Nearly 25 per cent viewership for Prime Video’s Indian content comes from abroad

Indian content on Prime Video was trending in top 10 on the service worldwide every single week in 2024, revealed the streaming platform’s senior leadership.

Prime Video India’s director & head of SVOD business Shilangi Mukherji and director & head of Originals Nikhil Madhok were speaking to Fortune India national editor Ajita Shashidhar during a fireside chat at the Indian M&E conclave Ficci Frame 2025. Their discussion, titled “Made in India: I-Dramas — Are Our Stories Ready to Travel Across Borders?,” delved into the growing global popularity of Indian content.

“In fact, nearly 25 per cent of the viewership for Indian content on Prime Video comes from outside India,” mentioned Madhok. He spoke about how original, rooted authentic stories travel beyond Indian shores. “What we have learnt is that imitation will not take you far; what travels well is originality and authenticity,” he said. “For our content to be loved the world over, we must stay true to what we do best. Our shows and movies compete with the finest content internationally, and the way we differentiate our content is by being original and authentic. While the quality of storytelling the craft, the investment in production must meet international standards, it is that rooted authenticity which truly matters. We encourage creators to write for local audiences first, be as authentic to the world that they’re creating, the characters that they’re creating.”

Mukherji revealed that almost 60 per cent of the customers on Prime Video India stream content in four or more Indian languages. “Through localisation, we also cater to audiences who are not of Indian origin or do not understand Indian languages,” she pointed out.

Talking about how Prime Video developed original programming from scratch in India, Madhok explained, “We had to build this initiative from the ground up – identifying creators and writers and training them to develop long-form original series. Our journey began with seasoned filmmakers who were taking their first steps into streaming. This new and exciting long form format allowed us to experiment with different styles of storytelling and to take stories to a global audience.” He shared that shows like The Family Man, Mirzapur, Made in Heaven, Panchayat, Call Me Bae, or Paatal Lok are some of the most loved franchises on streaming, and more than 60 per cent of the platform’s fiction shows have gone into multiple seasons or their new seasons are under development.

Madhok added that along with working with experienced filmmakers, Prime Video also works with fresh voices, new talent, both in-front and behind the scenes, sharing, “We are now witnessing a fresh wave of new voices and emerging talent joining us on this journey. Take Dupahiya, for example, which premiered earlier this year. Created by first-time creators and writers and featuring an ensemble cast, the show was so successful that we announced a second season within a few weeks of its launch.”

Prime Video has 100 originals in various stages of production, development and negotiation. Talking about selection and choice, Mukherji said, “The Indian slate is pretty much the biggest slate outside of the USA. It’s massive, and it’s across languages.”

Discussing Prime Video’s theatrical and streaming model, Madhok said, “Depending on the kind of movie that we are producing, we take a joint call with our creators in terms of which movie can go to theatres first.” Starting 2026, Prime Video will premiere three to four local Indian films from Amazon MGM Studios in theatres every year.

When asked how India could ensure that more of its content resonates globally, especially when compared to countries like South Korea or Turkey, Mukherji emphasised the need for the industry to come together to create meaningful change. She noted that while India is known for strong storytelling, there is still work to be done in presenting its content more effectively to international audiences. One of the key factors for driving global success, she explained, is intentional localisation by investing in adapting content for different regions from the very beginning rather than treating it as an afterthought.

Concluding the conversation, Madhok said that while the industry continues to see encouraging signs, global breakthroughs are often hard to predict. He explained that all it takes is one standout story to spark wider recognition and inspire creators everywhere, “We have seen green shoots on the surface of all our original content.”