India’s Digital Storytelling Revolution: WAVES 2025 Roundtable Sparks New Era for OTT and Creative-Tech

At the prestigious WAVES Summit 2025 held at the Jio World Convention Centre, Mumbai, India's creative, technology, and policy ecosystems came together to reimagine the future of digital storytelling. As part of this groundbreaking initiative, a high-profile Roundtable on ‘OTT & Digital-Driven Democratisation of Content Creation and Consumption’ was hosted, curated by Primus Partners, AWS, and Rolling Stone India.

Over 100 eminent personalities from Hollywood, Bollywood, venture capital, and creative-tech fields participated, signalling a vibrant confluence of innovation, ambition, and partnership. Setting the tone, Shri Ashish Shelar, Hon'ble Minister of Culture, Heritage & IT, Government of Maharashtra, released the landmark report “Press Play – India’s OTT Story Goes Global”, co-authored by AWS, Primus Partners, and Rolling Stone India. “OTT today is not just about screen entertainment, it includes gaming, immersive content, and education,” he said, highlighting Maharashtra’s continued leadership in digital transformation. Shri Shelar also announced plans for a dedicated Marathi OTT platform, underscoring the state's commitment to nurturing vernacular content and creative entrepreneurship.

The Roundtable was divided into three thematic sessions: Public–Private Collaborations and Hyper-Localisation, Scaling Indian Content for Global Markets and Monetisation Models, and the Role of Emerging Technologies and AVGC (Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming, Comics). Discussions spanned topics from the growing influence of multilingual storytelling to hybrid monetisation models and the transformative power of AI, AR/VR, and immersive media on India’s digital content creation.

In a keynote address, Shri Gaurav Dwivedi, CEO of Prasar Bharati, traced India's storytelling legacy—from the golden age of radio shows like Binaca Geet Mala to television epics like Ramayan and Hum Log. He introduced WAVES OTT as a new-age platform that dismantles traditional broadcasting boundaries, offering limitless possibilities across genres and geographies. “It is an instrument of empowerment,” he said, “where every voice from every corner of India gets to be seen and heard.”

The speaker list was a vibrant mix of industry giants and rising voices, including Avinash Pandey, Sajan Raj Kurup, David Unger, William Pfeiffer, Amala Akkineni, Sandeep Marwah, Sachin Pilgaonkar, Mahima Kaul (Netflix), Sameer Nair (Applause Entertainment), Shefali Bhushan, and many more. Bollywood actor Sachin Pilgaonkar made a passionate point, asserting that “all OTTs in India are Indian OTTs, only the languages differ”—a call to rethink rigid categorisations like ‘regional OTTs’. Similarly, actress and educator Amala Akkineni recommended creating institutionalised mentorship programs and dedicated funds to promote vernacular storytellers on global platforms.

A defining highlight of the event was the announcement of Creatorland—India’s first Transmedia Entertainment City, to be established in Andhra Pradesh. A strategic MoU was signed between the Government of Andhra Pradesh, represented by Smt. Amrapali Kata (MD, Andhra Pradesh Tourism), and Creativeland Asia, led by Sajan Raj Kurup. In the presence of global advisory board members like David Unger and Nicolas Granatino, this partnership was positioned as a pioneering project integrating AI, gaming, immersive storytelling, and international co-productions. Creatorland is expected to attract ₹8,000–10,000 crore in investment, create over 150,000 jobs, and skill 10,000 youth every year, firmly placing Andhra Pradesh on the global creative-tech map.

Smt. Kata extended an open invitation to the global creative community, urging them to view Andhra Pradesh as a futuristic hub for innovation, creativity, and tech-enabled content development.

With the unveiling of Press Play, the announcement of Creatorland, and strong keynote messages that reinforced inclusivity, skilling, and global ambition, the Roundtable at WAVES 2025 served as a catalyst for India's ascent as a global leader in democratised digital storytelling. The presence of creators like Jayant Somalkar, Om Raut, Vinod Bachchan, Tanvi Dhedia, Varun Mitra, and Shobha Sant further highlighted the vibrancy and depth of India's expanding creative-tech ecosystem.

The WAVES Roundtable didn’t just reflect an industry evolving; it reflected a nation ready to lead the world in stories shaped by technology, diversity, and imagination.