Sabarish Venkat (left), CEO of KadhaiShorts, and Karan Dayanidhi Maran, Vice-Chairman of Maran Group and Founder of KadhaiShorts, at the launch of the micro-drama platform KadhaiShorts in Chennai on May 28, 2026.

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Paran Dayanidhi Maran, the son of former Union Minister Dayanidhi Maran, has launched KadhaiShorts, a micro-drama platform.The platform, part of the newly established Maran Group, aims to bring vernacular stories packaged into snackable two-minute episodic content.KadhaiShorts will have a lineup of kutti(mini) serials, a short-form vertical format reimagination of yesteryear television soaps. As part of the launch, the platform has introduced a pay-per-series pricing model starting at ₹20.While kicking off with Tamil content, the company plans to eventually launch shows across Telugu, Kannada, Hindi, Malayalam and Bengali by end of this financial year.“We see micro-drama not as a passing trend, but as the next major entertainment format built for mobile-only consumption. With KadhaiShorts, we are not entering this space to participate. We are entering it to lead,” Karan Dayanidhi Maran, Vice Chairman - Maran Group & Founder - KadhaiShorts said.Platform explores brand integration and creator monetisationMaran added that, in addition to platform monetisation through user transactions, KadhaiShorts is also exploring storytelling-led brand integration models in which brands become part of narrative environments rather than conventional advertising.The company is also setting up KadhaiClub, a community designed to democratise access to opportunities in the mobile-only entertainment category. The initiative already has over 12,000 members and focuses on enabling aspiring writers, actors, editors, cinematographers, directors, and creators to understand and participate in next-generation vertical entertainment formats.KadhaiShorts’s team also includes Sabarsih Venkat as CEO, Fahd Abdur Rahman as Head of Marketing and Pradhessh Mugundhan as Creative Producer.Micro-drama format gains momentum in IndiaWhile KadhaiShorts is a novel offering in the Southern digital entertainment space, the micro-drama format is in high demand globally, and is increasingly so in India too. Besides the start-ups in this space, entertainment giant Jio recently launched Tadka, a platform for micro drama content.Published on May 28, 2026