In India, Balaji Telefilms is moving into duanju with Story TV, which already has 10 million users.

Note : This app is not to be confused with the French platform of the same name, which is run by the independent studio StudioQuinze. This is an Indian micro-drama app owned by the Eloelo group. Currently, there are no financial or editorial ties between these two platforms, which operate in different countries and ecosystems.

In India, where epic television sagas have long been a staple of family evenings, a change in format is underway. Balaji Telefilms, known for its long-running series, is moving towards a new way of telling stories: one-minute micro-dramas designed specifically for the vertical screen of smartphones. This evolution involves producing content for Story TV, an Indian app for micro-fiction consumed in continuous scrolling, using an extremely condensed narrative style.

When the traditional soap opera adapts

Balaji Telefilms is exploring territory radically different from its usual formats. The family dramas, the studio's trademark, must now be contained within a one-minute timeframe and maintain the viewer's attention in a flow reminiscent of live-action reels. For the creative teams, the challenge is to rethink the directing, condense emotions, and introduce narrative twists.

Story TV, which already boasts over ten million users, provides an environment entirely designed for these native vertical formats. Its catalog is growing rapidly, with hundreds of micro-dramas targeting a young, mobile-first audience less inclined towards long-form episodes. Balaji Telefilms sees this as an opportunity to experiment with new production models capable of reaching a generation that consumes stories in fragments.

A market in formation

This movement is part of a broader trend: the emergence of an Indian micro-drama market estimated to be worth several billion dollars in the coming years. The rise of mobile usage, combined with the growing demand for short formats, is pushing local players to structure a new industrial chain dedicated to this vertical market.

Story TV is following this trajectory with an ambitious growth strategy: reaching one hundred million users, producing more than 800 micro-dramas per year and developing a monetization model inspired by social networks.

For Balaji Telefilms, the challenge is to find a new avenue for growth outside of traditional television, while leveraging its expertise in soap operas. If the Indian duanju market does indeed develop as predicted, the shift towards vertical content could become a strategic pillar for major established studios.

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Sources:

• The Economic Times, October 6, 2025

• Business Standard, October 6, 2025

• Vitrina.ai, October 2025

• Afaqs, November 4, 2025