‘We need five to six new stars’: Karan Taurani on what Indian cinema must fix urgently | EXCLUSIVE

Mumbai: Indian cinema stands at a turning point, with franchises, star power, and shifting monetisation models set to define the road ahead. These insights were shared by Karan Taurani, Executive Vice President at Elara Capital, during an exclusive interaction with TV9 English, where he mapped out the film industry’s outlook for 2025–26.

According to Karan, the next phase of box office growth will be powered by the rise of new-age franchises. Films such as Pushpa, Animal, Kantara, and Dhurandhar signal a gradual shift away from legacy intellectual properties. Instead, the industry is building original universes with fresh stories and newer faces. If scaled well, these franchises can support multi-film monetisation and deliver consistent theatrical footfalls over the medium term.

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A major concern, however, remains the absence of younger audiences in cinemas. Karan pointed out that Gen Z and millennial viewers have largely migrated to OTT platforms since the pandemic. This shift has created a structural gap in theatrical attendance. To counter this, he stressed the need to actively create five to six new stars who connect with evolving consumer tastes. Large tentpole projects such as Brahmastra and Ramayan can play a crucial role by acting as launchpads for emerging talent, including names like Ahaan Panday.

Monetisation models are also undergoing visible pressure. Karan explained, "Film monetisation is entering a more cautious phase. OTT platforms, having largely achieved subscriber scale, are no longer acquiring content aggressively. Additionally, underperformance of Hindi films has led to losses on content acquisition, prompting tighter greenlighting norms."

As a result, producers are becoming more selective, theatrical releases are likely to stay below pre-COVID levels, and overall content supply will remain constrained. This marks a clear departure from the hyper-growth phase seen over the past four to five years.

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Karan noted, "Hollywood content saw an improvement in 2025 versus 2024, led by large franchise releases. 2026 is crucial, with major IPs lined up across Marvel, Jurassic Park, Star Wars, and others. This segment is particularly important as it pulls younger audiences back into cinemas."

Still, Karan Taurani flagged potential disruption if a Netflix–Warner Bros deal materialises. Given that India contributes barely one per cent to global box office revenues, studios may experiment with shorter theatrical windows or even direct-to-OTT releases for select titles. Despite this, the massive budgets and global scale of these films continue to make theatrical releases strategically vital.