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
Prime Video to stream Tamil thriller Exam from May 15
Seven-episode series from National Award-winner A. Sarkunam streams in India and 240-plus countries
MUMBAI: Prime Video announced on April 27th that Exam, a taut seven-episode suspense drama set against the crucible of high-stakes competitive testing, will premiere on May 15th in India and across more than 240 countries and territories worldwide.
Written and directed by A. Sarkunam, a National Award-winner, the series is produced under the Wallwatcher Films banner by the creative duo Pushkar and Gayatri, who have previously delivered Suzhal: The Vortex (both seasons) and Vadhandhi: The Fable of Velonie for the platform. Dushara Vijayan and Aditi Balan lead the cast, with Abbas in a pivotal role.
The show will stream in Tamil with dubbed versions in Telugu, Hindi, Malayalam, and Kannada, and subtitles in 15 languages, including English, a distribution sweep that underscores Prime Video’s push to globalise Indian regional content.
Nikhil Madhok, director and head of originals at Prime Video India, framed the series as both timely and commercially astute. “Exam is a very timely and relevant story that captures the emotional intensity of competitive exams and masterfully transforms it into a thrilling high-stakes drama,” he said. “We believe it is a story that will resonate deeply with millions.” Madhok noted that it was a privilege to once again collaborate with Pushkar and Gayatri following the success of Suzhal and Vadhandhi.
For Pushkar and Gayatri, the series is as much a moral reckoning as a thriller. “With Exam, we wanted to dig into ambition, injustice, and those moral crossroads that people face when pushed to the edge,” the creative producers said. “At the heart of this story is a young woman who refuses to remain powerless. Her journey is not about glamorising defiance, but about exploring the emotional and ethical cost of standing up to a system stacked against her.” They described Prime Video as “an incredible collaborator” and “the perfect home” to bring the series to global audiences.
Wallwatcher Films, which Pushkar and Gayatri founded and run, has been on a productive streak with the platform. Beyond Exam, the company is also readying Vadhandhi Season 2 for Prime Video, making the duo one of the platform’s most active regional creative partners.
The real exam, it seems, is for Prime Video itself: can a Tamil drama about systemic injustice and a young woman’s defiance crack audiences from Chennai to Chicago? If Pushkar and Gayatri’s track record is anything to go by, the answer is likely yes, and the results will be out on May 15th.
