iWorld
Kali Sayak Mukherjee named head of creative marketing at Prime Video
MUMBAI: Prime Video has elevated Kali Sayak Mukherjee to head of creative marketing for Apac and ANZ, handing him one of the most expansive creative mandates in the streaming giant’s global network.
Starting January 2026, Mukherjee will oversee creative marketing and production across India, South East Asia, Australia, New Zealand and Japan. It is a role that blends storytelling with scale, and one that marks a significant step up after more than six years shaping Prime Video’s creative voice in India.
Announcing the move, Mukherjee struck a characteristically reflective note, calling the opportunity both humbling and exciting. An electrical engineer by training who once wondered if he could write copy, he now finds himself steering international creative teams across diverse cultures and markets. He likened the experience to his two year old discovering a ball pit, curious, energetic and all in.
During his tenure in India, Mukherjee played a key role in building Prime Video’s cultural footprint through content led ideas across series and sports. Colleagues credit him with marrying sharp creative instinct with a deep understanding of audiences, a combination that helped Prime Video stand out in a crowded streaming landscape.
Mukherjee was quick to acknowledge the teams and leaders who shaped his journey, from his India based creative colleagues to mentors across Amazon and Prime Video who backed his growth. He also thanked senior leadership for trusting him with a wider canvas and a bigger brief.
With 2026 just underway, Mukherjee is already clear on one thing. The work begins now. And if his career so far is any indication, the next chapter promises ideas that travel well across borders, screens and cultures.
iWorld
Talk to your telly: JioHotstar’s new AI voice feature reads your mood to suggest shows
The streaming giant ditches the scroll for a “conversational” AI that understands moods, cricket and Hinglish
MUMBAI: The era of the endless scroll may finally be over. JioHotstar has officially flicked the switch on its “Conversational Voice Discovery” (CVD) feature, a high-tech overhaul designed to turn the hunt for a Friday night film into a natural chat. Developed in a landmark partnership with OpenAI, the tool moves beyond clunky keyword searches, allowing users to find content by describing their mood, context or even the most bizarre viewing scenarios.
The feature is vision of Uday Shankar, vice chairman of JioStar, whose goal is to eliminate “content overload” by replacing the tedious, traditional scroll with natural dialogue. By leveraging ChatGPT’s ability to grasp context and cultural nuance, the new mobile interface allows users to bypass menus entirely, turning search into a seamless conversation.
The launch, which rolled out across India this month, sees a ChatGPT-powered interface integrated directly into the heart of the app. Instead of typing “action movie” into a sterile search bar, viewers can now speak to their devices as if they were asking a well-read friend for a tip. For now, the feature is exclusive to the mobile app, with a rollout for Connected TV (CTV) expected in later phases.
Beyond the keyword
The CVD feature is built on what JioStar calls “Multilingual Cognitive Search.” It is designed to interpret nuance rather than just matching text. If you tell the app, “I’ve had a long day, give me something mindless and funny,” it won’t just look for those words in a title; it will sift through 300,000 hours of library content to find a light-hearted sitcom or a stand-up special that fits the vibe.
The tech is natively multilingual, catering to India’s diverse linguistic landscape. Users can switch effortlessly between languages—asking for “Koi light-hearted comedy dikhao” (show me some light-hearted comedy) or requesting a “Thriller hai but zyada dark nahi chahiye” (a thriller that isn’t too dark).
Real-time curiosity and live sports
Perhaps the most ambitious aspect of the rollout is its integration with live sports. During a high-stakes cricket match, the AI acts as a digital companion. Fans can ask, “Who is the top scorer right now?” or “Show me that last wicket again,” and the system will pull the relevant data or clips instantly. It even attempts to explain the “why” behind the crowd’s energy, responding to prompts like, “Why is everyone reacting like that?” by contextualizing on-field events.
A shift in streaming strategy
The move is part of a broader reimagining of the entertainment experience following the massive merger between JioCinema and Disney+ Hotstar. Uday Shankar noted that the goal is to make premium entertainment “truly accessible” by embedding AI at the core of the user journey. By anticipating culture and context, the platform hopes to kill off “decision fatigue.”
For OpenAI, the partnership represents a major play in the Indian market. Fidji Simo, the head of applications at OpenAI, said the goal was to turn a “one-way” passive consumption experience into a “deeply personal conversation.”
As the feature goes live for millions of subscribers, the message from Bombay House is clear: the remote control is becoming obsolete. Whether you’re looking for a show that “feels like a rainy Sunday afternoon” or a crime series with a “strong female lead but not too violent,” all you have to do is ask.
