At the Government of India’s inaugural WAVES Global Summit 2025, Netflix Co-CEO Ted Sarandos and celebrated actor Saif Ali Khan came together for a conversation on Streaming the New India: Culture, Connectivity & Creative Capital. The discussion explored how storytelling is fueling India’s rise as a global creative force—and how Netflix is contributing to the cultural and economic impact on India’s entertainment ecosystem.
During the discussion, Sarandos revealed the economic impact Netflix has had in the country from 2021 to 2024. He said, “Our investments in India have generated over $2 billion in economic impact post-COVID. That includes all the jobs created, skills developed, and infrastructure supported. We’ve filmed across 100+ towns and cities in India, spanning 23 states, and collaborated with over 25,000 local cast and crew.”
Saif Ali Khan spoke about how streaming has transformed the creative landscape, saying, “Thanks to streaming, we can explore characters in a very different way. There is a kind of intimacy on the platform—because of the detail you can get into with long-format storytelling. The kind of longevity that streaming offers is a gift for an artist—it’s a creative playground with no school bell.”
Ted also revealed that an Indian title was in the global Top 10 (non-English) every single week of 2024, and over 3 billion hours of Indian content were viewed on Netflix that year—that’s nearly 60 million hours every week.
When asked what his message is for Indian creators trying to take their content to a global audience, Ted said, “If you try to engineer something to be global, you end up making it for no one. The stories that travel the farthest—the ones that truly resonate beyond borders—are always the most locally authentic. Nothing will work outside of India if it isn’t loved within India first. So don’t water it down. Don’t reverse-engineer it to fit some imagined global mold. Audiences won’t connect with a world that doesn’t feel real. But they will connect deeply with something that is honest, rooted, and recognizably local.”
Speaking about the global moment for Indian content, Ted said, “India is on the cusp of a major inflection point in storytelling—just like Korea was before Squid Game. For years, Korean content spoke to local audiences and the diaspora; then came a moment that opened the world’s eyes. I believe India is headed toward that kind of global breakthrough. The creative foundation is being laid, and with platforms like Netflix, the reach is already here.”
When asked if theatres and streaming can coexist, Ted said, “India is one of the most fan-centric markets, which makes this coexistence possible. Most people just want to watch great stories—the real question is, how do we get those stories to them?” He added, “What streaming has done is meet audiences where they are. If you want to watch a movie, I want to be able to deliver it to you. What’s been great about India is how fan-centric the approach has been—bringing films quickly from cinemas to streaming so people can access them easily. This idea of democratizing access to film—India was ahead of the curve.”
Netflix’s Co-CEO, Ted Sarandos met the Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Devendra Fadnavis on Sunday. The two had a fruitful meeting discussing how Netflix looks at India as an important market in the next 5 years and explored possible collaborations between the state of Maharashtra and Netflix for up skilling in the media & entertainment sector. Ted Saraondos was in India for the WAVES Summit.
During the discussion, Sarandos revealed the economic impact Netflix has had in the country from 2021 to 2024. He said, “Our investments in India have generated over $2 billion in economic impact post-COVID. That includes all the jobs created, skills developed, and infrastructure supported. We’ve filmed across 100+ towns and cities in India, spanning 23 states, and collaborated with over 25,000 local cast and crew.”
Saif Ali Khan spoke about how streaming has transformed the creative landscape, saying, “Thanks to streaming, we can explore characters in a very different way. There is a kind of intimacy on the platform—because of the detail you can get into with long-format storytelling. The kind of longevity that streaming offers is a gift for an artist—it’s a creative playground with no school bell.”
Ted also revealed that an Indian title was in the global Top 10 (non-English) every single week of 2024, and over 3 billion hours of Indian content were viewed on Netflix that year—that’s nearly 60 million hours every week.
When asked what his message is for Indian creators trying to take their content to a global audience, Ted said, “If you try to engineer something to be global, you end up making it for no one. The stories that travel the farthest—the ones that truly resonate beyond borders—are always the most locally authentic. Nothing will work outside of India if it isn’t loved within India first. So don’t water it down. Don’t reverse-engineer it to fit some imagined global mold. Audiences won’t connect with a world that doesn’t feel real. But they will connect deeply with something that is honest, rooted, and recognizably local.”
Speaking about the global moment for Indian content, Ted said, “India is on the cusp of a major inflection point in storytelling—just like Korea was before Squid Game. For years, Korean content spoke to local audiences and the diaspora; then came a moment that opened the world’s eyes. I believe India is headed toward that kind of global breakthrough. The creative foundation is being laid, and with platforms like Netflix, the reach is already here.”
When asked if theatres and streaming can coexist, Ted said, “India is one of the most fan-centric markets, which makes this coexistence possible. Most people just want to watch great stories—the real question is, how do we get those stories to them?” He added, “What streaming has done is meet audiences where they are. If you want to watch a movie, I want to be able to deliver it to you. What’s been great about India is how fan-centric the approach has been—bringing films quickly from cinemas to streaming so people can access them easily. This idea of democratizing access to film—India was ahead of the curve.”
Netflix’s Co-CEO, Ted Sarandos met the Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Devendra Fadnavis on Sunday. The two had a fruitful meeting discussing how Netflix looks at India as an important market in the next 5 years and explored possible collaborations between the state of Maharashtra and Netflix for up skilling in the media & entertainment sector. Ted Saraondos was in India for the WAVES Summit.
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