iWorld
Scripted to scale Banijay boss Deepak Dhar backs India’s big format future
MUMBAI: He may have started as an “outside classroom student,” but today Deepak Dhar is scripting the biggest chapters of Asia’s content boom. At a fireside chat during the 9th Content Hub Summit 2025, the Group CEO of Banijay Asia and Endemol Shine India unpacked what it takes to run one of the most prolific content machines in the region and why India is finally poised to export formats, not just import them.
With a staggering 800 production days of Bigg Boss alone across languages like Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Bangla and Marathi, Dhar highlighted the scale and stamina needed to keep pace. “Even I don’t know how we manage to shoot 800 days in 365,” he quipped. “But that’s the opportunity India presents.”
From reality juggernauts like Bigg Boss, MasterChef, and Fear Factor, Dhar has now set his sights on fiction with shows like The Night Manager, The Good Wife, and Trial. His move from Endemol to launching Banijay Asia stemmed from a need to detox from the “reality king” tag and reinvent. “I wanted to unlearn and start again. What excites me is the fear of the unknown,” he said.
In Dhar’s view, the Indian content ecosystem has evolved dramatically from hyperlocal, broadcast-first formats to stories that now aim for global resonance. “Streaming has been the biggest shake-up in a good way. It’s democratised content and shrunk the world,” he said, citing the rise of global formats from countries like Israel, Korea, and Scandinavia. “Now it’s India’s turn.”
But why haven’t Indian formats gone global yet? Dhar believes the answer lies in legacy TV habits. “Twenty years ago, we weren’t designing shows for export. Now, with OTT, that’s changing. It’s the right time,” he asserted. His goal? To see an original Indian format go global. “We’ve imported so many shows successfully. Now we need one of ours out there and we’re working on it.”
Dhar also shared an anecdote that captures how dramatically content consumption has changed. “One Sunday, I asked my 15-year-old daughter to watch a movie. I picked up the TV remote, she picked up her laptop. That was the moment it hit me my business model was evolving in my own living room.”
Despite the shifts, Dhar is clear-eyed about the fundamentals. “None of us knows what will click. But what we can control is the process find the right story, the right people to shoot and edit it, and the right home for it.”
In a fragmented world of content, formats and platforms, Dhar’s formula is refreshingly simple: trust the team, stick to the process, and don’t overthink. The only real script for success, it seems, is being ready to rewrite it again and again.
iWorld
Why Peaky Blinders is one of television’s biggest hits that still deserves more attention
Six seasons, multiple awards and the release of Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man bring the Shelby saga back into the spotlight
In the crowded universe of streaming content, only a handful of shows manage to leave a lasting cultural footprint. Peaky Blinders is overwhelmingly considered one of the biggest global hits of the past decade. Yet many viewers still haven’t fully explored the dark, gripping world of the Shelby family.
Originally produced for the UK’s BBC and later finding a massive global audience through Netflix, the series quietly grew from a British period drama into a worldwide streaming phenomenon.
Created by Steven Knight, the show follows the rise of the Shelby crime family in post-First World War Birmingham. What begins as a gritty street-gang story gradually expands into a sweeping narrative about ambition, politics, power and survival.
At the centre of the saga is Thomas Shelby, portrayed with extraordinary depth by Cillian Murphy. The casting of Murphy is widely regarded as perfect for the role. With piercing eyes, restrained dialogue and an almost hypnotic screen presence, he transforms Shelby into one of the most unforgettable characters in modern screen storytelling.
Murphy’s brilliance lies in his restraint. He rarely shouts or performs theatrically. Instead, a quiet stare, a calculated pause or a subtle shift in expression conveys the emotional storms within the character. Beneath the ruthless gang leader is a war veteran carrying trauma, guilt and loneliness. Murphy captures this complexity with remarkable precision, making Thomas Shelby both terrifying and deeply human.
Beyond its central performance, Peaky Blinders stands out for its unfiltered portrayal of reality. The show does not romanticise crime. Instead, it exposes the harsh social conditions of early 20th-century Britain, from poverty and class struggle to political extremism and the psychological scars left by war.
The series also presents powerful female characters who hold their own within the Shelby empire. Polly Gray, played by Helen McCrory, is the strategic backbone of the family and one of the most formidable figures in the story. Women in the series shape decisions, influence power structures and challenge the rigid social norms of the time.
Across six seasons, the narrative grows dramatically in scale. What begins in the smoky streets of Birmingham evolves into a story involving political conspiracies, fascism and international criminal networks.
The series has also earned significant critical acclaim. It won the BAFTA Television Award for Best Drama Series in 2018 and multiple National Television Awards for Best Drama, cementing its reputation as one of Britain’s most celebrated modern shows.
Another defining feature of the series is its iconic music. The show’s opening theme, Red Right Hand by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, became instantly recognisable and widely associated with the Shelby universe. Combined with a powerful soundtrack featuring artists such as Arctic Monkeys and Radiohead, the music helped shape the show’s dark, stylish identity and became hugely popular among fans.
And the Shelby story is not over yet.
In fact, its legacy is unfolding right now. The long-awaited feature-length continuation, Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man, was released on March 6, 2026, bringing the Shelby universe from streaming screens to cinemas and giving fans a new chapter in the saga.
For viewers who have not yet stepped into this world, the timing could not be better.
Six gripping seasons are ready to binge on Netflix. A new film has just arrived in theatres. And at the heart of it all stands one of the most magnetic performances in modern drama by Cillian Murphy.
So if Peaky Blinders has been sitting on your watchlist for years, this weekend is your moment.
So, by order of the Peaky fookin’ Blinders, consider this your cue to finally step into the ruthless world of Thomas Shelby. Pour yourself a drink, clear your schedule and press the play button. Because when the Peaky Blinders give an order, you listen.
