During a panel at India’s Film Bazaar, Prime Video India’s content licensing head Manish Menghani and filmmaker Nikkhil Advani (“Freedom at Midnight”) discussed the evolving landscape of streaming content development in India, with “Delhi Crime” creator Richie Mehta moderating.
Menghani traced how the Indian streaming space has transformed since Prime Video’s 2016 launch, identifying COVID-19 as a key inflection point. “The entertainment palette of consumers completely changed in this country. Sixty percent of our consumers today watch content in four or more languages,” Menghani said, noting that over half of content consumed on the service comes from outside viewers’ primary language.
For creators pitching projects, Menghani emphasized that while meetings help creators verbalize their vision, “the rubber hits the road on the paper.” He noted the platform looks beyond just the pitch or cast attachments: “What we are looking for is the story.”
Advani shared his journey transitioning from theatrical films to streaming, which began with the series “P.O.W.,” which was broadcast on Star Plus and was a hit on streamer Disney+ Hotstar. He recalled the early days of streaming platforms competing for established filmmakers: “The beginning trend in all the services was, how can we get the biggest filmmakers to be with us?”
On the development process, Menghani said Prime Video “submits to the creator’s vision” while providing feedback that creators can choose to incorporate. Advani confirmed this approach, noting that feedback demonstrates investment in the project: “I love feedback. I get very suspicious of people just coming and saying, ‘fantastic.’”
Addressing emerging filmmakers, Menghani advised against chasing trends: “Come with something that’s fresh.” He emphasized that budgets shouldn’t be the primary concern when pitching: “Hits and misses have never been tied back to the amount of money you spend.”
Mehta revealed that projects go through extensive review, with development meetings sometimes involving “30 to 40 people on these [zoom] calls.”
Manghani maintained that data doesn’t drive creative decisions: “If there’s anybody in this room that can look at data and tell you whether something’s going to work or not, they’re lying.”
Film Bazaar (Nov. 20-24) is the project market component of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI, Nov. 20-28) in Goa.
