MAM
Swedish design stars shine brightly at Design Mumbai 2025
MUMBAI: Design Mumbai 2025 has opened to a full house of global tastemakers, and three Swedish names are stealing a noticeable share of the spotlight. String Furniture, Hästens Beds and Blå Station have arrived with their signature blend of simplicity, craftsmanship and quiet sophistication, drawing crowds from India’s ever-growing community of design-hungry consumers.
Design Mumbai has become a fixture on the international design calendar, bringing together architects, interior specialists and brands from across the world. With Mumbai’s expanding middle class seeking sustainable, functional and aesthetically refined products, Swedish design finds itself in an ideal position to flourish in the city.
“Swedish design stands for more than form. It is rooted in sustainability, quality and innovation. These are values increasingly sought by Mumbai’s growing middle class. Swedish companies are not only exporting products but also ideas about what future homes and workplaces can be,” said Sweden (Mumbai) consul general Sven Östberg. He inaugurated String Furniture’s pavilion, where the brand’s iconic modular shelving met lively interest from Indian visitors, before exploring Hästens’ handcrafted luxury beds and Blå Station’s playful yet minimalist seating.
Speaking about Hästens’ presence in India, Hästens Beds India general manager Mats Joseph Fernandes, said the brand is finding a receptive audience. “Today’s luxury consumer seeks authenticity, purity of materials and a lifestyle of refined taste. At Hästens, true luxury lies in craftsmanship and rare natural materials. These beds are not just designed for comfort, they are masterpieces of heritage. India’s evolving luxury landscape is welcoming brands with legacy and purpose.”
Mumbai’s position as a city of over 20 million residents, many of them young professionals and entrepreneurs, makes it a strategic launchpad for Swedish design. Demand for premium furniture and interiors continues to climb as more consumers seek global standards for their homes and workspaces.
String Furniture CEO Jonas Wetterlöf, said the response has been encouraging. “String Furniture, designed in 1949, is known for its ingenious simplicity and adaptability, making it ideal for India’s dynamic urban lifestyle. Our systems are customisable, multi-functional and built to last. The enthusiasm at Design Mumbai 2025 has been remarkable.”
String Furniture is also marking a milestone year with the unveiling of Pira G2, a modern take on the seven-decade-old Pira floor-to-ceiling shelving system. The new edition blends architectural elegance with everyday practicality, catering to contemporary Indian homes.
Together, the Swedish exhibitors illustrate how closely Scandinavian values align with India’s evolving design aspirations. For consumers who prioritise long-lasting quality, thoughtful craft and a modern aesthetic, the Swedish showcase offers a refreshing alternative to mass-produced décor.
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.
