Tadka, the microdrama service Indian streaming giant JioHotstar launched inside its app barely two months ago, has already crossed 100 million users, the platform said Thursday. The explosive growth and JioHotstar’s aggressive promotion of the milestone suggest India’s biggest streamer sees vertical, bite-sized fiction as its next mass-market category.
Launched April 3 as a dedicated tile within the JioHotstar app, Tadka offers microdramas shot vertically for phones — with episodes the company says run 30 to 60 seconds — spanning romance, thrillers, comedy and sports stories in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and other languages. The starting slate counts more than 100 original titles. The service is free to watch and ad-supported, sitting alongside the platform’s licensed and original longform programming and its live sports.
The launch timing probably explains at least some of the service’s explosive start. Tadka went live less than a week into the 2026 season of the Indian Premier League, the professional cricket league that ranks as India’s biggest annual streaming event, and for which JioHotstar holds exclusive digital rights. Across last year’s two-month tournament, the platform drew a total audience of 652 million viewers, according to the company. Launching a free micro-drama tab alongside that traffic gave Tadka a user acquisition funnel few startups could dream of.
