Double Tap Films takes 21 Hindi microdramas global with TikTok partnership
Pratilipi-owned microdrama studio Double Tap Films has signed a licensing agreement with TikTok to distribute 21 original Indian microdrama titles across the United States, Canada, Brazil and Japan, marking one of the first large-scale international distribution deals for Indian vertical-format content.
The agreement comes amid a rapid rise in India’s microdrama market, as short-form, mobile-first storytelling gains traction among younger audiences and regional language users.
Under the one-year non-exclusive deal, the shows will be distributed on TikTok with original Hindi audio and subtitles customised for each market. The arrangement follows a monthly revenue-sharing model and serves as a pilot to test international demand for Indian microdrama content.
The titles — including Avnika Ki Shaadi, Apavitra and CEO Se Romeo — are adapted from stories on Pratilipi’s platform, which hosts over 20 million stories and records around 800 million monthly reads across 12 Indian languages.
The move is significant not only for Pratilipi but also for India’s emerging microdrama ecosystem, which is increasingly drawing investor and platform attention as global audiences shift toward short-duration vertical video content popularised by apps such as TikTok.
According to an EY-FICCI report, India’s microdrama market was valued at ₹650 crore in 2025 and is expected to grow at over 50% annually through 2028, driven by rising adoption in Tier-II and Tier-III cities, low-cost AI-enabled production and frictionless digital payments through UPI AutoPay.
Unlike traditional OTT commissioning models, Double Tap Films said its production strategy relies on adapting “pre-validated” intellectual property from Pratilipi’s user ecosystem, reducing content risk and production costs.
The company said all titles are produced in 9:16 vertical format using Indian writers, actors and production teams, while being designed around short, emotionally driven narrative hooks associated with the global microdrama category.
“This deal with TikTok is the first proof point of what we set out to build: a studio whose IP doesn’t stop at India’s borders,” said Sharlton Menezes, Vice President, IP & Key Partnerships at Pratilipi and Double Tap Films.
The company said the TikTok agreement is intended as a market-testing phase and could eventually expand into additional geographies and more titles depending on performance metrics.
Industry executives say the development highlights how Indian-language IP is increasingly being repurposed for global short-video platforms at a time when content companies are looking for lower-cost, scalable entertainment formats with high engagement potential.
Double Tap Films is the microdrama studio arm of Pratilipi, the Indian-language storytelling platform that also operates Pratilipi FM, Pratilipi Comics, Westland Books and IVM Podcasts.
