In the October issue of Manifest, Shailesh Kapoor, founder and CEO, Ormax Media, delves into how the Indian media and entertainment industry has rapidly evolved since the company’s launch in 2008. He also sheds light on various intriguing aspects of the entertainment ecosystem, its ‘Koffee with Karan debut', and more.

Kapoor noted that when Ormax began, the industry was still relatively young, with the 1990s marking the corporatisation of the sector and the introduction of satellite television. “The biggest change, of course, has been the advent of OTT or digital content platforms, whether it’s through free platforms like YouTube or Instagram, or paid streaming apps. However, even beyond that, consumer trends continue to evolve,” he said.

He underscored that consumer trends in India continue to evolve at a faster rate compared to mature markets like the US, where viewing habits remain stable over longer periods. In contrast, in India, new trends emerge every few years. Kapoor cited the growth of Kabaddi as a professional league and the increasing production of content in a broader range of languages, beyond just Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu, as examples.

Kapoor also highlighted the significant growth of the theatrical market, with box office revenues having more than doubled since Ormax’s inception. “The theatrical market has grown significantly in the last 16 years—the box office is now almost two and a half times the size it was when we began.”

A major effort by the company has been directed toward educating the film industry on the value of data and analytics. “Unlike the TV industry, which was already using research quite extensively, the film industry in India had no prior exposure to it. There was a general notion that one doesn’t use data for a creative product. However, over time, we have seen many people shift from being sceptics or non-believers in research and data to actively using it for crucial decision-making, both at the level of individual films and in the overall strategy of a company,” stated Kapoor.

While this shift has been rewarding, the founder acknowledged that it remains a work in progress. “Now, the Hindi market has recognised the importance of data, and over the last three or four years we’ve been working to create the same awareness in the South, which is a slow process. It took more than a decade in the Hindi industry to gradually change people’s mindsets,” he said.

We also asked Kapoor about the mention of the Ormax Celebrity Index on an episode of Koffee with Karan (KWK). Ormax Media publishes a monthly index titled Stars India Loves, which tracks the popularity of stars over time by listing the top ten names on social media. In the KWK episode in question, actors Akshay Kumar and Samantha Prabhu made a reference to this list. Clarifying whether this was a PR collaboration or an organic mention, Kapoor emphasised that it was ‘purely organic’, as he himself only became aware of it while watching the episode on Disney+ Hotstar.

Regarding the response to this unexpected recognition, Kapoor acknowledged that it did help with 'visibility and credibility'.' However, he pointed out that as a B2B company, Ormax Media does not prioritise reach in the same way a B2C business would. “We have worked with nearly every major player in the industry. While mentions like ‘Ormax data’ on KWK help in conversations, what truly matters is when a director or a producer speaks about our work, and the impact it had on their film.”

Kapoor spotlighted how filmmaker Anubhav Sinha publicly endorsed the impact of Ormax’s content testing on his film (Mulk 2018) during a recent directors' round table. Similarly, Karan Johar has credited Ormax's testing for improving the marketing of his films. These types of endorsements carry much greater weight and impact, he stated.

Read the full chat in the October issue of Manifest. Get your copy here. For subscription options click here.