Pratik Gandhi on Data-Driven Filmmaking: 'Audiences Have Evolved Faster Than Storytellers'

We’re living through a strange moment in Indian entertainment. The theatrical business is shaky, the streaming space is recalibrating, and in all this uncertainty, there’s a growing dependence on formula. The instinct is to play it safe—to greenlight what looks good on a spreadsheet. But in the process, storytelling suffers.

In a candid conversation with The Hollywood Reporter India, Pratik Gandhi reflects on his evolving relationship with streaming, the fatigue of algorithm-driven content, and why chasing numbers can never replace the power of a good story.

Edited excerpt:

It is becoming formulaic. And the biggest worry I have, and my observation may be wrong, but everybody is going high on data right now — the algorithm. And what we keep hearing from most of the people taking calls — whether from the studios or OTT platforms — is: “Our data says this will work. This won’t work.”

My only concern here is: I come from an engineering background. I’ve worked in the entertainment industry for almost 15 years. I’ve read enough data. I’ve taken enough data-based decisions. The crux is not generating data; it’s about reading data. The same data can be read and misread in ten thousand different ways. If you’re reading data in your limited perspective and then taking a call, something major is missing.

That is what is happening right now. Everybody is going with the formula they feel is best. Another thing is that everybody sitting there, the studio heads taking calls, they are not creative people. Nobody has ever written a script. Nobody has ever directed, produced, or acted. In terms of storytelling, their understanding is very limited or zero. Their confidence comes only from the data they have. That too is read in a limited capacity.

It’s a technically vicious circle. I don’t know how they’ll break it. Because first, they’ll have to believe that the creative world works differently. Anywhere in the world, ask them: How did this film work? No data can tell you that. If we had gone by data, nobody would have made Scam 1992. The subject is dry. The actors are new. Hansal [Mehta] sir was not considered a commercial director. He was always experimental. In all aspects, nobody would have made or attempted Scam 1992.

Then when it works, they derive a new data set and try to replicate it — which might not work again. The only way to break the cycle is to break out of data-driven commissioning. That’s the only key. If at all you want to believe in data — believe in it — but also understand how to read, interpret and present it. It’s not that simple. It’s not just, “This means good and that means bad.” It’s much more complex. I think the reading of the data is simplistic. MBA graduates are just sitting there taking calls. It doesn’t work that way. It’s leading to commissioning with simplistic mandates. It doesn’t work that way.

Suddenly you hear, “Now our target is B and C centres.” Their consumption pattern is different. Now most OTT platforms are trying to become TV plus.

Another issue — the biggest issue — is that audiences have evolved faster than storytellers. We’ve always underestimated the audience.

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