iWorld
Moj puts short drama in fast forward with new creator challenge
MUMBAI: In a bid to prove that big stories do not need long runtimes, Moj has rolled out what it calls a first-of-its-kind Micro Drama Challenge, setting aside more than Rs 20 crore annually to spot, fund and shape India’s next generation of short-form storytellers.
The initiative, launched by Moj, the homegrown short video platform from Sharechat, is designed as an accelerator programme for studios building vertical micro-drama series bite-sized narratives made for smartphone viewing but backed by serious ambition. The move comes as short-form entertainment in India evolves from casual scrolling to structured storytelling with real monetisation potential.
At its core, the programme aims to discover and groom emerging studios that can tap into India’s rapidly growing appetite for episodic, vertical content. By bringing together creators, filmmakers and production houses, Moj is betting that micro-dramas stories told in one- to two-minute episodes can become a significant engine of growth in the country’s digital entertainment economy.
Applications for the Micro Drama Challenge are open until 26 January 2026. Moj plans to shortlist 10 studios by 31 January, each of which will receive a ₹10 lakh grant to develop original micro-drama series tailored for vertical viewing. While participants will have creative freedom, the format comes with clear boundaries: each series must run for at least an hour in total, broken into tightly edited episodes of one to two minutes each.
Beyond funding, Moj is offering participants access to its recommendation systems and audience insights, allowing studios to fine-tune their storytelling for engagement rather than guesswork. The platform says this data-led support is intended to help creators understand what resonates with viewers across regions, languages and genres.
Once shortlisted, studios will enter a competitive phase running until 31 March. During this period, creators will upload their micro-dramas on Moj, where the content will face a direct audience test across the platform’s 60 million-strong micro-drama viewer base. Genres are wide open from action and emotional drama to culturally rooted stories reflecting the diversity Moj hopes to unlock.
The programme culminates in a prize pool designed to help studios scale further. The winning team will take home Rs 25 lakhs, followed by Rs 15 lakhs for second place and Rs 5 lakhs for third. Beyond cash rewards, top performers will also be considered for future Moj Originals, offering a potential long-term pathway rather than a one-off win.
For Moj, the challenge is less about a single contest and more about building a pipeline. Manohar Singh Charan, Sharechat and Moj co-founder and CFO Manohar Singh Charan described the programme as a recurring launchpad for storytellers. He said the aim was to create an “enabler ladder” where independent studios could grow alongside established players, supported by funding, data and distribution.
According to Charan, the initiative reflects a broader shift in how audiences consume entertainment. With viewers increasingly gravitating towards personalised, snackable content, platforms need a deep and diverse supply of stories that feel relevant across regions and cultures. Moj’s recommendation systems, he noted, are built to match the right stories to the right audiences, rather than forcing a one-size-fits-all feed.
The Micro Drama Challenge also highlights how short-form platforms are maturing beyond creator monetisation through ads and brand deals. By backing studios and structured storytelling, Moj is signalling a move towards a more organised content economy, one where vertical dramas can be planned, produced and promoted with the same seriousness as longer-format shows.
For creators, the appeal lies in access: funding, platform support, audience reach and the possibility of scaling into original commissions. For viewers, the payoff is variety, an expanding library of binge-worthy dramas that fit into short attention spans without sacrificing narrative depth.
As India’s short-video space grows more competitive, Moj’s bet is that the future lies not just in viral clips, but in compelling stories told quickly and well. With Rs 20 crore riding on that belief, the micro-drama race just got a lot more serious.
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.
