Mukesh Ambani: Content, demography & tech give India edge to lead global entertainment

Mukesh Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director of Reliance Industries, on Thursday laid out a bold vision for India to become the epicentre of a new global entertainment revolution. Ambani was delivering the keynote address at the inaugural edition of WAVES 2025. The summit, hosted at the Jio World Centre in Mumbai, convened leading figures from film, streaming, television, music, sports, and digital content to discuss the creative economy's future.

“Entertainment touches minds, hearts and souls. It communicates with our emotions, energizes our thoughts and awakens our spiritual core,” said Ambani.

Framing entertainment as a powerful force for societal enrichment, Ambani underlined that India’s culture and creativity are not just assets—they are the country's true strength. “Some call this soft power. But as I said this morning, this is India’s real power,” he added.

He paid tribute to cultural icons such as Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, Rajnikanth, Gulzar and Hema Malini, calling them India’s most influential cultural ambassadors. “They have carried the flag of Indian culture to all parts of Asia, Africa, Europe and America,” he said, describing their global reach as both a matter of pride and a springboard for what lies ahead.

Ambani said that storytelling lies at the heart of India’s entertainment advantage. “Good stories always sell. This unchanging principle defines the success of entertainment products anywhere, everywhere and always.” Citing India’s epics and classical literature, he reminded the audience of India’s 5,000-year-old storytelling legacy, spanning themes of romance, heroism, tragedy, compassion and moral values.

Quoting Mark Twain, he said, “India is the cradle of the human race, birthplace of human speech, mother of history, the grandmother of legend and the great grandmother of tradition.”

He then identified three strategic advantages that place India in a unique position to lead the entertainment world: content, demography, and technology.

India, he said, has a massive and youthful population that is both a source of content creation and a vast audience. “1.4 billion creators and consumers with an average age of 29 — this is not just a statistic. It is the profile of a demographic, economic and creative superpower.” He forecast that India’s economy would soon become the world’s third largest, making it the largest media and entertainment market globally.

In terms of technology, Ambani emphasized that India is leading, not following. “Indian VFX is now powering Hollywood blockbusters. We produce several million hours of content every year—films, TV series, music, sports, short form, long form, live and immersive content,” he said. “We are multilingual, multi-format and multi-platform by design.”

He credited Reliance Jio for enabling this transformation. “With JioCinema, we have broken viewership records, revolutionized IP streaming and made immersive multi-language interactive sports viewing a global standard. And this is just the beginning.” Ambani also spoke about Jio’s partnership with Disney and the launch of Jio Hotstar. “Its technology stack is unrivalled. JioHotstar is committed to making India a proud leader in the global entertainment industry.”

Artificial intelligence was another major theme in his address. “AI tools are dissolving the barriers between dream and reality, between imagination and execution,” he said. “They can make good content a thousand times more captivating and take it simultaneously to hundreds of millions of screens in cinema halls, homes, and on mobile phones and computers across geographies and languages.”

Among the most notable parts of his speech was his mention of the Indian Premier League, highlighting its growing international footprint. “Since sports is also a new genre of entertainment, IPL has now gained phenomenal viewership around the world,” he said. Alongside IPL, Ambani cited films like Dangal becoming blockbusters in China and older examples such as Raj Kapoor’s films being embraced in Russia and Central America.

Ambani laid out a four-part strategy to take Indian entertainment global. First, he urged the industry to seize the opportunity to grow India’s media and entertainment industry from $28 billion to over $100 billion in the next decade. This would require investment in state-of-the-art content clusters, talent training in VFX and animation, and a regulatory environment that encourages creativity. Second, he called on content creators to think globally, pointing out that even regional filmmakers should aim to reach international audiences.

Third, he emphasized the importance of international collaboration. “India should become the modern global center for content and creativity,” he said, citing Prime Minister Modi’s vision. Fourth, he spoke about the deeper purpose of entertainment—to build a better, more harmonious world. “People all over the globe are hungry for entertainment that is healthy, wholesome and brings hope and happiness. India can satisfy this hunger better than any country in the world,” he said.

Concluding the keynote, Ambani left the audience with a powerful wish: “May this newly created WAVES platform give the message of hope for a new world from a resurgent new India.”