Exaggerated acting coupled with constant twists in plots packed with giggles and sizzles, “vertical dramas” are making the most of smartphone screen real estate in India after captivating viewers in the US and China.
Having originated in China where they are called Duanju, these serialised 1-3 minute microdramas take up the smartphone’s portrait orientation and are intended to be watched in short spurts. They offer what Netflix or Amazon Prime can’t — titles with fireworks, like Revenge of the XXL Wife, Carrying His Babies and Mafia Daddy’s Surprise Sextuplets.
“I think steamy stuff will find its own space. It will not take away from responsible storytelling, nor will it ruin the reputation of what we’re trying to create here. People who are trying to clickbait may attract an audience at first, but sustainable and consistent storytelling is different. But I wish them good luck too! There’s no reason we all can’t grow,” Alii Khan, founder of Prachand Entertainment and producer of Let Us Live In, told The Telegraph.
His film doesn’t take the clickbait route as it tells the story of Ritwik and Aanvi navigating their lives in Mumbai.
Realising that content on Instagram was fast evolving, he created the series with Divith Shetty (who has also directed it), Sanchit Chadha and Viven Solanki.
“It begins with an opening image and ends with a hook — you’re predestined to go to the next episode. And with lots of quantity, we had more odds in our favour: 55 episodes were a good start and allowed us to run a 60-plus day marketing plan. During this time, we also discovered that this format has found a solid space in other Asian countries. We kept going and gained around 58K followers in under two months, and crossed over two million views,” said Khan.
The genre is often dubbed “TV for the TikTok generation”. Given the popularity, some production companies predict its market worth to touch $14 billion by 2027.
One of the successful players in the space is California-based Crazy Maple Studio, which owns ReelShort with more than 55 million monthly active users. Some of the titles on its app are I’m Done Being a Yes-Man, Poolboy and The Alpha King and His Virgin Bride. The Alpha King and His Virgin Bride is set in 2028, when humans and werewolves live together in harmony, but the Alpha King is cursed.
The majority of the company’s production work takes place in Los Angeles, but they have projects in New York, Atlanta and Toronto. Some of the app’s rivals are DramaBox, NetShort and Goodshort, all of which are popular on Apple’s App Store.
Escapism and a quick dopamine hit are the hallmarks of the majority of these shows. The verticals are usually filmed in seven to 10 days, with a couple of cameras capturing scenes in a single take.
In the first quarter of 2025, ReelShort and apps like DramaBox, GoodShort and DramaWave earned nearly $700 million from in-app purchases (weekly subscriptions or one-time payments to watch an episode), marking a 300 per cent rise over the same period last year, according to the market intelligence firm Sensor Tower.
Globally, these apps have been downloaded 370 million times in the first quarter.
