STREAM ON

IN THE FIVE YEARS THAT NETFLIX HAS BEEN IN INDIA, IT HAS GROWN EVERY YEAR, AND WON PRAISE FOR ITS LOCALLY-PRODUCED SHOWS. BUT WITH ITS PREMIUM PRICING, AND INCREASED COMPETITION, THE GLOBAL STREAMING GIANT WILL HAVE TO WORK EVEN HARDER TO STEAL THE SHOW.

- PRERNA LIDHOO and ABHIK SEN with SOURAV MAJUMDAR

KEEP IT SIMPLE. As simple as pasta and tomatoes. That, in a nutshell, is the philosophy followed by Reed Hastings, the billionaire founder and co-CEO of Netflix. Here’s the other, complementary part of his philosophy, for life and work: Do a few things but do them extremely well.

Hastings knows a thing or two about doing something extremely well. And with maximum impact. After all, streaming giant Netflix, No.16 on Fortune’s list of the World’s Most Admired Companies in 2020, with revenue of over $25 billion, has revolutionised the entertainment industry in its over two-decade-long existence. It has introduced viewers to varied content in over 190 countries and has also managed to pick up a few Oscars and Emmys along the way.

In fact, one of its most recent wins was for a show from India, Delhi Crime, which won the International Emmy for Best Drama Series. Not surprisingly, the Netflix founder’s eyes light up when he talks about India, which the streaming giant entered in 2016. “We’ve been growing every year. We’ve been just building our team, developing content, figuring out what works, whether that’s Sacred Games, or AK vs AK, you know, just lots of different types of content,” he tells Fortune India over a Zoom call from a ski lodge high atop the mountains in Utah.

For context, AK vs AK, an edgy thriller directed by filmmaker Vikramaditya Motwane, has now been watched in 40 countries, and subtitled and dubbed in more than 30 languages.

WHEN THE WORLD LOVED INDIA