On day two of the Waves Summit 2025, Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, founder of Biocon Limited, left attendees with much food for thought, including the possibility of creating a trillion-dollar creative economy by 2047. During a media interaction, she spoke about how media and entertainment has created many significant creative economies around the world. New Zealand did it with The Lord of The Rings, the UK did it with the Harry Potter franchise, and the United States did it with Disney.
“Looking back at India’s cinematic history, did we miss opportunities? Sholay was a blockbuster movie; could we have leveraged it to grow our creative economy? Can we do that with Bahubali?” asked Mazumdar-Shaw. Ramayan was a great epic that has also been cinematised but she questioned whether India could do what George Lucas did. “He borrowed from Ramayan and created Star Wars. India needs a new narrative. Technology needs to be that narrative,” she asserted, noting that Indian creators need to take ideas and traditions beyond the diaspora.
While Reliance Industries’ chairman Mukesh Ambani on the first day of the Waves Summit predicted that India’s media and entertainment sector would reach $100 billion over the next decade, Mazumdar-Shaw said that there is much greater growth potential in the industry. “Can we create a trillion-dollar orange economy by 2047? It is an ambitious dream but it is possible. We have a technology ecosystem that is rapidly developing, with a billion smartphones, robust infrastructure and a tech-savvy Gen Z. We need to think big and create a new universe of storytelling where technology is the foundation,” she observed.
Young entrepreneurs have the opportunity to reimagine what the theatres of the future will look like. Today, India is focussed on apps but the bigger opportunities lie in creating new ideas and new aspects of media and entertainment, she added. “Creators have limitless possibilities but need to be IP-driven. They need to protect their ideas. Technology will be the launchpad to create huge global impact through creative ideas born in our traditions,” she concluded.