India's Media Transformation: From Family TV to AI-Driven Storytelling

Indian television had remained a staple of family entertainment through shows that find appeal broadly across different age groups. Precisely this legacy of success has now become the bottleneck for experimentation and risk-taking with regard to narrative styles, says Krishnan Kutty at JioStar. As digital and streaming platforms grow, viewers, especially the young, have begun clamoring for newer and varied storytelling.

While India is in a really unique position to lead the AI revolution for media, thanks to a large digitally native population and a robust technology backbone, according to Ben John of Microsoft AI, India is not just consuming AI; it's innovating in homegrown AI solutions with which it tailors content and advertising to local sensibilities. These include AI-powered hyper-personalization, automated scriptwriting, real-time audience engagement, and immersive virtual environments.

Voices from the industry, including JioHotstar, Meta, Google, and Adobe, showed during events like FICCI Frames 2025 and WAVES 2025 how AI has enabled creators to increasingly transcend traditional boundaries by automating everything from scripting, through VFX and dubbing, all the way to adaptive and multilingual content-and promising a reduction in the cost of production to unlock creativity on an unprecedented scale.

Further, AI changed advertising with precision targeting and measurable results that connected the brand with the audiences much more deeply. The future of media in India would be in developing interactive story ecosystems where viewers go from passive consumers to active participants with passion, shaping the narrative alongside creators.

The media and entertainment industry in India, in other words, epitomizes dynamic fusion-the comfort of family TV merged with endless innovation powered by AI to create a diverse and inclusive content future for millions.