Ted Sarandos: Shah Rukh Khan is someone I know the most in India

Time of India

4 hours ago

Ted Sarandos
In a candid and podcast appearance, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos offered rare insight into the streamer's evolving philosophy around storytelling, technology, and the psychology of entertainment in an age of abundance.
From Squid Game to
Sanjay Leela Bhansali
, and from AI to work-life balance, Sarandos unpacked the logic and emotion behind how Netflix makes its biggest bets.
On his favourite creator from India and friendship with SRK, Ted Sarandos says,"Early on, when I first started coming to India, I met
Shah Rukh Khan
right away. He hosted a very nice little dinner for me, and we just hit it off immediately. I've come back since with my wife and we've had some really nice times together.
We've also visited each other in Los Angeles when his son was in school, so we got to go out to dinner there too. Having dinner with Shah Rukh Khan in India is much different than having dinner with him in Los Angeles. But I would say he's probably someone I know the most here, and I really enjoy working with him.
"
Talking about Aryan Khan's debut, Ted said,'It (The Ba***ds of Bollywood) is very fun. I've watched the first two episodes so far.
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It's very funny. I think people in India and people outside of India know nothing about the inner workings of Bollywood. So it's a really fun world. He's (Aryan Khan) a very good director.'
The Psychology of Choice
At the heart of Netflix's model is a fundamental understanding of audience behaviour. 'People really care about choice,' Sarandos said. 'They like how it makes them feel if they pick a movie and everyone loves it—it says a lot about them.'
That emotional validation is baked into the algorithm, he added. 'The thing that we really value most is: when you push play, do you stay? It's a good indicator. The more we get the right choice in front of you, the longer you stay.
'
On the Business of Content
Even in a volatile landscape, Sarandos sees the content business as more dynamic and rewarding than ever. 'Producing content today will get you great returns because the delivery and monetisation models are evolving so rapidly.'
What Makes a Story Travel
Sarandos pointed to Squid Game as a watershed moment. 'The fact that Squid Game would be a global sensation, I think, is completely unpredictable. The Korean team who picked it knew it was going to be a big hit in Korea. They were right.'
The show's global breakout reaffirmed a now-core principle for Netflix: hyperlocal stories resonate best when they are 'very, very good.' But Sarandos warned against diluting stories in the name of universal appeal: 'When you take a movie and get that guy from Squid Game, and then get SRK, and then you get Brad Pitt to put them in a movie together, and then you get this hodgepodge that no one recognizes and watches, it is familiar to nobody.
So this idea of authentically local storytelling being the most globally valuable is unintuitive but totally true.'
Next Big Disruption: AI, Not Distribution
While the internet upended how stories were delivered, Sarandos believes the next real disruption lies in how they are made. 'It's gonna be tough to find one that's gonna be as big as the internet was a disruption to the entertainment [industry]. I think it's less likely to be in distribution and more about creativity.
AI is certainly part of that, as is virtual production.'
He emphasized that AI should be embraced, not feared. 'I'm not afraid of AI - and I hope creators aren't either… I actually think it's going to make great tools to tell stories even better and make it possible to make movies they couldn't before.' And yet, he was clear about its current limitations. 'What AI is doing today is like the antithesis of imagination. It's giving you the most predictable outcome based on these kinds of rough ideas you're giving it.
'
Prompting, Not Replacing
Sarandos rejected the notion that AI could one day eliminate human skill entirely. 'It's an interesting hypothetical but I don't know if that ever happens. I mean, the art of the prompt is also going to be a human skill.'
The Future of Netflix Films Isn't Theatrical
Despite some Netflix titles landing in cinemas, Sarandos was clear: 'We are not doing that. Some of our movies go to the theaters just as a tactical part of the release, but our business is the subscription entertainment business.'
He added, 'If you see a movie in a big IMAX room, and it's the right movie, it's mind-blowing. I love that that still exists.'
Why We Love True Crime
Netflix has helped turn true crime into a global genre, and Sarandos offered a surprisingly simple explanation: 'People love true crime not because they're macabre, but because they're puzzle solvers. It taps into something deeply human - the desire to figure things out.'
On Work-Life Balance (Or the Lack of It)
Sarandos doesn't buy into the myth of perfect equilibrium. 'There's never really balance. Nobody has that, people are perpetually way out of balance.' He recalled once hearing: 'They'd be more embarrassed to fail in business than to fail in their marriage. That's not me—but I know a lot of people for whom that's true.' His takeaway? 'It's an exercise in futility to try to chase it.'
Most Memorable Project in India? Heeramandi
Of all the Netflix productions in India, Sarandos singled out Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Heeramandi.
'He came in with this very big vision. Honestly, it almost felt like a dare—like he was saying, 'I dare you to make this; it's so big.''
What struck Sarandos was Bhansali's old-world method. 'He built these enormous, practical sets that we shot on. There was something beautifully old fashioned about every element of the production… I was so proud of him. To me, Heeramandi is a true reflection of India's deep, enduring love for cinema.'
It's about being able to have a little more daring about not being afraid to fail.
Sarandos credits Netflix's creative culture with empowering bold, sometimes risky decisions. 'It's about being able to have a little more daring about not being afraid to fail.' He added, 'The culture kind of instills that in us… not being stuck in 'this thing didn't work 10 years ago, so I'm never gonna do that again.''
He cited the Duffer Brothers' pitch for Stranger Things as a perfect example. 'They made one small movie for Warner Brothers… And so we're giving them this enormous budget to make this enormous show.
And when you watch this little tiny movie… we said, Oh, wow. If they can make this on that little, tiny budget, we got this.'
'I don't believe there's any conflict between getting the best person for the job and having a diverse workforce'
'We make stories for 700 million people around the world. We need the people who are picking them, making them, and promoting them to be a lot like the audience they're serving,' Sarandos said.
'I don't believe there's any conflict between getting the best person for the job and having a diverse workforce.'
Sarandos framed the move to acquire such shows as part of Netflix's long-held personalization strategy. 'We're not doing those shows instead of doing other shows. We're doing them in addition to everything else… We're broadening the offering.'
What's Working in India:
Ted said,"From Japanese anime to all kinds of different things that you would not expect would work very well in India, work very well. The audience here is very hungry for diverse storytelling from around the world. They love Bollywood, they love South Indian action movies for sure, but they are far more adventurous as viewers than I expected'
Talking about capturing young audiences, he said,'I haven't given up on youth attention spans. When Squid Game drops, they'll stop everything and watch it in two days.. I think we have got to entertain them. We have to be more entertaining than dead scrolling'
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