The producer explores how creators are adjusting to the hyper-competitive attention economy in Indian entertainment

The battle for the Indian audience’s attention is getting shorter, sharper and increasingly mobile. Micro-dramas of just a few minutes-or even less-are moving from the margins into the mainstream, with platforms including JioHotstar, Netflix, SonyLIV, Amazon Prime Video and ZEE5 etc entering the space. A recent industry report titled ‘State of Microdrama in India,’ released jointly by short-video platforms ShareChat and Moj also found that 80 per cent of Indian audiences had embraced micro-dramas as an entertainment habit.

For producer Anand Pandit, the shift is forcing filmmakers to rethink how quickly they draw audiences into a story.

“Today, the audience has a world of entertainment sitting on a single screen. They can move from a reel to a micro-drama, a film or a web series in seconds. Naturally, filmmakers have to understand that you cannot take too long to make your point. A strong opening, a good narrative hook and the right pace have become far more important.”

But Pandit cautions against allowing the language of snackable content to dictate every kind of storytelling.

“Trends like micro-dramas work because they are designed for a particular viewing habit. Their cliffhangers and quick turns are part of that format. But a feature film cannot survive on a twist every five minutes. If we become obsessed with stopping the audience from looking away, we may forget to give them a reason to care.”

The producer, who has long spoken about the importance of diversity in storytelling, believes lasting relevance still comes from originality and stories that connect across demographics.

“Trends can bring immediate attention, but they also disappear quickly. The films people remember are rooted in emotions they recognise-love, family, ambition, fear, loss and hope. Cinema must keep changing with the audience, but it should not chase every passing bandwagon.”

He adds that originality and artistic conviction matter even more in a crowded market. “A film can entertain and still challenge a norm or start a conversation. That is where artistry comes in. The challenge today is not just to win attention for two hours. It is to make the audience remember what they watched after those two hours are over.