, at what promises to be a unique week of learning. I hope to bring back lots of learnings and experiences from the programme to both my company and my country in the most effective way possible, by approaching content through a more sensitive, impactful and empowering lens. Attending the festival is an exciting prospect in itself, and I am all geared up to embrace what awaits me at Cannes this year.”
Supari Studios' Advait Gupt says, “We are absolutely thrilled that Manoti has been selected for the See It Be It programme this year. She has been instrumental in our journey as a content studio from day one. We’re extremely proud that she has been given the opportunity to represent not only the Supari Studios family, but also the many talented, creative women from India at this global platform. We can’t wait for her return to inspire us with her learnings, experiences and stories.”
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.
