WAVES causes waves: reflects on new trends and challenges

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the World Audio Visual and Entertainment Summit (WAVES) in Mumbai on Thursday, marking a significant milestone for India’s creative industries. Hailing it as a first-of-its-kind summit in the country, PM Modi emphasized the immense potential of India’s creative economy. "This is the right time for 'create in India, create for the world,'" he declared, underscoring the growing global appetite for Indian content and storytelling.

As part of the inauguration, the Prime Minister also unveiled a series of commemorative postage stamps honoring five iconic figures from Indian cinema: Guru Dutt, P. Bhanumathi, Raj Khosla, Ritwik Ghatak, and Salil Chowdhury. These legends, who shaped the cinematic landscape with their groundbreaking work, serve as timeless reminders of India's rich artistic heritage.

 

The WAVES summit is no small affair. Bringing together over 10,000 delegates, 1,000 creators, 300 companies, 350 startups, and leaders from more than 90 countries, the event aims to position India’s creative economy as a vital engine of global growth. With discussions ranging from technology to storytelling, the summit seeks to chart a path forward for the Indian entertainment industry in an increasingly interconnected world.

 

Yet, amid the celebrations, a sobering question hangs in the air: Is Indian cinema, despite its massive output, at risk of stagnation—or worse, decline?

 

This concern was dramatically highlighted by superstar Shah Rukh Khan during his keynote address at the WAVES 2025 Summit. Khan’s candid critique has sent shockwaves through the industry, forcing stakeholders to reconsider long-standing assumptions about the theatrical business model in India.

 

Khan pointed out a glaring contradiction at the heart of India's film ecosystem. While the country produces around 2,000 films annually—the highest in the world by volume—the infrastructure to exhibit these films is woefully inadequate. India has just seven cinema screens per million people. To put that in perspective, China has 30 screens per million, the UK has 68, and the US boasts 125.

 

Khan didn’t mince words in his appeal: "We need a lot more theatres, simpler theatres, and cheaper theatres, especially in smaller towns and cities. Otherwise, it is becoming very expensive, and our cinemas are mostly concentrated in big towns."

 

His comments strike at a fundamental issue: accessibility. The dominance of high-end multiplexes in urban centers has sidelined vast swathes of the Indian population, making cinema an expensive outing for the average person.

 

Alarmingly, fewer than 6,000 single-screen theatres remain across India, and of these, only about 1,000 continue to function as cinemas. The slow death of these single screens, once the bedrock of India's film-watching culture, signals a troubling shift.