JYOTI DESHPANDE clears stories with budgets from ₹20 crore to ₹200 crore. “Think of us as a stock picker where we invest in a portfolio of stories that is diverse in genre, languages, budgets and types of palettes,” she says. Jio Studios delivered several hits in past one year, taking gross box office collections to over ₹650 crore. Jio Studios has pumped in ₹2,500 crore to produce 100-plus films and web series till date.
“My first preference is to take films to cinemas,” says Deshpande. “Films like Laapataa Ladies are generally taken straight to digital but we decided it is beautiful and backed it with marketing,” she says.
Deshpande says her role at RIL’s media businesses transcends the short-term needs of Jio Studios. The $8.5 billion Disney-Viacom merger meant capital shifted to M&A and sports. Deshpande had to make Jio Studios an independent studio instead of relying on Viacom18’s JioCinema streaming app. “We then engaged with other third-party platforms and worked hard with them to license our content. It’s about being nimble and adapting to changing strategies,” she says. — Karan Dhar