In his documentary released last year, Javed Akhtar breaks down as he opens up about his struggling days in the film industry. With moist eyes, he recalls how he came to Mumbai in a third-class railway compartment with no place to sit and embarking on a journey that would take not less than two days to complete.
Having had nothing to wear or eat after landing in Mumbai, the legendary screenwriter, lyricist and poet shares how deprivation left a lasting impact on him. “When I go to a five-star hotel, I lie on large sprawling beds. I am served breakfast on a trolley, with butter, jam, half-fried eggs, coffee. And I think to myself: ‘Teri ye aukaat? Do I deserve this?’” he adds.
In a country of billions where a majority of the people fight their daily battles to survive, where life is measured by the inches in crammed locals ferrying thousands of budding dreams, and where cinema is the escape from rash realities —real stories like that of Akhtar’s strike a chord. “Salim-Javed not just transformed cinema but also left a lasting impact on society,” says Manish Menghani, director, content licensing, Prime Video, India, referring to the three-part docuseries, Angry Young Men, which explores the powerful partnership of Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar that transformed Hindi cinema during the 1970s with films such as Sholay, Deewar and Don.
Similarly, Honey Singh’s tell-all documentary that reveals his harrowing experiences with his mental health during his seven-year absence was applauded for being told with all honesty. “I got the chance to delve into the psychology and explore a whole other side of the man,” says Mozez Singh, director of Yo Yo Honey Singh: Famous, which debuted on Netflix in December last year.
It is the authenticity and honesty of the story that make people connect with it, adds Oscar winning producer Guneet Monga, who produced Yo Yo Honey Singh: Famous.
Monga is right. Documentaries in India are no longer considered non-glamorous or boring, having been primarily used as educational tools or propaganda material by the government for years. They are now riding on a new wave of popularity by focusing on authentic content, compelling issues and untold stories. The narrative is also changing with the rise of digital platforms and independent filmmakers.
“Hindi cinema is widely loved all over the world. Hence stories depicting their lives and their works, work. People want to know about the lives they have lived,” says Shashi Ranjan, director of The Roshans, a just-released documentary on Netflix that narrates the success stories of three generations of the Roshan family—Roshan Lal Nagrath, also known as Roshan Saab, and his descendants Rakesh Roshan, Rajesh Roshan and Hrithik Roshan.
“It is not just their stories but the story of 75 years of Indian cinema and more, so far as Indian cinema is concerned, that are yet to be told,” adds Ranjan.
Ranjan feels great Indian stars like Mehboob Khan, K Asif, Raj Kapoor, Guru Dutt, Mohammed Rafi, Lata Mangeshkar, Rajesh Khanna, Dev Anand and the likes need to be documented. “Unfortunately, we have nothing in this area. There are certain books but reading habits are dying. That is why documentaries are the best way to preserve their stories,” he adds.
Earlier last year, Indrani Mukerjea’s story had piqued the interest of curious audiences, turning the Netflix docu-series, The Indrani Mukerjea Story: Buried Truth, into a hit. Such successful documentaries, in turn, are also encouraging OTT platforms to invest in the genre. Tanya Bami, series head, Netflix India, shares that Netflix has defined the tone for telling stories in the non-fiction format in India, just as it has across the globe. “Within India, we have been the most committed to this genre, building a repertoire of documentaries across genres that resonate more widely than ever before,” she adds.
This year, Netflix is about to expand its documentary slate. Talking about the popularity of celebrity documentaries in India, Bami says, “They reveal the real, human side of iconic personalities. Our documentaries spark curiosity and deliver unparalleled insight into the lives of these icons.”
This explains why previous documentaries such as The Romantics (the Yash Raj Chopra story), Wild Wild Country (about controversial Indian guru Osho), Searching for Sheela (about Ma Anand Sheela, the infamous former Rajneesh commune’s spokesperson), Bikram: Yogi, Guru, Predator (charts the rise and fall of hot yoga founder Bikram Choudhury) have turned out to be great masterpieces in portrayals.
This year, as the audiences’ fixation with real stories continues, Netflix will release The Greatest Rivalry: India v Pakistan on February 7, that takes a deep dive into cricket’s most intense and storied showdown while Prime Video brings out Zoya Akhtar-Reema Kagti’s In Transit that delves into the lives of non-binary and transgender persons.
However, not all celebrity documentaries work. Nayanthara: Beyond the Fairytale was criticised for not covering all aspects of the actor’s journey in detail and rather focusing on her personal life. Similarly, Modern Masters: SS Rajamouli was criticised for a limited look into his career.
The past few years have not only seen great documentaries being produced in the country but also witnessed them shine on a global stage. The year 2023, in particular, saw The Elephant Whisperers making history as it became the first documentary to bring home the Oscar, while Shaunak Sen’s All That Breathes missed it by a whisker. In the same year, the story of Veerappan caught the attention of both Netflix and ZEE5. Netflix’s The Hunt for Veerappan, however, has gone on to win Best Direction (Non-Fiction) at the 2024 Asian Academy Creative Awards.
Sai Abishek, head of factual & lifestyle cluster, South Asia Warner Bros Discovery, says that in recent years, the documentary landscape in India has evolved, with audiences gravitating toward content that blends intellectual depth with emotional impact. There’s a growing focus on authenticity, investigative storytelling, and human-interest narratives, pushing creators to explore more nuanced topics. Looking ahead, we anticipate a growing interest in personality-driven documentaries that delve into intriguing figures, with a focus on revealing, investigative narratives that uncover hidden truths and complex stories.”
Last year also saw documentaries from India shining globally. While Murmurs of the Jungle won the National Award for Best Documentary, To Kill A Tiger (2022) was nominated at the Oscars for the Best Documentary feature, Vinay Shukla’s While We Watched and Shaunak Sen’s All That Breathes won the Peabody Award, investigative documentary The Trap made history by becoming the first documentary from India to be nominated for the International Emmy News Awards.
Market analysis firm Market Research Future predicts the documentary films and shows market industry is expected to grow from $3.94 billion in 2023 to $7.3 billion by 2032 and that the APAC region is projected to witness significant growth, driven by the rising popularity of streaming services and the emergence of new talent in countries like India and China.
With international recognition and viewer confidence, there’s renewed confidence in young filmmakers in making documentaries. However, while they are being recognised globally, the problem lies in distribution and funding.
Guneet Monga, whose documentary film Anuja was shortlisted for the Oscars in December last year, raised a critical point of funding the campaign for Oscars. There was a lot of fundraising, much more than the budget of the film. Now that it’s shortlisted, we’re working on its future. From 9 pm to 12.30 am, and in the mornings, from 5 am to 9 am, I am making calls, talking to people, pushing Anuja, writing to people, [figuring] the next layer of funding and how we can take it forward, figuring out distribution and which platform to take it to. We’re really pushing forward to get to the next round. [We’re keeping our] fingers crossed that we get to the nomination,” she said in an interview. Independent filmmakers like Payal Kapadia, too, struggle to find funding for producing projects which often become major roadblocks. This coupled with the lack of screening opportunities in theatres and OTT platforms further dissuades them.
However, this has not stopped documentary only platforms from emerging. Sourjya Mohanty, COO, DocuBay & Epic On, says that the platform has strong insights into viewer loyalty for niche, factual storytelling in genres like humanity, science, and nature. The Mumbai-headquartered platform that has over 500 documentaries across more than 10 genres in 170 countries has a number of new launches for 2025 with shows like Plastic Fantastic, Fanatics, and Kargil already emerging popular. He says that significant investments have already been made in the platform, with a substantial portion allocated for this year.
Reya Mehrotra is a freelancer
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