Netflix India’s Monika Shergill on ‘Netflix for All’ and Why Creative Risks Matter at FICCI Frames 2026

Netflix India is constantly expanding its storytelling universe, and at the centre of that journey is Monika Shergill, Vice President of Content at Netflix India. At FICCI Frames 2026, Shergill spoke about the platform’s approach to Indian entertainment, the importance of taking creative risks and the ambition to make Netflix a platform that can speak to audiences across languages, regions, generations and communities. Her message was clear: India’s entertainment landscape is too diverse for a one-size-fits-all approach.

Speaking about Netflix’s journey and the audiences who continue to support the platform, Monika Shergill said, “I also want to thank this wonderful audience for supporting the Netflix journey and for really keeping us on our toes. And what does it mean to be on our toes actually? I think what it means is being responsible to the audience, to the stories that they may not even know that they're waiting to watch. So at Netflix, what is most important for us is to find the next uncomfortably exciting thing, and creative risks are the rule at Netflix. Thinking bold, thinking about the extraordinary range that India offers.” Her comments highlight the platform’s focus on discovering stories that may not necessarily fit into conventional entertainment categories but can still find a strong audience.

Shergill also pointed to the sheer scale and diversity of the Indian market, explaining why Netflix cannot approach the country as a single entertainment audience. She said, “We know that we do not operate as just a country. We literally operate as a continent. You know, we have so many different languages, regions, genres. We have generations and communities who have their own relationship with entertainment and, you know, when you're looking at that it becomes almost an unspoken responsibility to give everyone their version of entertainment.” It is this diversity, according to Shergill, that has shaped the platform’s programming philosophy and its efforts to expand beyond a narrow definition of Indian content.

She further spoke about an ambition that has been central to her Netflix journey: “So what I have said from the minute I stepped into Netflix is, and what the ambition was, is Netflix for all. We were Netflix for few, but I think we have done that journey of Netflix for all and how are we going to keep expanding that Netflix for all is what we do.” To illustrate that range, Shergill highlighted the variety of projects available on the platform, saying, “So we can have a very scaled emotion, you know, military drama like Operation Safed Sager, we can have the intimacy of Musafir Cafe. We can have a very highly conversational film like Mahen, you know, and we can have the sensational Lock Upp. So, and then we can have the YA romance Mismatched and Kapil Sharma.”

The Netflix India content chief also highlighted the range within the platform’s film offering, adding, “We can have in films, we can have the range of a very commercial big film like Ika and then we can have a coming-of-age Tamil story, you know, like Made in Korea which trended across 53 countries and became a true Netflix effect and a global number one film.” For Shergill, such examples demonstrate what streaming can offer both creators and audiences. She explained, “So yes, so, you know, that's the range of Netflix and I think streaming allows for that range. Often I get asked that, but, you know, why are you doing this or, oh, Netflix is becoming too broad and too... but everybody can have their own version of Netflix. Streaming, the technology of streaming, that is the advantage. It's a medium that allows everybody to have their own version of Netflix and that's what we are programming for and that's why the range matters.”

Shergill concluded by emphasising the importance of understanding audiences without trying to dictate what they should watch. “You know, looking at different audiences and respecting everyone's taste and mood is something that we like to do every day and those are the creative risks that are actually the most rewarding when you take them.” Since taking charge as Netflix India’s VP of Content in 2020, Shergill has overseen a wide-ranging Indian content slate spanning scripted series, films, regional storytelling and unscripted formats. Her FICCI Frames 2026 remarks underline the strategy behind that diversity: keep experimenting, respect the audience and continue searching for stories that viewers may not even realise they are waiting for.

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