In an era dominated by hyper-fast edits and quick visual hooks, Creators Retina Entertainment is breaking the mould by bringing traditional, character-driven storytelling to vertical screens. Featuring Rajveer Singh, Aaraddhana Sharma, and Ankit Raj, their latest project, Adhura Ishq—a daily microdrama created for Story TV—has taken the digital space by storm, achieving an unprecedented 170 million views within just 30 days.
Rather than relying on typical fast-paced tropes, the series approaches storytelling as a soulful, immersive drama designed for long-term engagement. Spanning 750 minutes across 375 two-minute episodes, Adhura Ishq focuses on core human relationships and raw emotional conflict.
In an exclusive conversation with IWMBuzz.com, Producer Agastaya Jain talks about the daily format microdramas and how good characterisation and stories can win over audiences, and about Adhura Ishq’s success.
“Adhura Ishq wasn’t crafted as a typical fast-paced vertical drama,” explains Producer Agastaya Jain, Founder of Creators Retina Entertainment.
“At its heart, it is a character-driven story grounded in real human emotions—exploring what happens when a husband fails to meet his partner’s expectations and how society treats a man when he loses his financial standing. Audiences today don’t just want content that shocks the eye or ear; they want depth. We deliberately gave our characters room to breathe so the narrative grows on you. It’s designed to be a full meal, not just a quick snack, allowing viewers to truly savour the journey.”
Indian audiences are fundamentally wired for long-form stories, and they are eagerly waiting for that depth on vertical screens.
Drawing from extensive experience in traditional television and long-form web series, Agastaya Jain recognised that sustaining audience engagement over a 750-minute arc required a meticulous approach to character design rather than short-term gimmicks. “Maintaining audience retention across 750 minutes is no small feat,” he notes. “Coming from a long-format and TV background, I knew that the biggest key was writing deeply layered characters over time. Because this approach strays from usual vertical norms, taking this route was a risk. However, the response has been overwhelming. Crossing nearly 170 million views in just 30 days is unheard of across both vertical and horizontal formats. It proves that when you offer a soulful, relatable story, the audience will stay tuned.”
As mobile consumption continues to dominate daily life, Creators Retina views vertical platforms not as a passing gimmick, but as a permanent evolution of how viewers engage with daily entertainment. “Vertical content is absolutely here to stay,” he emphasises. “Everyone is on their mobile devices constantly; it’s simply a new form of viewing, but content remains content. We approach vertical production with the same budget, scale, speed, directors, writers, and actors as traditional formats. Indian audiences are fundamentally wired for long-form stories, and they are eagerly waiting for that depth on vertical screens. In the long run, I believe long-format vertical drama can replace traditional TV.”
While leading the shift in daily vertical viewing, Creators Retina Entertainment remains focused on expanding its slate across both horizontal and vertical storytelling ecosystems. “Whether it is OTT platforms like Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Disney+ Hotstar, or the evolving digital TV space, the entire industry is witnessing a massive shift,” Jain concludes. “Makers now have unprecedented opportunities to showcase genuine talent and storytelling. As a company, we put our heart, soul, and conviction into every project, regardless of the screen size. Alongside our vertical hits, Creators Retina is actively developing original concepts for horizontal long formats to keep pushing creative boundaries.”
