iWorld
Weekend Unwind with visual artist Santanu Hazarika
Mumbai: With another weekend upon us, it is time to unwind with the latest Q&A edition of Indiantelevision.com’s Weekend Unwind—a series of informal chats that delve into the minds of digital content creators through a fun lens, aiming to understand the person behind the creative journey a little better.
In this week’s session, we have Santanu Hazarika. Hazarika is a multidisciplinary autodidact visual artist based in Mumbai. He is a video gamer and an illustrator. He dropped out of engineering to become the first ever Redbull World Doodle Art Champion in 2014 in Capetown, South Africa.
So without further ado, here it goes…
Your mantra for life
You should be experimental and always be curious, you should also question everything and create things to surprise yourself. Not the people around you.
A book you are currently reading or plan to read
The book that I am reading is “Gödel, Escher, Bach” by Douglas Hofstadter. It’s a book that tries to go into the science of creativity. The book includes Physics text, old science, and new science including logic.
Your fitness mantra
Well, my fitness mantra is pretty simple: workout, run and eat as much as required. This is what I feel is important because overeating and overindulging causes stress. It doesn’t matter what you are eating, but the right proportion of food is important.
Your comfort food
Rice and Aloo Pitika l Assamese style mashed potatoes, with Assamese chicken curry and also there is a thing called Khar, it’s a special thing made by chat banana leave and water.
A quote or philosophy that keeps you going when the chips are down
Everything changes and you should always have hope.
The last time you tried something new
I can’t recall exactly when was the last time I tried something new, but more or less I am up for everything. I have mostly tried everything except for skydiving. That is something that I really wanna try.
A life lesson you learned the hard way
I have learned that you cannot be impatient and everything will happen in its due time. There are always things that are beyond your control so you shouldn’t get anxious or drive yourself crazy by thinking that you can control everything around you.
What gets you excited about life
Meeting new people, having experiences, and obviously enjoying life in a way where I get to do things that I’ve always dreamt of as a kid, so I think right now I am just trying to fulfill all the things that I couldn’t do as a child. That is what is exciting for me at the moment.
What’s on top of your bucket list
I really want to settle down in Japan. Have my own house in a quiet old town in the countryside in Japan and just be happy there.
If you could give one piece of advice to your younger self, what would it be
Practicing more art. I wish I had started at a very young age to draw and sketch and was more focused as a teenager or a kid then, I might have had more skills to express myself more diligently and accurately.
One thing you would like to change about the world
I want to see people have more empathy towards each other. I would like to see people be more kind towards each other. I think that is something that we lack and forget, which is being kind to others and yourself.
An activity that keeps you motivated and charged during tough times
I love watching anime and every time I’m going through something really hard. I rewatched some of the old anime that I always used to watch while growing up like Naruto or Dragon Ball Z. It motivates me.
What lifts your spirits when life gets you down
Hope- because everything changes and the fact is I have started from zero and come this far, then I could do it again and I think that lifts me up.
Your go-to stress buster
Traveling, going out, being in nature, or playing video games throughout the day.
iWorld
JioHotstar enters micro-drama space with 100 shows under Tadka banner
Short-form push targets 300M users as content meets commerce in new format
MUMBAI: JioStar has made a bold play in India’s fast-growing micro-drama space, rolling out over 100 short-form shows under its new Tadka banner on JioHotstar, timed with the massive viewership surge of the Indian Premier League 2026.
The scale of the launch signals clear intent. Rather than testing the waters, the company has dived in headfirst, releasing a wide slate of content on day one. Each show is designed for quick consumption, with episodes running 60 to 90 seconds in a vertical format tailored for mobile-first audiences.
The move comes as India’s micro-drama market, currently valued at around $300 million, is projected to grow tenfold to over $3 billion by 2030. Globally, the format has already proven its mettle, with China’s micro-drama sector recording explosive growth in recent years.
What sets this rollout apart is its built-in monetisation strategy. The shows are free to watch and ad-supported, with brand integrations woven directly into storylines from the outset. It reflects a broader shift where content and commerce are increasingly intertwined, rather than operating in silos.
The timing is equally strategic. With more than 300 million users already tuning in for IPL action, JioHotstar is effectively turning cricket’s biggest stage into a discovery engine for its new format.
The company is not entering an empty arena. Early movers like Kuku TV, MX Player and platforms backed by Zee Entertainment Enterprises have already laid the groundwork, building audiences and validating demand for snackable storytelling.
Now, with scale, distribution and advertiser interest aligning, the big players are stepping in. For JioStar, Tadka may well serve as a proving ground for the next evolution of digital entertainment, where every minute counts and every second sells.
If the bet pays off, India’s next big content wave might just arrive in under 90 seconds.
