iWorld
Jackie Thakkar joins Nikhil Kamath’s WTF as Lead Creative Producer
Mumbai: Jackie Thakkar is on the move again, and the timing is telling. As digital studios race to mint scalable intellectual property, the creative producer known for marrying brands and storytelling has joined WTF as lead creative producer, tasked with developing and executing new-age content IPs at Nikhil Kamath’s content studio.
Thakkar arrives with a résumé built for the attention economy. At JioHotstar, where he served as supervising creative producer for branded content, he led and created India’s Ultimate MotoStar, a Castrol Power1-backed reality show that ran on MTV and JioHotstar in 2024. He steered it from script to screen, working on anchor links, contestant diaries, edits and final delivery. The show drew strong reviews and added to his credentials as a builder of advertiser-funded entertainment.
His stint also included shaping title marketing and branded projects across marquee channels such as Colors TV, MTV, Nickelodeon and Comedy Central. Campaigns with Amazon miniTV, Garnier and Castrol Power1 ranged from integrations to full web series. An early win included cracking a brief for Imperial Blue’s “Men Will Be Men” communication and helping craft a Holi campaign around Bigg Boss stars.
Before the broadcast scale came digital muscle. At Pocket Aces’ FilterCopy, first as senior creative associate and later as creative director, Thakkar led writers and directors while pushing new video IPs. His breakout script, When Your Boyfriend Puts You in Awkward Situations, became FilterCopy’s most viewed video of 2020 with more than 20 million views. Projects under his watch collectively crossed 100 million-plus views on YouTube.
Earlier, at Arré, he was part of the four-member team that grew the channel from 300,000 to 2 million subscribers in two years. The platform’s presence expanded nearly sevenfold. His If Gaitonde… spoof series won a 2019 Talentrack Award, and he wrote sketches featuring Vidya Balan, Kangana Ranaut, Rajkummar Rao and Kartik Aaryan, alongside more than 100 articles spanning pop culture, politics and relationships.
The backstory stretches from copywriting at Merry Men to assistant directing in Los Angeles after a filmmaking and creative-writing course at UCLA. Even his teenage years included film criticism for BookMyShow and campus pieces for AOL.
The through line is clear: branded stories that travel. As platforms blur the lines between advertising and entertainment, creators who can sell without seeming to sell are in demand.
New studio, bigger canvas. In the content arms race, Jackie Thakkar is betting that sharp ideas still cut through the noise. And in a market hooked on views, brands and virality, the next hit is always one script away.
iWorld
Subedaar puts Indian original cinema on the global map with record-breaking Prime Video debut
MUMBAI: Prime Video has a runaway hit on its hands. Subedaar, the gritty action drama starring Anil Kapoor, has stormed to become the most-watched Indian original movie on the platform in its opening weekend, cracking the Top 10 across 31 countries and landing in 91 per cent of India’s pin codes within days of its March 5 premiere.
The film, a visceral, emotionally-charged story of a retired soldier, Subedaar Arjun Maurya, wrestling with civilian life amid crime and corruption, has struck a nerve. Directed by Suresh Triveni and co-starring Radhikka Madan, Mona Singh, Saurabh Shukla, Aditya Rawal, Faisal Malik, and Khushboo Sundar, the film is already being hailed as a showcase for what Indian original storytelling can achieve on the world stage.
“Subedaar’s success is a reflection of the growing scale and global resonance of Indian storytelling,” said Nikhil Madhok, director and head of originals at Prime Video India. “The film’s emotional narrative, its rooted portrayal of a soldier confronting his toughest battles beyond the battlefield, has struck a chord. Anil Kapoor delivers an acting masterclass, while Suresh Triveni’s solid direction and great performances from the ensemble cast have resulted in love and appreciation from customers across the world.”
Kapoor, 62, has been here before, but rarely at this altitude. Written by Triveni and Prajwal Chandrashekar, with dialogues by Triveni, Saurabh Dwivedi, and Chandrashekar, the film is a production by Opening Image Films in association with Anil Kapoor Film & Communication Network (AKFCN), produced by Vikram Malhotra, Kapoor, and Triveni.
Subedaar streams exclusively on Prime Video in Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu across India, and in over 240 countries and territories worldwide.
For Prime Video, the numbers tell the real story: one weekend, one film, a global footprint, and a very loud signal that Indian original cinema is no longer just travelling well. It’s arriving.
