Cinematic Waves of Change

The recently concluded WAVES Summit in Mumbai has redrawn the Media and Entertainment (M&E) architecture, reinforcing the trinity of creativity, connectivity, and culture as the beating heart of the infotainment era. Over four electric days, the summit sparked a series of firsts; every platform, every panel, and every performance was charged with unprecedented innovation. WAVES didn’t just reflect the state of the M&E sector, it reimagined it. More importantly, it gave the industry something rare: vision. A renewed call to “Rethink” and “Rekindle” storytelling in an era where narratives must not only inform, but inspire, interrogate, and unify.

At the core of the summit’s deliberations was a simple but potent truth: the story is everything. Yet, in a digitally drenched world, it’s not just what we tell, but how we tell it. Stories must now be woven with technology, sparked by human ingenuity, and grounded in themes that cut across generations, cultures, and geographies. WAVES became the crossroads of continuity and change. It brought together platforms and people, memory and modernity, and reminded the world that when tradition, technology, and transformation converge, you don’t just consume stories, you live them.

India emerged not just as a participant in this reimagined landscape, but as its pulse. A billion stories, as WAVES declared, have only one true pitstop: India. The cradle of civilisational ethos and global transformation, India was projected not merely as a content hub but as a cultural compass. With its rich storytelling legacy, deep intellectual reserves, and boundless creative spirit, India was positioned, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi aptly described in his address, as the place where dreams meet discipline, and tradition embraces transformation.

Prime Minister Modi delivered an intimate yet visionary speech that clearly defined India’s position within the new information landscape. He asserted that one-way communication has become obsolete. Today, the media is not a monologue, but a conversation: democratic, decentralised, and driven by participation. Prime Minister Modi highlighted India’s growing influence in soft power while acknowledging its flourishing creator economy and the responsibility of shaping worldwide narratives. “The world is not just watching us,” he said. “It is learning from us, it is listening to us, and it is collaborating with us.” His speech demonstrated a profound belief in India’s capability to guide the transformation of the global media landscape into a more inclusive and responsible vibrant space.

The core of WAVES 2025 consisted of the Global Media Declaration which served as the first-ever charter demanding a collective, ethical and inclusive media world. The Declaration united signatories from different continents to create a framework that fosters trust and responsible storytelling while building cross-border partnerships. The media needs to go beyond entertainment and information delivery to actively create understanding connections in our fragmented algorithmic reality. The initiative demanded a transformative approach to journalism alongside narrative decolonisation and an increased focus on indigenous voices from the Global South. For many delegates, this marked the beginning of a new moral architecture for media, one that aligns global technological acceleration with local cultural dignity.

In practical terms, WAVES 2025 has redrawn the M&E blueprint across several key dimensions. First, it positioned content diplomacy at the forefront, with India actively shaping global discourse through cinema, documentaries, and digital media exports. WAVES demonstrated how content can serve as a diplomatic tool, reflecting national identity and fostering global solidarity. Technological convergence remained a central theme where discussions about AI, AR/VR, and immersive storytelling highlighted the movement towards experiential ecosystems instead of traditional linear storytelling. The emphasis was placed on how Indian creators have moved past storytelling to build immersive worlds for audiences to enter and shape.

On the policy front, stakeholders explored innovative frameworks to balance creative freedom with ethical accountability, ensuring that digital expression continues to support democracy rather than division. The summit highlighted several emerging financial structures that have become prominent following the growth of OTT platforms and creator-owned platforms. The economic foundations of media are being transformed through decentralised production methods combined with blockchain-augmented IP rights and worldwide co-production partnerships. Beyond financial considerations these new paradigms enable creators to control their stories while establishing direct audience connections and eliminating conventional industry gatekeepers.

Finally, WAVES 2025 introduced a powerful conceptual shift by framing talent as infrastructure. The framework stated that investing in creative professionals like storytellers and filmmakers holds

equal importance for national

development as constructing roads and bridges. The vision acknowledged human imagination as a national resource because it could serve multiple functions including entertainment while also providing education and healing benefits. If India can unlock the full potential of its creative economy, its demographic dividend may very well become its most valuable global currency.

Through all its sessions and showcases, WAVES 2025 returned to one fundamental idea: Media goes beyond reflecting society because it actively shapes it. India’s combination of diverse culture, youthful energy and technological progress positions it in an unparalleled position to drive this transformative change. The storytelling tradition within the country continues to change by integrating new influences and adapting to current events. WAVES showed that India does not need to emulate anyone, it simply needs to be itself, more audaciously than ever.

WAVES didn’t conclude with a closing ceremony. It concluded with a call-to-action. It invited the world to see India not just as a market, but as a movement. A place where stories are born not from studios alone, but from streets, schools, and souls. Where culture isn’t curated, it is lived, breathed, and passed down in forms both ancient and electrifyingly new.

In the end, the most powerful takeaway from WAVES 2025 wasn’t just a policy, a product, or a platform. It was a feeling, a swelling sense that we are at the cusp of something transformative. From this summit onward, India isn’t just participating in the global information order. It is rewriting it: word by word, image by image, voice by voice.

The writer is Former Civil Servant, writes on Cinema and Strategic Communication. Inputs for the article are provided by Zoya Ahmad and Vaishnavie Srinivasan.
Views expressed are personal