South Korea gave Squid Game. What did India give? Uday Shankar asks while AI becomes the turning point

Uday Shankar Spotlights India's Media Paradox

In a compelling keynote at the IndiaAI Impact Summit, Uday Shankar, Vice Chairman of JioStar, posed a provocative question: while South Korea gifted the world Squid Game, a global phenomenon that captivated millions, what has India truly offered on the international stage? Shankar highlighted India's remarkable journey in the media and entertainment sector, transforming from a modest player with a single state broadcaster into the world's fifth-largest market, now contributing over $30 billion to the economy. This growth spans more than 900 channels in dozens of languages, serving over 210 million television households and reaching 800 million video consumers. Yet, despite this massive domestic scale, India holds less than 2% of the $3 trillion global media market, lacking the cultural exports that define powerhouses like South Korea or even Puerto Rico, home to the planet's most-streamed artist performing in Spanish.

Shankar pointed to structural hurdles as the core issue. Limited capital has capped production budgets—Indian films average $3-5 million, dwarfed by Hollywood's $65-100 million blockbusters or $20-30 million per episode for top US series, compared to $10,000 for typical Indian TV episodes. This financial gap prevents domestic creators from scaling up, even as Indian talent powers global hits like Life of Pi, Avatar, The Dark Knight, and Game of Thrones, with VFX work often done in Mumbai and Hyderabad. Shankar argued that while the talent exists, local producers can't afford international rates, trapping content in a domestic or diaspora focus, with rare exceptions like RRR and Dangal.

AI Emerges as India's Game-Changer

Enter artificial intelligence, which Shankar positions as the pivotal turning point for India's ambitions. AI promises to rewire the economics of content creation, consumer engagement, and monetization, slashing costs and enabling high-quality narratives at unprecedented volumes. Unlike Hollywood's cautious approach, mired in legal battles and resistance from writers and actors, India faces fewer legacy constraints. This opens a window to pioneer revenue models that equitably benefit creators, technicians, producers, and everyone in the ecosystem. Shankar envisions AI lifting India's global market share from under 2% to 5%, unlocking tens of billions in new value and propelling the country toward creative leadership.

He emphasized India's unique strengths: a vast audience, deep cultural reservoirs, and engineering prowess combined with storytelling heritage. AI-driven production could make high-end content accessible, allowing Indian hybrids—storytellers fluent in AI tools—to craft world-class concepts. Early tech adoption has already fueled India's media boom over 25 years, and Shankar urged the same agility now. "AI provides India a once-in-a-generation opportunity to become the creative capital of the world. Not the back office for the world’s content. The leader. The standard-setter," he declared in his address.|quote| This shift could finally bridge the paradox, turning domestic scale into global dominance.

Path Forward: Skilling, Disruption, and Policy

To seize this moment, Shankar outlined clear commitments. First, industry players must self-disrupt before external forces do, embracing AI proactively as they did with digital newsrooms and streaming. Second, aggressive skilling programs are essential to build AI-native talent pools, blending creative instincts with technical mastery. Third, supportive policy frameworks should accelerate innovation rather than hinder it, setting precedents for equitable models worldwide. Hollywood's defenses create a strategic edge for India, where fewer unions and disputes allow bolder experimentation. With infrastructure costs falling thanks to AI, the longstanding barrier to entry is crumbling, promising efficiency, speed, and deeper audience connections.

Shankar's vision paints India not just as a consumer of global content but its architect. The summit's timing underscores urgency, as AI tools evolve rapidly, democratizing production and challenging traditional gatekeepers. For a nation with boundless narratives rooted in diversity, this could mean exporting stories that resonate universally, much like Squid Game did for Korea. Success hinges on execution—turning opportunity into sustained impact through investment in people and processes. As Shankar noted, technology has repeatedly empowered his ventures to connect innovatively with audiences, and AI represents the next frontier.

In essence, Uday Shankar's call reframes AI as India's answer to the global cultural question: after South Korea's Squid Game, India can deliver its own era-defining gifts through intelligent creativity, overcoming capital constraints to claim a leading share of the world stage.