049: Wanted - Indian Writers - The Asia-Hollywood Greenlight

11 Sep 049: Wanted – Indian Writers

Posted at 15:42h in Podcasts, Screenwriting by Caryn McCann 0 Comments

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Sidharth Jain head of The Story Ink – India’s biggest book-to-screen adaptation company talks about Indian writers and why India needs more American producers.

OTT platforms have shaken up the Indian entertainment market.

TALENT AGENTS – INDIAN CONTENT = OPPORTUNITY

In the event that, according to Sidharth, the Indian talent agents are not doing a good enough job finding new writers. For producers, the search is a constant struggle. He also shared the challenges of finding good directors. Perhaps this could be an opportunity for foreign agents and managers to bridge the gap. They could assist overseas talent break into foreign markets.

To illustrate a possible solution – I mentioned Imagine Entertainment. It is teaming up with Taiwan’s TAICCA (Taiwan Creative Content Agency) to mentor Taiwanese writers. They picked 5 projects to go through a 20-week development program.

Experienced global TV producers, showrunners, and executives will act as guest lecturers. Their mandate is to develop production-ready content and groom future showrunners. See the article Imagine Entertainment Teams With Taiwan’s TAICCA on Content Development Lab.

Perhaps this is something American producers eyeing the Indian market should consider.

I also linked to the article Aamir Khan says that the film industry need s fresh writers with different perspectives. He attended the grand finale of the Cinestaan India’s Storyteller Script Contest and said this:

“Without a good script, there can never be a good film. Here are many good and deserving writers in our country. However, not all of them have the right platform or opportunities to showcase their talent. This platform aims at achieving precisely that.”

AMERICAN PRODUCERS WANTED

Another key point, Sidharth says there are not enough American producers working in India. Here’s another huge opportunity to tap into an exploding market that all the major streamers are looking to for growth.

Also, just this week Deadline published the article: How India Is Luring Back Offshore Production With New 30% Cash Rebate. Check out the link in the show notes.

EPISODIC SERIES IS A NEW FORMAT

Formerly, Indian audiences watched films or daily soaps. Indian TV didn’t have episodic TV as you see on HBO. But this is changing and episodic content is growing every year. Thus, this growing market lacks experienced TV writers and TV producers. Not to mention, American streamers are eagerly trying to develop this market. Thus, this is an area for the opportunity for experienced TV writers and producers.

Asia-Hollywood Greenlight Podcast – Episode 049

Sidharth Jain, founder of The Story Ink

Show Notes