New Delhi, Oct. 22 -- This August, the head of a Mumbai-based boutique content studio found himself in a bit of a pickle. A show he and his team had been developing for nearly eight months for a top streaming platform had been axed as part of a broader content overhaul. The OTT executives had offered no explanation other than to say that the series no longer fit into their India strategy.

But the studio head knew better; only days earlier, the streaming service, known for deals with top Bollywood studios, had inked a multi-film partnership with a film production house, allowing it to screen all of the latter's upcoming titles as part of their post-theatrical release. Industry experts pegged the deal size at close to Rs.500 crore.

"There...