Netflix Announces ‘Lock Upp’ New Season; Ayushmann Khurrana Praises Hanuman Ansh at Day 1 of 'FICCI FRAMES 2026'
September 29, 2026
MUMBAI, 29 September 2026: The 26th edition of ‘FICCI FRAMES 2026’ kicked off today with policymakers, media leaders, studio executives, creators and entertainment personalities converging at the event under the theme ‘India’s Media Moment: Creating Value in an Age of Infinite Content.’
The inaugural session was addressed by Mr Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Minister of Culture and Tourism, Govt of India; Mr Prabhat, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, Govt of India; Mr Anant Goenka, President, FICCI and Vice Chairman of the RPG Group; Mr Kevin Vaz, Chair, FICCI Media & Entertainment Committee and CEO, Entertainment, JioStar; FICCI FRAMES Ambassador and Actor Mr Ayushmann Khurrana; Mr Arjun Nohwar, Co-Chair, FICCI Media & Entertainment Committee and Managing Director – South Asia, Warner Bros. Discovery; along with Ms Jyoti Vij, Director General, FICCI and Dr. Ashish S. Kulkarni, Chief Mentor, FICCI FRAMES 2026 and Frame Your Idea.
The first business conversation, ‘The CEO’s Perspective: Reinventing Media for the Age of Infinite Content’, was moderated by Vivek Couto, Co-Founder, CEO and Executive Director, Media Partners Asia. The session featured Kevin Vaz; Punit Goenka, Managing Director & CEO, Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited; Gaurav Gandhi, Vice President & Head, Prime Video, Asia Pacific & Australia-New Zealand; Gaurav Banerjee, Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer, Sony Pictures Networks India; and Rahul Kanwal, Chief Executive Officer & Editor-in-Chief, NDTV. The panellists shared their views on the current TV rating system and the need for regulations to keep pace with the changing media landscape.
The cinema conversation ‘Cinema at Crossroads - The Rules of the Big Screen’, was moderated by Rajeev Masand, Chief Operating Officer, Dharma Collab Artists Agency. The panel brought together Ayushmann Khurrana, Acclaimed Actor and FICCI FRAMES Ambassador; filmmaker and screenwriter Sriram Raghavan; and Denzil Dias, VP and Managing Director – India Theatrical, Warner Bros. Discovery.
Khurrana spoke about the changing nature of stardom and the importance of stories over scale. “Stardom is relative and script is the star. It is not one size fits all,” he said. He also pointed to the response to ‘Hanuman Ansh’ and ‘Obsession’ as examples of the continuing power of stories, stressing the need for films that remain budget-conscious while connecting strongly with audiences.
The fireside chat, ‘The New Fandom: How Reels, Creators and Communities Are Rewiring What India Loves’, featured Arun Srinivas, Country Director – India, Meta; and Kusha Kapila, Digital Content Creator, Actress and Co-Founder. The panellists discussed the changing creator ecosystem. The session also witnessed the launch of the Meta playbook. An interactive session featuring Rishad Chindamada, Vertical Head – Media, Services & Ecosystem Partners, Meta, followed.
The parallel Madhya Pradesh roundtable, ‘Madhya Pradesh: Building a Future-Ready Creative Economy – Film, AVGC-XR & Digital Innovation’, was held and attended by filmmakers and studio executives from Mumbai.
The MoU signing ceremony for “From Screen to Destination: Building a Film Tourism Ecosystem”, between Maharashtra Film City and the Tourism Department of the Government of Maharashtra, included a special address by Smt. Swati Mhase Patil, Managing Director of the Maharashtra State Film, Stage and Cultural Development Corporation (MFSCDCL).
The fireside chat, ‘One Game, Many Screens: Where Is Sports Viewing Headed?’, featured Ishan Chatterjee, CEO – Sports, JioStar, in conversation with Vivek Couto, Co-Founder, CEO and Executive Director, Media Partners Asia. The conversation focused on the future of sports viewing.
The keynote, ‘The Future of Entertainment: AI, Scale & Storytelling’, was delivered by Saurabh Pandey, Founder & CEO, Eloelo Group where he opined that entertainment can be India’s next IT export.
The post-lunch session, ‘The New Mainstream: Why Rooted Stories Are Winning Audiences’, featured Mrinalini Jain, Group Chief Development Officer, Banijay Asia & Endemol Shine India; Tanya Bami, Series Head, Netflix India; Amogh Dusad, Director and Head of AVOD Content, Prime Video India; Mukesh Chhabra, Casting Director, Director and Actor; Anant Singh, Creative Director, The Viral Fever (TVF); Rasika Dugal, Actor; and Amol Parashar, Actor.
The discussion explored the growing popularity of stories rooted in Indian culture, experiences and communities, and how these stories are finding audiences around the world. The speakers also highlighted the potential of authentic Indian storytelling to connect with global viewers.
The fireside chat featuring Mr Prasoon Joshi, Chairman, Prasar Bharati, was held where he spoke about how AI can change the way creative work is produced, but cannot yet replicate originality, which comes from human experience and ideas that have never been expressed before.
The keynote on the streaming business featured Shilangi Mukherji, Director & Head, SVOD Business, Amazon Prime Video India, Prime Video & Amazon MGM Studios, in conversation with Raghav Anand, Partner, EY. Mukherji spoke about the importance of investing in strong IP, creating multilingual stories and reaching audiences across the globe.
The panel, ‘The Great Content Race: Artificial Intelligence and Copyright’, featured a keynote address by Shri Prabhat, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, Government of India. The session was moderated by Mihir Rale, Partner, Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas, with panellists Anil Lale, Executive Vice President – Legal and Regulatory, JioStar; Uday Singh, Managing Director, Motion Picture Association India; Kaushik Moitra, Partner, Practice Lead – Regulatory, IP, TMT, Bharucha and Partners; and Manasvi Sharma, Senior Vice President – Technology, Gracenote.
A major entertainment announcement came during ‘The Next Big Story’, where Monika Shergill, Vice President, Content, Netflix India, announced the return of ‘Lock Upp’ for a new season on Netflix. Farah Khan, Filmmaker, Choreographer, & YouTuber, and Actor Riteish Deshmukh will continue in their established roles. The session also featured actor and producer Siddharth; filmmaker Suresh Triveni; writer, creator and showrunner Abhijeet Singh Parmar; and Prajakta Koli, Content Creator, who joined the conversation.
A keynote, on ‘The 100M Living Room: Unlocking the Shared Attention Economy’, was delivered by Bhaskar Ramesh, Business Head, Entertainment Sales, JioStar.
The panel, ‘Microdrama, Mega Business: The Next Content Disruption’, was attended by Rishad Chindamada, Vertical Head – Media, Services & Ecosystem Partners, Meta; Azim Lalani, Co-Founder and Chief Business Officer, BULLET Microdrama, Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd.; GSN Aditya, Chief Operating Officer, Eloelo Group; Jhoomer Sinha, Senior Vice President – New Initiatives, Kuku; and Maahi, Actor and Singer. The panel discussed the rapid growth of microdramas, changing audience viewing habits, and how short-form storytelling is emerging as a new opportunity for content creators and businesses. The speakers also explored the role of technology, platforms and innovative business models in shaping the future of microdrama content.
The final business panel, ‘Sold Out, Scaling Up: Why India’s Live Events Need to Rebuild from the Fan Up’, featured a keynote by Shri Prithul Kumar, Joint Secretary – Broadcasting, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India, and a special address by Avarna Jain, Vice Chairperson, Saregama India Ltd. The discussion was led by Kunal Khambhati, Chair, FICCI M&E Live Events Forum and Founder & COO – Events, District by Zomato. The panellists included Shri Prithul Kumar; Shri Kumar Padmapani Bora, Commissioner & Secretary, Information & Public Relations Department, Government of Assam and Managing Director, Assam Tourism Development Corporation; Sabbas Joseph, Founder, Wizcraft Global; Siddharth Anand Kumar, Executive Vice President – Films & Events, Saregama India Ltd.; and Priyanka Khimani, Founder, Khimani & Associates, Billboard India.
The panel discussed the rapid growth of India’s live events industry, the need to put fans at the centre of the experience, and the opportunities to build stronger infrastructure, audience engagement and sustainable business models to scale the sector.
The evening screening of ‘Dupahiya Season 2’ was followed by a conversation featuring Shilangi Mukherji, Director & Head, SVOD Business, Amazon Prime Video India, Prime Video & Amazon MGM Studios; Nikhil Madhok, Director and Head of Originals (SVOD); Shubh Shivdasani, Creator & Producer; Salona Bains Joshi, Creator & Producer; Sonam Nair, Director; Gajraj Rao, Actor; Sparsh Shrivastava, Actor; and Bhuvan Arora, Actor.
The first day concluded with an entertainment evening by Mika Singh, presented by District by Zomato.
Across the day, FICCI FRAMES 2026 brought together voices from cinema, television, streaming, sports, creator platforms, live entertainment, advertising, technology and policymaking. The discussions moved from audience attention and theatrical cinema to fandom, rooted storytelling, AI and copyright, microdramas and live events, reflecting the central theme of this year’s FRAMES: how India’s media and entertainment ecosystem can create sustainable value in an age of infinite content.
FICCI Media Division
Other Press Releases:
- Coming decade can be India’s Esports decade; Industry should become part of this: Ashish Shelar, Minister, IT & Cultural Affairs, Govt of Maharashtra
- India must move beyond from content consumer to world leader in content creation: Gajendra Singh Shekhawat
- FICCI FRAMES 2026 SLATED FOR 29-30 SEPTEMBER BRINGS TOGETHER CREATIVE ICONS, BUSINESS LEADERS, AND POLICYMAKERS TO DEFINE ‘INDIA’S MEDIA MOMENT’