Movies
Jio Studios puts the Jio in content business
Mumbai: In an event held at the Jio World Convention Centre in Mumbai, Jio Studios, the media and content arm of Reliance Industries Ltd., for the first time has unveiled its spectacular content slate, the single largest slate ever produced by an Indian studio in any given year. The studio has lined up ready to release over 100+ stories across genres of films and original web series in multiple languages including Hindi, Marathi, Bengali, Gujarati, South and Bhojpuri, capturing every emotion and genre of storytelling – Action, Drama, Thriller, Comedy, Romance, Biopics, Horror, Musicals et al.
The depth and width of this marquee offering promises to be a game-changer in the world of Indian entertainment, delivering high quality content that is both entertaining and thought provoking, with unheard of scale. This has been achieved through meticulous collaboration with some of the best creative minds in the country including Raj Kumar Hirani, Sooraj Barjatya, Dinesh Vijan, Ali Abbas Zafar, Aditya Dhar, Prakash Jha, Amar Kaushik, Laxman Utekar to name a few, featuring stories with some superstars as well as new talent, be it actors or filmmakers.
RIL Media and content business president Jyoti Deshpande commented, “We are in the most exciting and eventful phase of Indian entertainment, with storytelling taking centre stage in an era of explosive digital disruption. Since its inception five years ago, Jio Studios has worked very hard to lay solid foundations in scaling what is traditionally a very fragmented industry. We have actively partnered with some of the best names in the business and newcomers alike to reach this day, when a staggering and exciting 100 content assets have been produced, ready to be showcased to the world.”
“Our vision is to power stories that are from, by and for India and Bharat, tell stories that not only entertain but also have purpose, partner with storytellers in every Indian language and take these stories mainstream. Our mission to Make in India and Show the World is vast and inclusive and will ensure the growth of the entire entertainment value chain. The future holds infinite possibilities, and this occasion marks a new chapter in our journey to give wings to the greatest stories ever told and champion the creative excellence of incredible storytellers,” concluded Deshpande.
The film line-up includes Dunki (Shah Rukh Khan), Bloody Daddy (Shahid Kapoor), Bhediya 2 (Varun Dhawan) , Bhul Chuk Maaf (Kartik Aryan & Shraddha Kapoor), Untitled (Shahid Kapoor & Kriti Sanon) Stree 2 (Rajkummar Rao & Shraddha Kapoor), Section 84 (Amitabh Bachchan), Hisaab Barabar (R Madhavan), Zara Hatke Zara Bachke (Vicky Kaushal & Sara Ali Khan), BlackOut (Vikrant Massey & Mouni Roy), Mumbaikar (Vijay Sethupathi), The Storyteller (Paresh Rawal & Adil Hussain), Dhoom Dhaam (Pratik Gandhi & Yami Gautam), Empire (Taapsee Pannu & Arvind Swamy), to name just a few.
Jio Studios has further produced in its mix of web originals, riveting sagas with powerhouse talent. These include Laal Batti, a political thriller helmed by Prakash Jha (marking Nana Patekar’s debut in OTT & Sanjay Kapoor), Union: The Making of India (Kay Kay Menon, Ashutosh Rana & a stellar ensemble cast), Inspector Avinash (Randeep Hooda & Urvashi Rautela), Rafuchakkar (Maniesh Paul’s debut in OTT), Bajao (Rapper Raftaar’s OTT debut), The Magic of Shiri (Divyanka Tripathi), Doctors (Sharad Kelkar), A Legal Affair (Barkha Singh & Angad Bedi) and many more. Additionally, the studio has built a Mini-Originals slate showcasing slice-of-life content that includes Ishq Next Door (Abhay Mahajan & Natasha Bharadwaj), Do Gubbare (Mohan Agashe & Siddharth Shaw) and Hajamat (Sanjay Mishra & Anshumaan Pushkar).
Jio Studios has invested significantly in building a vast local content repertoire and is set to dominate the regional space as well with a slew of captivating stories across languages. It has a noteworthy Marathi slate with Baipan Bhari Deva (Rohini Hattangadi, Vandana Gupte, Sukanya Kulkarni), Four Blind Men (Ankush Chaudhari), 1234 (Vaidehi Parshurami and Nipun Dharmadhikari), Kharvas (Sandesh Kulkarni), Kaata Kirrr (Priyadarshan Jadhav), Khashaba (Nagraj Manjule) and is arguably the only content company to invest in premium Marathi web original series like Kaalsutra (Subodh Bhave and Sayaji Shinde), Eka Kaleche Mani (Prashant Damle) and Aga Aai Aho Aai (Renuka Shahane and Hruta Durgule).
Jio Studios has also announced one of the biggest deals in the Bengali market by entering into a multi-year, multi film collaboration with SVF Entertainment, the powerhouse of Bengali cinema to create a new era of blockbusters. The upcoming films in this partnership will include top of the line talent such as Mithun Chakraborty, Prosenjit Chatterjee, Jisshu Sengupta and makers Dhrubo Banerjee, Raj Chakraborty, Anirban Bhattacharya, Srijit Mukherji, Suman Ghosh to name a few.
The studio is also backing Gujarati cinema and will present an interesting line up including Bachubhai (Siddharth Randeria), Chaandlo (Kaajal Oza Vaidya, Manav Gohil & Shraddha Dangar) & Ghulam Chor (Malhar Thakkar).
Hindi
GUEST COLUMN: Why film libraries & IPs are the new engines of growth
Unlocking value through catalogue strength and IP synergy
MUMBAI:In a media landscape defined by fragmentation, platform proliferation, and ever-evolving audience behavior, the economics of filmmaking are undergoing a fundamental shift. No longer confined to box office performance, a film’s true value is now measured across an extended lifecycle that spans digital platforms, syndication networks, and global markets. As content consumption becomes increasingly non-linear and algorithm-driven, film libraries and intellectual properties (IPs) are emerging as strategic assets, capable of delivering sustained, long-term returns. For Mohan Gopinath, head – bollywood business at Shemaroo Entertainment Ltd., this transformation signals a decisive move from hit-driven models to portfolio-led value creation. In this piece, Gopinath explores how legacy content, when intelligently repurposed and distributed, can unlock recurring revenue streams, why the interplay between catalogue and original IP is critical, and how media companies can build resilient, future-ready entertainment businesses.
For all these years, we thought that a film is successful if it performs well in theatres. There are opening weekend numbers, box office milestones, and distribution footprints that gave a good picture of how the movie has done commercially and also tell us about its cultural impact. However, there are multiple platforms today, always-on content ecosystem, which has caused a shift. Today, the theatrical performance is not the culmination of a film’s journey but merely the beginning of a much longer and more dynamic lifecycle.
Film libraries today are emerging as high-value, constantly evolving assets that deliver sustained returns well beyond initial release cycles. This becomes a point of great advantage for legacy content owners with diverse catalogues, to shape long-term business outcomes.
According to FICCI-EY, the media and entertainment industry of India achieved a valuation of Rs 2.78 trillion in 2025 which is expected to reach Rs 3.3 trillion by 2028 through a compound annual growth rate of approximately 7 per cent and digital media will bring in more than Rs 1 trillion to become the biggest sector which generates about 36 per cent of overall market revenues.
This shift is the expansion of distribution endpoints. We know how satellite television was once the primary secondary window but today, it coexists with YouTube, OTT platforms, Connected TV, and FAST channels. Each of these platforms caters to distinct audience demographics and consumption behaviors, helping content owners to obtain more value from the same asset across multiple formats.
For instance, films that had great reruns, now find continuous engagement across digital platforms. On YouTube, classic Hindi cinema continues to attract significant viewership, reaching audiences across generations and geographies with remarkable consistency. At Shemaroo Entertainment, this is reflected in our film library shaped over decades as part of a long association with Indian entertainment. From classics such as Amar Akbar Anthony to much-loved entertainers like Jab We Met, Welcome, Dhamaal, Phir Hera Pheri, Dhol, Golmaal, and Bhagam Bhag, many of these titles continue finding new audiences while retaining their place in popular memory. Their enduring appeal reflects how culturally resonant stories can continue creating value over time. Similarly, FAST channels have created curated, always-on environments where catalogue content can continue to thrive through star-led and genre-based programming.
This multi-platform approach has very well transformed films into long-tail IP assets which are capable of generating recurring revenue across advertising, subscription, and syndication models.
The evolution of audience behavior is equally important. Nowadays, it’s more important to find what’s more relative than what’s recent as viewers are more influenced by mood, memories, and algorithmic suggestions than by release schedules. Even if a movie was released decades ago, it can trend alongside a newly released movie, if surfaced in the right context. Thoughtful packaging, whether through festival-based playlists, actor-driven collections, or genre clusters, allows catalogue content to remain dynamic and continuously discoverable. Shemaroo Entertainment has built extensive film libraries over decades and its focus has mostly been on recontextualizing content for the consumption of newer environments. This process doesn’t just include digitization and restoration, but also re-packaging of films as per platforms.
Syndication itself has evolved into a key growth driver. In perspective, when looking at the domestic market, curated content packages continue to find strong demand across broadcast and digital platforms. Meanwhile, in the international market, especially in markets like Middle East, North America and Southeast Asia, the appetite for Indian content is opening up new monetization avenues. Here, the ability to package and position catalogue content effectively becomes as important as the content itself.
Importantly, the need to re-package catalogue content does not diminish the role of new content. In fact, originals and fresh IP are essential to sustaining the long-term value of a film library because they act as discovery engines that bring audiences into the ecosystem, while catalogue content drives depth, retention, and repeat engagement.
This interplay between the “new” and the “known” is what defines a robust content strategy today. While new films generate spikes in consumption, catalogue titles offer familiarity and comfort. These are factors that are increasingly valuable in an era of content abundance and decision fatigue. This is also shaping our strategy, drawing value from both a deep catalogue assets and a growing focus on original IPs to strengthen long-term audience engagement and build more predictable revenue streams.
There is growing recognition that long-term value in entertainment will be shaped not only by how intelligently existing content continues to live, travel and find relevance, but also by how consistently new stories are created to renew that ecosystem. In that sense, film libraries and original IP are not parallel bets, but reinforcing engines of growth. For media companies, the opportunity lies in making these two forces work together, because that is increasingly where more resilient and predictable businesses are being shaped.
Note: The views expressed in this article are solely the author’s and do not necessarily reflect our own.
