Key Insights

In India, I still see branded content as an under-leveraged craft. Too often, native is treated as a softer banner ad, not as journalism-grade storytelling that can educate, entertain and build trust over time. My constant endeavour at OneNative Studio is to show brands the umpteen possibilities of doing this differently - designing IPs, podcasts and editorial series where the audience walks away with a genuine takeaway and the brand earns recall because the content was worth their time, not because the logo was big enough.

I’m also deeply conscious that we’re operating in a moment where even mainstream news can sound like paid media, so the bar for credibility in branded content has never been higher. For me, the future belongs to work that is more research-driven, audience-first and transparent, where agencies like ours keep pushing the industry conversation forward - one campaign, one format innovation, one difficult client conversation at a time - until branded content in India is synonymous with high-quality, high-integrity storytelling, not just disguised advertising.

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Signature Work Achievements

Over a 30+ year career in journalism, I’ve moved from clandestine jail interviews and ground reporting on the 1993 Bombay Blasts to building award‑winning native content IPs. As a print journalist, I contributed to international outlets like The Guardian, and was quoted in the seminal book Black Friday for my coverage of the 1993 blasts. I also wrote a long-running column for the National Herald on the hidden histories of Mumbai.

As Co‑Founder and Chief Editor of OneNative Studio, I set out to challenge the “50‑paise a word” content factory model by building distinctive, deeply researched, high‑trust storytelling for brands. In under two years, we have executed several branded content campaigns annually, spanning long-form editorial, social media, and audio‑visual formats for leading finance and corporate brands. We co‑created The Simple Hai! show with veteran journalist Vivek Law as a credible, conversation-led answer to Indians’ need for demystified finance content - now recognised with an Inkspell Media Award in 2025. We have kept the property entirely organic, relying on editorial integrity rather than paid amplification, and are now being commissioned by mutual funds and financial brands to build bespoke IPs, social content and thought-leadership series.

OneNative Studio has been recognised with several other awards for other campaigns — validation that high-quality, narrative-led branded content can deliver both brand love and business outcomes. The Studio also launched The Reelstars in 2024, an ambitious IP aimed at mapping India’s fast-evolving creator economy - spotlighting emerging creators, decoding fan behaviour, and unpacking policy, tech and industry shifts for the ecosystem.

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Career Lessons

Keep your bar for credibility stubbornly high. Whether you’re writing a blog, scripting a reel, or fronting a podcast, remember that your work is your byline—even when it’s branded. Stay alert to the world around you, keep your antennae up for cultural shifts and small everyday stories, and then connect those dots back to the brand. Content works best when it strikes a chord.

Keep a finger on the pulse of your audience through social listening, comments, DMs and real conversations, and use that to keep sharpening your storytelling skills — that’s the one asset no algorithm can take away from you. Branded content will keep changing formats and platforms, but if you can combine integrity, curiosity and strong storytelling, you won’t just have a career in this industry - you’ll help shape what it becomes.