Lights, camera... microdrama! Big showmen hooked on new gig in town

Mumbai: India’s fast-growing microdrama industry is attracting investments from established entertainment companies as consumption of vertical, short-form video content continues to rise, with Aamir Khan Productions and Excel Entertainment emerging as the latest entrants in the segment.

The two production houses, promoted by actor Aamir Khan and filmmakers Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani, respectively, are joining hands to launch a microdrama venture, according to people familiar with the development. The companies will jointly produce content by combining their existing intellectual property, original stories and exclusive partnerships with creators.

The venture has also secured a partnership with a prominent telecom player and is in the process of signing exclusive partnerships with several established digital and YouTube creators, the people said. The platform is expected to focus on premium, professionally produced microdramas, with an emphasis on storytelling and production quality.

According to Redseer Strategy Consultants, India’s microdrama market is projected to expand to ₹25,000 crore by FY32 from ₹2,300 crore in FY26.

The investment momentum comes amid growing interest from domestic and global investors. Bengaluru-based EloElo Group, parent company of microdrama platform Story TV, recently raised $80 million in a Series C funding round led by Hornbill Capital and NBCUniversal at a valuation of $500 million. In June, Yash Raj Films invested in digital-first entertainment company Rusk Media, marking the film studio’s first strategic investment in India’s emerging vertical entertainment market. Broadcasters such as JioStar, Zee Entertainment and Sun TV have also entered the category.

Saurabh Pandey, founder and CEO of EloElo, said microdrama will become a large competitive category, where the top two or three players will hold the largest share. He also said that the next large media and entertainment will be from microdrama segment.

Artificial intelligence is emerging as a key enabler of the sector, helping production houses reduce costs and accelerate content creation through automated scripting, visual effects, dubbing and virtual sets. Azim Lalani, CEO, Bullet, which is backed by Zee, sees significant export potential for India in this space. “I feel that India will become the biggest export market for AI content creation because we have the talent and creativity,” he said during a recent interaction.

Lalani said audiences were increasingly willing to embrace AI-generated entertainment as long as the storytelling remained engaging.

However, monetisation and audience retention remain key challenges. A media analyst said consumption was growing faster than revenues, as platforms continued to spend heavily on customer acquisition without necessarily securing long-term engagement.

The opportunity, nevertheless, is expanding. Microdrama-related content on YouTube generated more than 6.5 billion views in the first half of 2026, while watch time rose over 50% year-on-year. Views across APAC markets increased by more than 70%, highlighting the growing global appetite for bite-sized storytelling.