iWorld
Amazon Prime Video India and Excel Media & Entertainment Release the Trailer of the Highly Anticipated Prime Original Series, Mirzapur
MUMBAI: Amazon Prime Video and Excel Media & Entertainment today released the trailer of the highly anticipated Prime Original Series – Mirzapur. Set in the heartland of India, Mirzapur revolves around drugs, guns and the politics of power in a land where might is right. Created by Karan Anshuman & Puneet Krishna and directed by Gurmmeet Singh, Mirzapur is a nine-episode series that will be available to stream exclusively on Prime Video from November 16, 2018 across more than 200 countries and territories. An edge-of-your-seat binge-watching experience, Mirzapur is a gripping narrative brought to life by a power-packed cast including highly acclaimed and award-winning actors such as Pankaj Tripathi, Ali Fazal, Vikrant Massey, Divyendu Sharma, Kulbhushan Kharbanda, Shweta Tripathi, Shriya Pilgaonkar, Rasika Dugal and many more.
Vijay Subramaniam, Director & Head, Content, Amazon Prime Video India, said, “With Mirzapur, we reiterate our commitment to bring new, ground breaking shows to Indian and global audiences with high caliber production values and exceptional content creators and talent. More importantly, we remain committed to taking stories from India that are local in narrative yet epic in scale to a global stage. If the global launches of Inside Edge, Breathe, etc. have taught us anything, it is that high quality Indian content has found resonance with audiences around the world and there is a growing appetite for the same”.
Mirzapur is the fifth Prime Original Series offering from India and brings together the winning trio Ritesh Sidhwani, Karan Anshuman and Farhan Akhtar, the creators of Prime Original Series, Inside Edge that recently earned an International Emmy nomination for Best Drama Series (the first-of-its’s-kind for a video-on-demand series originating from India).
Ritesh Sidhwani, Excel Media & Entertainment, said, “We are thrilled to collaborate with Amazon Prime Video to present a genre-defining, bold and powerful story like Mirzapur. A show of this caliber with high production value and scale takes it to the next level of cinematic experience. We are taking a story set in the heartland of India to a global audience & are excited to see how viewers respond to it.”
Karan Anshuman, Creator, said, “Mirzapur is the perfect storm. The creative freedom Amazon Prime Video allows, Excel’s adroit production experience, an ensemble cast that takes an already fantastic script and owns it….this is a fine time for filmmakers and I'm looking forward to new collaborations.”
Farhan Akhtar, Excel Media & Entertainment, said, “We are excited to collaborate again with Amazon Prime Video for the next Prime Original Series, Mirzapur. The success of Inside Edge reaffirms our faith in digital streaming in India, proving that these are indeed exciting times for storytellers, artists, writers and filmmakers. Mirzapur is a story not meant for the faint hearted and it will make people think about the show for days after watching it.”
iWorld
YRF, Red Chillies explore micro dramas as format gains ground
Short-format boom grows, 71 per cent users rely on UPI autopay.
MUMBAI: Big stories are getting shorter and Bollywood’s biggest studios are starting to think small to stay big. Yash Raj Films and Red Chillies Entertainment are independently evaluating entry into the micro drama space in 2026, signalling a strategic pivot as legacy players chase the fast-growing demand for bite-sized storytelling.
At YRF, the recent appointment of Saugata Mukherjee is being read as more than just a leadership shuffle. Industry insiders view the move as a deliberate step towards building a sharper, digital-first content pipeline. Mukherjee, who previously played a key role in shaping premium originals at SonyLiv, is known for backing narrative-led shows that helped the platform stand out in an increasingly crowded OTT market. His experience in scaling differentiated content is now expected to anchor YRF’s next phase of expansion.
While YRF’s plans appear relatively advanced, conversations around micro dramas are also picking up at Red Chillies, albeit at an earlier stage. Insiders suggest the studio is exploring the format as part of a broader rethink of content strategy in a market where attention spans and distribution formats are rapidly evolving.
The timing is hardly accidental. India’s micro drama ecosystem is already taking shape, with platforms such as JioHotstar (“Tadka”), Zee5 (“Bullet”), Amazon MX Player (“Fatafat”) and Tata Play (“Shots”) experimenting with mobile-first, episodic formats designed for binge consumption. Alongside these, niche players like Kuku TV, QuickTV and StoryTV are also building early traction.
What is driving this surge is not just format novelty but consumption behaviour. Data from Redseer indicates that content velocity and freshness are emerging as key engagement drivers, with users responding strongly to frequent releases and evolving story arcs. Interestingly, pricing is not a major friction point audiences are willing to pay, provided the content offers novelty and quality.
User feedback also points to a shift in taste. There is growing appetite for genre diversity beyond familiar tropes, opening up space for experimentation in storytelling formats. This creates an opportunity for both incumbents and new entrants to differentiate in what is quickly becoming a crowded segment.
Monetisation, however, remains tightly linked to ease of access. Around 71 per cent of users rely on UPI autopay for subscriptions, underlining the importance of seamless payment systems even as platforms explore diversified revenue models.
The rise of micro dramas is part of a larger shift in India’s digital entertainment landscape, where interactive media including audio streaming, social discovery and niche formats such as devotional and astrology-led content is gaining momentum. This broader segment is projected to grow into a $3.1–3.4 billion market by FY30, with micro dramas expected to be among the fastest-growing categories, outpacing traditional short-form video.
For studios like YRF and Red Chillies, the message is becoming clear: in a market where attention is fragmented, storytelling may need to shrink in size but not in ambition.
