Microdramas test India’s appetite for stories in 120 seconds

India has never been short of drama—whether in soap operas or Bollywood blockbusters. But the country’s youngest viewers now prefer their drama served differently: faster, sharper, and optimised for the thumb scroll. Enter the microdrama.

On Wednesday, Instagram launched its first India-focused microdrama series, Party of Two, signalling the entry of a global social media giant into what is becoming one of the fastest-evolving storytelling battlegrounds.

A day later, Eloelo Group’s Story TV app announced its plans to strengthen its microdrama portfolio by launching over 800 titles and crossing 100 million users in the next year. This comes after the company reportedly rolled out 200 of this short-format episodes in 60 days, purportedly attracting 5 million users.

Microdramas—professionally produced, vertically shot serials designed for mobile viewing—have already become a multibillion-dollar category in China. Now, they are gaining traction in India, driven by local players such as Kuku TV, ShareChat’s Moj, Flick TV and ReelSaga.

The sudden rush of OTTs, streamers, and now social platforms into microdramas is not just about new content genres. It is a test of whether bite-sized stories can convert passive scrollers into loyal, engaged viewers—and eventually, paying customers.

A global trend comes to India

Instagram’s Party of Two follows two Gen Z flatmates with contrasting personalities and creative impulses. Spread over seven episodes, the series has been developed with Communique and directed by Samudra Sengupta and Gopikrishnan Nair, starring actors and creators Nidhi Bhanushali and Sunakshi Grover. Episodes will release every alternate day on Instagram and Meta India’s handles from September 4.

“As Instagram turns 15 this year, we’re investing more in enabling creative expression than ever before,” said Arun Srinivas, country director, Meta India. “This includes launching new apps like Edits for video creatives, or features like Trials and Reposts. We hope the byte-sized nature of microdramas, hosted on Reels, and combined with a storyline that appeals to Gen Z, encourages them to tap into their own everyday experiences and share them creatively on Instagram.”

Arun Srinivas, country director, Meta India.

Incidentally, Instagram’s move raises an interesting question: will microdramas cannibalise Reels, the very short-form content that drove the platform’s recent growth?

A Meta spokesperson told Campaign: “Our core mission has always been making Instagram the best place for people to express themselves. While we started with square photos, we’ve continuously evolved to embrace new formats—from static images to video content—without abandoning what came before. The microdrama series exemplifies this evolution, demonstrating another creative medium rather than contradicting our philosophy.”

The company sees microdramas as structured storytelling with a serialised arc, while Reels remain bursts of user-generated creativity. The bet is that audiences will treat microdramas as appointment viewing, while continuing to consume Reels casually.

OTTs and social platforms muscle in

The entry of Instagram—and before it, Amazon’s MX Player with MX Fatafat—marks an inflection point. For the first time, global platforms with deep pockets and massive user bases are competing directly with homegrown apps such as KukuTV and ReelSaga.

The motivations differ but converge on scale and stickiness. For OTTs, microdramas extend the content pipeline at a fraction of the cost of premium series or films. For Instagram, they represent a way to deepen engagement with Gen Z, particularly as YouTube Shorts eats into attention spans.

“An OTT platform releases maybe 100 shows a year, while microdrama allows them to release 100 shows a month,” said brand consultant Prashant Soni. “That is a very different scale of experimentation.”

In a press statement, Saurabh Pandey, founder and CEO, Story TV, said, “Currently, the ecosystem is largely dependent on globally popular storylines, but this is changing fast. As a platform, we have seen firsthand how local themes and stories can scale massively, given our diverse population and interests. To achieve this, we are bringing on board some of the most talented actors and creative forces in the industry.”

Saurabh Pandey, founder and CEO, Story TV.

Both Reels and microdramas aim to turn “passive scrolling into active engagement.” Episodic arcs, however, promise repeat visits in ways standalone shorts often do not.

Kuku TV, launched in September 2024, has clocked over 600,000 downloads on Google Play. Its library spans dubbed foreign titles, Hindi originals, and entire films split into 30 vertical episodes. The company says it is releasing one new show daily and is targeting 60 to 100 new shows a month.

FlickReels has crossed 300,000 downloads, offering everything from romance to crime thrillers. Amazon’s MX Player tested the waters with MX Fatafat, marking the first big-budget attempt by a mainstream Indian OTT.

At the Asia Pacific Video Operators Summit (APOS) 2025 in Bali, Gaurav Gandhi, vice president – Asia Pacific and MENA, Prime Video, said: “We’ve been very deliberate in bringing new voices to the fore — more than 50% of Prime Video’s projects have first-time creators involved. With MX Fatafat, we’re co-creating with emerging talent. This kind of intentionality helps grow the creative economy and expand the total addressable market for storytellers.”

The local vanguard

Globally, microdramas are not new. The format emerged in China in 2018 and now churns out more than 5,000 series annually, earning close to $7 billion in 2023. India is picking up quickly.

In the past year, cumulative app downloads for microdrama platforms have crossed 50 million, according to Redseer Strategy Consultants. More than 15 apps now offer such content, and the consultancy estimates India could represent a $5 billion market within five years.

“India’s new media revolution is no longer about going viral—it’s about going deep,” said Mukesh Kumar, associate partner at Redseer. “Edutainment and microdramas are unlocking opportunities for high-potential, high revenue growth moments that the Bharat consumer truly connects with.”

Mukesh Kumar, associate partner at Redseer.

The target is broad but consistent: youngsters, commuters, and tier-2 and tier-3 households. Unlike user-generated short-form video, most platforms focus on professional content, localised for regional audiences.

The economics problem

The audience may be growing, but monetisation remains the industry’s biggest hurdle. India’s low cost-per-thousand (CPM) rates for digital advertising make it difficult to sustain high production quality. Subscription models, meanwhile, have largely failed for short-form content.

“Advertising revenues may not be adequate to ensure that the production quality of microdrama is top-notch,” Soni said. He added that subscription resistance is particularly acute in tier-2 and tier-3 markets, where much of the microdrama audience resides.

Some platforms are experimenting with micro-payments—users can unlock episodes individually or purchase flexible packs. Others are testing brand integrations and product placements woven into narratives. Yet none of these models have scaled meaningfully.

Eloelo Group’s Story TV app plans to strengthen its microdrama portfolio by launching over 800 titles and crossing 100 million users in the next year.

For now, microdramas sit at the intersection of opportunity and uncertainty. With 70% of India’s video consumption happening on mobile, the appetite is undeniable. What remains unclear is whether the format can evolve into a sustainable, long-term genre—or whether it risks becoming another short-lived digital fad.

“The bite-sized nature of microdramas aligns perfectly with how people consume and share content on short-form video platforms today,” the Meta spokesperson said. “By introducing microdramas in this format, we’re not just entertaining our audience; we’re providing a creative blueprint that demonstrates the storytelling potential within everyone’s reach.”

That optimism is shared by many, though scepticism lingers. A sector built on speed risks becoming a race to the bottom if quantity outweighs quality.

India’s love of drama is unquestionable. What remains to be seen is whether it will continue to embrace it in 120 seconds at a time. For platforms like Instagram, the wager is that microdramas will complement Reels rather than cannibalise them. For local players, the urgency lies in monetisation before the giants crowd them out.

As with much of India’s digital landscape, the story of microdramas is only beginning. The real drama, it seems, is happening off screen—in boardrooms, algorithms, and the fight for the next billion attention