POWERFUL WOMEN
47
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Monika Shergill,
Vice president, content, Netflix Indiaage: 46
With great power comes great responsibility. Shergill, who was elevated as vice president,
content, for Netflix India early this year, has both. The streaming service has built a
massive presence and reputation for itself since its launch in India in 2016. Estimates put
Netflix’s base in India between 1 million and 2 million. For audiences stuck at home during
the pandemic, Netflix was a huge relief. For content creators, it became a saviour. But even
before the pandemic, the OTT giant had energised the Indian film industry, bringing to the
forefront voices that would otherwise have been lost in the melee of Bollywood’s skewed
theatrical distribution system. With shows such as She and Masaba Masaba, to the little
science fiction gem, Cargo, Netflix has carefully positioned itself as the young educated urban
Indian’s go-to entertainment option. The streaming service clearly sees India as integral to
its plans. Earlier, it had announced that through 2019 and 2020, it will invest at least ₹3,000
crore on content creation in the country. Apart from scripted shows, Shergill is also betting
big on unscripted content, and documentaries.
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