Creators, not celebs, are now selling Indian films: Pratap Jain CEO ChanaJor OTT

MUMBAI: India’s film marketing script is getting a rewrite, and this time the loudest voices are not celebrities but creators. From memes and reactions to reels and reviews, movies today are finding their audience through everyday digital conversations rather than grand trailer launches.

According to ChanaJor OTT, creator-led movie chatter in India now runs into millions of posts and billions of impressions every year across platforms such as Instagram, YouTube Shorts, Moj and ShareChat. The result is a clear shift in audience behaviour, from passively watching trailers to actively participating in the buzz.

“Movies no longer trend because they are announced. They trend because creators weave them into daily online culture, especially in vernacular and hyperlocal spaces,” says ChanaJor OTT founder and CEO Pratap Jain.

This evolution has been driven by scale as much as necessity. With over 1,500 films releasing annually across languages, celebrity-led promotions are struggling to cut through the noise. Studios are now leaning on distributed creator networks to keep films visible before and after release.

“Creator networks have become the baseline marketing layer, not a nice extra,” Jain explains. “Instead of one expensive celebrity pushing a single message, studios activate hundreds of creators across cities, languages and formats. For emerging and digital-first films, this often delivers better recall and value.”

Micro and mid-sized creators are proving especially powerful. Together, they now account for more than half of all movie-related posts and engagement, driven by trust, frequency and cultural closeness.

“These creators feel like peers, not promoters,” Jain says. “That leads to better engagement, more genuine comments and organic sharing. While big-name campaigns spike quickly, smaller creators keep conversations alive for weeks, which matters in crowded release windows.”

Marketing budgets are also being sliced more intelligently. Instead of one large spend, studios are spreading investments across regions and creator tiers, with Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities playing a growing role in early momentum.

“Regional creator ecosystems often decide whether a film breaks out nationally,” Jain notes. “Tracking city-level engagement helps marketers see where content truly connects, allowing real-time tweaks. The goal is to make films feel discovered, not advertised.”

As the industry becomes more performance-focused, ChanaJor OTT believes creator-led marketing is no longer experimental. For many films, it is fast becoming the main act rather than the opening trailer.