Black Warrant creator Vikramaditya Motwane: ‘You don’t have as much autonomy when dealing with OTTs’

Zahan Kapoor in Black Warrant. Pics/AFP, Instagram

For Vikramaditya Motwane, 2025 began with his show, Black Warrant, winning praise. What added to his joy is that the prison drama gave its leading man Zahan Kapoor his big break. The creator-director is impressed that the actor is keeping a low profile despite the series' success. "I love that. Everybody presumes things about him, and wonders where this guy had been. They forget that he has been working in theatre for the last 10 years. I feel he'll be judicious about the [projects] he'll pick because he has a firm head on his shoulders," says Motwane.

The Netflix prison drama was praised for its storytelling as well as performances. But Motwane believes there is more to learn from Black Warrant. The creator hopes that it can serve as a model for the making of web series in India. He breaks it down, saying, "Satyanshu [Singh, co-creator], I and our team invested in the development process. We wrote a bible and two episodes, and then took it to Applause Entertainment. That way, you've already set the show's creative tone. After Applause came on board, we made it and then took it to OTTs. This model offers a lot of independence and a correct creative approach."

Vikramaditya Motwane

Most creators struggle to achieve such autonomy while dealing with streamers. It has become a talking point in the film industry, with many filmmakers echoing how their creativity is stifled by OTT giants. Does Motwane believe he would've enjoyed similar freedom if a streamer had come on board at an earlier stage? "You don't have this much autonomy when directly dealing with streamers. I'm not against the idea of a collaboration, but it has to be correct. Things can't be made by committees. You need to support creators. During the feedback process, rather than telling us we're wrong, tell us the alternative [to a scene]. When executives are offered a lot of material, they tend to look at everything in an instinctive way. That becomes counter-productive because you are seeing everything in the same way."

Motwane rues that the industry is going through a lull, where "a lot of pitching is happening", but not enough is graduating to production. He, however, has his hands full with various projects. "I'm writing a sports biopic," is all he is willing to share at the moment.