In this special Industry Spotlight, a WAVES Film Bazaar 2025 feature, producer and creative director Nidhi Salian spoke with Lohita Sujith, Sr. Director, Copyright & Digital Economy at the Motion Picture Association, about her journey in factual storytelling and the insights she gained from her early career at VICE.

Salian reflected on how working in small, hands-on teams at VICE shaped her approach as a producer, giving her experience across multiple roles—from research and directing to sound recording—and teaching her the importance of understanding the workings of every department. She emphasized that navigating rights, clearances, and legalities early on helped her later manage contracts and collaborations with confidence, ensuring that creative visions could be realized without compromise.

She noted that the factual content landscape in India was evolving but still nascent. While audiences were familiar with certain factual formats, she observed that long-form documentary storytelling remained an area yet to be fully explored or “cracked.” Salian believed that compelling stories, whether fiction or non-fiction, could always find resonance, and the challenge lay in identifying the balance between entertainment, commercial viability, and creative integrity.

Salian described her first experience at Waves Film Bazaar as invigorating. Unlike commissioned work for large production houses or streamers, the Bazaar allowed her to engage with independent ideas and meet creators at a stage where possibilities felt fresh and open. She viewed the platform as uniquely positioned to champion independent cinema in India, connecting storytellers with wider audiences, distribution opportunities, and collaborators.

Looking ahead, Salian expressed a desire to bridge the gap between daring, unconventional stories and mass audiences. She saw the next decade of her career focused on creating pathways for ambitious storytelling while navigating audience fatigue and stagnation across streaming and theatrical platforms. In her view, Waves Film Bazaar offered the perfect environment to nurture audacious ideas, build meaningful relationships, and bring challenging, yet compelling, projects to life.