Kapur: India's microdrama market $1.5B by 2026, China nearly $150B
Filmmaker Shekhar Kapur is talking about the rise of microdramas: those quick, vertical video series made for your phone.
By 2026, India's microdrama industry is expected to hit $1.5 billion, matching the country's box office numbers.
Kapur points out that these bite-sized stories are becoming popular, and he draws a comparison to China's massive nearly $150 billion microdrama market.
Kapur sees business but doubts storytelling
While Kapur sees big business potential, he worries that these short formats, often powered by AI, might sacrifice real storytelling for speed.
He shared that he had been evolving the script of his upcoming directorial Masoom 2: A New Generation for the past two years and couldn't fit into a microdrama format.
As he puts it: "is it a great business idea? Yes. Will great stories come out of it? Time will tell," showing his doubts about whether truly memorable stories can be told this way.