MAM
Tata Motors, WATConsult recreate Ludo to spread awareness on Covid2019
Mumbai: The Covid209 lockdown has brought about a fundamental shift in content consumption patterns. With ample time in hand, people are turning to watch movies, shows, and play online games to keep themselves entertained. Amongst all, one game that has seen a tremendous surge in popularity and repeat plays across every age group is Ludo.
With over 50 million daily active users, this game brings together families and friends in a time when they physically cannot be. The game has also witnessed a huge amount of success among celebrities during this period of lockdown. While everyone understands the rules of Ludo, a closer look at the game reveals that apart from being entertaining and addictive, it is also a perfect metaphor for social distancing.
Leading automobile manufacturer Tata Motors and WATConsult, the globally awarded hybrid digital agency from the house of Dentsu Aegis Network (DAN) India, decided to use this symbolism to re-create this unique game. Titled #SafetyFirst Ludo, the new version of the game highlights the necessity to stay indoors and the risks that would befall us if we ventured out without protection.
Link to the game:https://ludo.tatamotors.com/
The idea stemmed from a simple insight wherein the main goal is to reach your ‘home’ as quickly as possible. As per the rules of the game, when a player ‘touches’ someone (equivalent to an in-game kill), he/she has to go back to the starting point (which is similar to being in quarantine) until the player rolls a 6 again; and this is the exact representation of what we are currently facing in the fight against Covid2019. This popular game has been re-launched during the lockdown period, aiming to teach Indians to be hygienic and show responsibility in protecting themselves.
The game is designed in two playing modes: the Virus Spread mode and the Social Distancing mode. In the 'Virus Spread mode', one would get penalised for being too close to another player, that is, when the player is right behind or in front of them. But this can be counteracted by choosing to ‘sanitise’. The idea behind 'Social Distancing mode' is to avoid the players from being too close to each other under all circumstances. They need to maintain a minimum of one block distance between any two pieces at any given point in time.
Vivek Srivatsa, head – marketing, passenger vehicle business unit, Tata Motors, said, "In light of the current scenario, digital engagement has taken a completely new shape. With an increased consumption of online content, keeping customers entertained yet informed is the way forward. Safety has always been of utmost importance to us, and what better way than to integrate it within a game that is synonymous to all. With the above in mind, we along with our team at WATConsult came up with an ingenious idea of #SafetyFirst Ludo. We aim to bring our community together on this gaming platform while reminding them of the importance of practicing Safety First during these times.”
WATConsult CEO Heeru Dingra said, “With the lockdown impacting all of us in many different ways, digital engagement is something that is indeed binding us together. Games and television seem to be the major sources of entertainment. Safety being Tata Motors’ utmost priority, we thought of extending the brand's philosophy uniquely. #SafetyFirst Ludo is the perfect example of what we need right now, a subtle reminder of why we must maintain social distancing, along with a fun and engaging activity to help the lockdown become a little more fun.”
Tata Motors was the first Indian manufacturer to make a 5-star safety-rated car for India certified by Global NCAP and #SafetyFirst has always been one of their core values. In this time of need, this campaign manifests the same values, globally.
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.
