Gaurav Banerjee, Managing Director and CEO of Sony Pictures Networks India, set the tone for FICCI Frames 2025 with a stirring keynote address that challenged India’s media and entertainment sector to dream bigger and act bolder. Speaking to a packed audience in Mumbai, Banerjee reflected on the challenges and opportunities that define India’s creative economy today. “The question before us is simple,” he said. “How can we create a Silicon Valley of creativity in India?”
Banerjee began by acknowledging the complex global environment in which the industry now operates. Geopolitical currents are reshaping cross-border access, supply chains are fragile, and regulations are increasingly complex. Amid this backdrop, India’s media and entertainment sector has grown into a domestic powerhouse worth almost 30 billion dollars, contributing around 0.7 percent to the country’s GDP and projected to grow at seven to eight percent annually. Yet most of this growth remains driven by domestic demand. The real challenge, he said, is to take India’s creative output global.
To frame the conversation, Banerjee posed two provocations. The first was why India has not yet birthed a truly global entertainment phenomenon like the IPL or a homegrown content giant that can stand shoulder to shoulder with the world’s best. The second was how the country can create an institutional framework that scales private investment in content at levels comparable to the pharma or IT booms of the past. He pointed out that India has experienced three major creative inflection points in the past twenty-five years. The launch of Kaun Banega Crorepati at the turn of the century marked the first. The Indian Premier League in 2008 transformed cricket into mass family entertainment and became a cultural juggernaut. The third came with pan-India television and films, through groundbreaking shows like Satyamev Jayate and Anupama and landmark films like Baahubali.
However, Banerjee noted that the last major wave of innovation happened a decade ago. For the past ten years, the industry has been waiting for the next big leap in storytelling and scale. He urged the room to ask why this wait has lasted so long and what industry leaders can do to accelerate change. He believes the answer lies in building ecosystems that aggregate human capital. Citing economist Enrico Moretti’s book The New Geography of Jobs, Banerjee explained that prosperous regions thrive because they attract skilled workers, encourage research, and nurture innovation. He argued that India must replicate this approach for the creative industries.
The closest Indian model, he said, is the IPL, which has developed a remarkable talent pipeline through local leagues, state teams, and talent scouting. Every season brings new names to the fore because of years of investment in identifying and nurturing talent. This, according to Banerjee, is precisely the kind of ecosystem that India’s creative sector must build. A nation of 1.4 billion people with one of the world’s richest cultural reservoirs should be producing stories that travel the globe. Films, music, and digital content from India should be watched, shared, and celebrated internationally, but for that to happen, storytellers must be identified and supported from the grassroots level.
He highlighted the Malayalam film industry as a shining example of what is possible. In the past half decade, it has produced a consistent stream of high-quality films that resonate with audiences. Banerjee spoke passionately about watching Lokah: Chapter One, a film made on a budget of less than 30 crore that has already crossed 300 crore at the box office. It follows a series of successful Malayalam films such as Aavesham, 2018, and Manjummel Boys, which have collectively demonstrated what a thriving creative ecosystem can achieve. Banerjee argued that India should not have to wait decades for the next Lagaan or Baahubali. With the scale of talent available, such stories should emerge every year if the right systems are in place.
To make this a reality, he proposed two key steps. First, India must build creative institutions and centres of excellence that nurture talent. These institutions should focus on recruitment pipelines, scouting networks, and training systems to identify and develop the best creators across regions and languages. Second, there needs to be deep collaboration between these institutions and creative businesses. Drawing a parallel with Silicon Valley’s relationship with Stanford University, Banerjee said India must foster similar partnerships between academia and industry to create thriving creative hubs.
In conclusion, Banerjee emphasised that creative industries must move from the periphery to the centre of national strategy. They generate jobs, fuel innovation, export India’s identity, and amplify soft power. To write the next chapter of global leadership, India must invest in creativity with the same vision and boldness that it invests in technology. He called on policymakers, media leaders, and creators to champion this agenda, to think globally, and to act decisively. “Let us ensure that India’s creative economy does not sit at the margins of policy but stands at the very heart of our world story,” he said, leaving the audience inspired and energised.