APARNA PUROHIT
HEAD OF INDIA ORIGINALS, AMAZON PRIME VIDEO
“India is not an ‘or’ country. It’s not film or TV or OTT. It’s an ‘and’ country. It’s film and TV and OTT. There is room for everything to coexist beautifully,” says Aparna Purohit. She beams through my screen, zoom-ready in her suburban Mumbai apartment—kohled eyes, silver danglers, a hint of a white handloom kurta. She’s not speaking to me in the abstract. Even before the great lockdown binge, India’s OTT market value spiked from 2,150 crore in 2018 to 35 billion in 2019, with about 40 players (and counting). Amazon Prime, now a leading one, earned a ringing endorsement from founder and CEO Jeff Bezos who stated earlier this year, “Nowhere in the world is Prime Video doing better than in India, and we are planning to double down on our investments here.”
Over the last five years, Purohit, as head of India Originals, has created a stellar repertoire that includes shows such as Made In Heaven and Pataal Lok, films like Gulabo Sitabo and Shakuntala Devi, and the comedy series Comicstaan, to name a few. So what’s the secret sauce behind her brand of modern, complex yet nuanced content that has viewers hooked and begging for more (think jonesing for your fix of Mirzapur season two that is finally releasing later this month)? “Shrinking timelines to get customers what they want is my greatest challenge right now,” she confesses. The pressure is on, but it’s their “customer-backwards approach” that she credits. “What is need-gap? I felt there was fertile space for long-form content that is authentic to who we are.” Be it line producing at UTV or running the screenwriters lab at National Film Development Corporation’s (NFDC) Film Bazaar, Purohit has been training to fill this gap from the get-go.
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Breathe In, Breathe Out
A powerful tool to help you master your nervous system or another biohacking buzzword? SIMONE DHONDY explores the inhalations and exhalations of breathwork
Red Pill, Blue Pill
India's nutraceutical industry is booming thanks to advanced technology, distrust of the medical system and rising vanity. With multivitamins becoming purer and more effective, NIDHI GUPTA finds out if supplements have become the new serum
Sign of the times
No longer do you need to have an answer to, \"What is the significance of this?\" when people point to your new tattoo. ARMAN KHAN discovers that everything is on the table when you get inked temporarily
Return to form
Watching the world's most elite athletes deliver the best performances of their careers rekindled SONAKSHI SHARMA's own love for sports
Dimple, All Day
YOU MAY HAVE WATCHED HER ON THE BIG SCREEN FOR OVER FIVE DECADES, BUT DON'T MAKE THE MISTAKE OF ASSUMING THAT YOU KNOW DIMPLE KAPADIA.
MUSIC, TAKE CONTROL
As someone who had always sought safety in numbers, ALIZA FATMA often wondered what her own company would feel like. The answer arrived unexpectedly when she attended her first-ever music festival, one of the largest in the world, all alone
Let it grow
When we think of hardworking farmers toiling in India's scorching heat, we often think of men, the sweat on their brow, the sinews in their arms. JYOTI KUMARI speaks to four women who are championing the invisible female labour that keeps these fields running
YOU'LL NEVER WALK ALONE
When armless archer Sheetal Devi set her sights on the Paralympic Games this year, she knew she had a tough journey ahead of her. Luckily, her mother was with her every step of the way.
Beauty and the feast
The appeal of Indian weddings has always been in a sprawling spread. For additional bragging rights, Aditi Dugar recommends going beyond designer tablecloths and monogrammed napkins.
Sweet serendipity
From a scavenger hunt-inspired proposal to a Moroccan-themed baraat, Malvika Raj and Armaan Rai's love story prioritised playfulness throughout their blended celebrations.
