It is 1962. India and China are at war. Homi Bhabha wants India to develop the atom bomb, Vikram Sarabhai is against it. They argue fiercely and Sarabhai walks out.

Their story is told in premium streaming original, "Rocket Boys", a series about nation building that has warmed India’s heart.     

Nikhil Advani and Abhay Pannu’s drama on SonyLIV is gripping from the word go. Bhabha and Sarabhai’s arguments with each other, with fellow scientists and with prime minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru is what created the world-class scientific infrastructure upon which India still relies. 

"Rocket Boys" has, along with "Gullak" (TVF), "Scam 1992" (Applause Entertainment) and "Tabbar" (Jar Pictures), made SonyLIV the second largest SVOD platform in India. 

SonyLIV’s paid subs base has surged from 700,000 to 18 million since its 2020 relaunch, driving FY22 growth for the US$800-million Sony Pictures Networks India (SPNI), part of the US$74-billion Sony Corp.

“The digital business alone registered a 65%  jump in revenues,” says SPNI’s MD/CEO, N.P. Singh.

SonyLIV has three times the subscribers In India that Netflix does and a little over those of Amazon Prime Video. At US$160 million in FY2022 revenues, it is within breathing distance of both global rivals. 

The target now is to reach 30 million subscribers in the next 12 months and be in every major Indian language. 

“There is so much talk about Netflix and originals and what they should be doing. In two years, SonyLIV has done what Netflix should be doing,” quips one analyst. 

According to Media Partners Asia (MPA), India had 97 million OTT subscribers in March 2022. Of US$2.3 billion in OTT revenues, roughly US$0.7 billion came from subscription. 

How did SonyLIV find the sweet spot that combines an India-friendly price – Rs999/US$13 a year –  with stories Indians are happy to pay for? 

Here’s how... Late in 2019, when Danish Khan was tasked with running SonyLIV in addition to Sony Entertainment Television and Studio Next, the streaming business was going nowhere. Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+ Hotstar – all brands that came in after SonyLIV – were way ahead. 

“By 2019 the Indian audience was exposed to high-quality international shows and expected the same from India. Therefore the need was for cerebral, well-researched, well-written shows. The size of that market was not big but the propensity to spend was high,” Khan says.

This was the driver of the June 2020 relaunch. 

However, shows like "Your Honor" and "Undekhi" didn’t make a dent. In October 2020, "Scam 1992" premiered. Based on Sucheta Dalal and Debashis Basu’s book on the Harshad Mehta scam that rocked Indian stock markets, "Scam 1992" was one of 2020’s biggest hits, attracting an estimated 22 million viewers, many awards and, more importantly, paying subscribers. 

The platform is keen to ride the win. The next in the "Scam" series is "Scam 2003", based on the Telgi stamp paper scam. The show drops later this year. 

Also due is Imtiaz Ali’s "Dr Arora", about a small-town sexologist and the quirky situations he faces. "Gullak", now in season three, is a slice-of-life take on a lower-income family’s quandaries. Each of these is a uniquely Indian story and has attracted rave reviews from critics and audiences. 

Khan says the secret sauce is greenlighting.

“Once technology and distribution is equal for everybody, what will help differentiate is content,” he says, adding: “We greenlight a show with one person and one story. It could be a writer, a producer, a show runner – one person has to be the central creative energy behind the show. We give them time and the resources needed to bring the idea to life and don’t interfere. When we hear a story we try to react the way viewers/consumers would.”  – by Vanita Kohli-Khandekar