I’m genuinely happy. What excites me most is that now stories like these are being made and appreciated. A whole segment of films, slice-of-life tales, got erased in the last few years. But now, taking a page from Malayalam cinema’s steady success, audiences are more open. It’s not rocket science, people are simply connecting to good writing, and good life experiences. After #90's, some thought ETVWin’s success was a fluke, but now with successive hits, nobody says that anymore. We put our personal lives aside and worked for the last two years to reach where we are right now. Now, when people say we’re stuck in a cycle of the same kind of films, I take it positively. It reminds us to push the boundaries.

I studied in film school. I understand guerrilla filmmaking well. Ultimately, audiences don’t care whether you shot it guerrilla or in a studio. They care if the moment feels authentic. When I saw the final cut, the Bengaluru portions stood out; people are even calling them 100/10. If any of our film teams are planning to taking up guerrilla making, I ensure they do have that experience. That magic in Little Hearts happened because our DOP Suriya Balaji is an expert at guerilla filmmaking.

Not just ‘mostly,’ all of our projects have been with first timers. There’s no formula. I always follow instinct. For Little Hearts, Marthand came to narrate the story directly to Sai and then me. He didn’t try to sell me the film, he spoke with conviction. Then, I check if they have made short films before, and if not, we fund a demo shoot. I want to see their passion, their clarity of thought. But I’m also accountable for my company’s investment. Whatever we make will have emotion at its core, and if there’s no emotion, I am not in it

Every platform works within constraints. Some people think we entered OTT late. But I think we came in at the right time, when patterns were clearer. From day one, our motto has been, “Mee kathalu, maa kathalu, mana kathalu” (Let’s tell our stories from our land, our life.) We don’t chase big stars. We build a collection of honest films, so people keep coming back. It’s about creating consistency and building loyalty with the audience.

Whether it’s moments or plot-driven, I always ask for a trailer pitch first. Give me the hook in ten minutes. That forces clarity. In Little Hearts, the USP is the moments. In Anaganaga, it’s the plot. Every director must know their strength, their unique hook and be prepared for three types of pitches; an elevator pitch, an hour-long narration and a full narration. While I would love to give time to newcomers always, there is an overflow of stories and we are pressed for time.

Most platforms fail here. They have tedious feedback loops that kill writers' patience. We have a seven-person creative frontrunners team with an average age of 27. They are brilliant, and talented. They are the first filters, and if they see promise in a script, I step in. Once I say yes, it goes to our board. The script has to be 80 per cent ready by the time it gets to the board. Then, we take at least 3 to 4 months for pre-production. We have a simple 3-step process. The goal is to treat the filmmaker with respect, but hold them accountable to discipline.

It’s impossible to guarantee a hit. But we do guarantee a decent viewing experience. Each creative producer becomes that project’s champion. They’re present on the shoot for at least a quarter of the days, watching rushes, observing edits daily. If something’s not working, we do a meeting with the director, right during the schedule, and get immediate reshoots done. And we make sure to give at least a 10-15 days gap after the first schedule. We conduct a thorough meeting to analyse what went wrong so that the next schedule runs smoother. Discipline is key. If the DOP or Production Designer aren’t in sync with the director, we know early enough that the project is gone.

I knew from childhood I wanted to be in cinema. I joined film school and it opened me up to world cinema and taught me discipline. With too much confidence, I started an independent feature film capturing a female protagonist’s journey. All the money I had was spent on the first schedule itself (laughs). Then, I realised, filmmaking needs professionals. I went back to film school and did a production course, made ad films, documentaries and then joined another streaming platform. There I got a chance to ghostwrite for BVS Ravi for the Unstoppable show. That experience was empowering. Later, my role as Content Head at ETVWin came through Sai Krishna and Bapineedu garu’s belief in me.

We have twelve titles in the pipeline. We are expanding to thrillers now with dramas, and family stories still on board. We have A-listers working with us and exciting projects with JD Chakravarthy, Sumanth Akkineni, Ramya Krishna and Aishwarya Rajesh. But 99 per cent of our work is with debut directors.

Great question. We always say “no” with a smile. It’s a mandate I put for my team. I am a writer too and I understand creativity is a sensitive space. We never say “We won’t do this.” We suggest other directions. Talent matters, but mindset matters even more. Fantastic talent with negativity won’t work for us. But average talent with positivity, we’re always game for them.

I agree partially and also take the blame for it. Acquired films have constraints. Our originals get the liberty of proper marketing. But when revenue-based models are at play, spending on marketing becomes a question of sustainability. I agree that mistakes have been made, but we’re improving every day. This year, more marketing will happen for those titles as well.