00:00:00 – 00:00:07 Nitin Bajaj

Welcome to The Industry Show. I’m your host, Nitin Bajaj, and joining me today is Anjana Gopakumar. Anjana, welcome on the show.

00:00:08 – 00:00:09 Anjana Gopakumar

Thank you so much, Nitin.

00:00:09 – 00:00:12 Nitin Bajaj

Great to have you here. Let’s start with who is Anjana.

00:00:15 – 00:00:30 Anjana Gopakumar

Hey everyone. I’m someone who sits at the intersection of storytelling and media technology. Professionally, I’ve worked across technology and media 15-plus years, shaping storytelling across TV, streaming, digital platforms.

00:00:30 – 00:00:42 Anjana Gopakumar

I was a producer/television host in another life, worked with Indian television networks like NDTV, and since then leading operations teams, editorial teams at Netflix and Nielsen.

00:00:43 – 00:01:10 Anjana Gopakumar

Currently, I’m the co-founder and executive director of South Stack Studios, and we are a nonprofit media tech organization that champions South Asian creators. We connect Hollywood and Silicon Valley to surface, scale, support premium stories and talent. Through our work, we are focusing on culturally resonant, audience-first entertainment experiences in the home countries and the diaspora, which also leads to the travelability quotient.

00:01:11 – 00:01:33 Nitin Bajaj

Very cool. You actually answered my next question, but I’ll still ask you a follow-up on that. Give us a sense for, at South Stack, the impact you want to create. You want to focus on South Asian creators, but specifically, you know the why behind it and also the impact you see that can come through this work.

00:01:34 – 00:02:16 Anjana Gopakumar

Yeah, definitely. So South Stack Studios, we are a creative nonprofit, as I mentioned. We are dedicated to championing authentic South Asian stories. When I say authentic, layered, nuanced, you know for a very long time, Western media or media across the world, the stories that came out from our part of the world, there was a lot about, let’s say, impoverishment or hard scrabble, right? So we definitely want to subvert those narratives in film and media and really bring about that next generation of storytelling focused on really bold South Asian stories to a global audience, and then adjacent to it, you know like powered with technology and rooted in our culture.

00:02:16 – 00:02:47 Anjana Gopakumar

So we also do want to support our creators and give them access to the cutting-edge tools, to funding, to global platforms, because our stories should not just be told, but should be widely seen and valued, right? It’s not just for awards campaign. Once in a while, a story just bursts out into the open from our part of the world, but we need to have a seat at that table where our stories should be mainstream, should be influential, should be globally resonant, and they’re shaping culture, and we’re not just participating in it.

00:02:48 – 00:02:57 Nitin Bajaj

Very cool. I’m so glad you’re doing this, especially with your background and the passion you have for this work.

00:02:57 – 00:02:58 Anjana Gopakumar

Thank you so much.

00:02:59 – 00:03:20 Nitin Bajaj

It’s a pretty big industry. It’s mainstream. It’s also, given the work you do, very culturally sensitive. I’m sure there are many different angles, many different challenges that you come across. What’s the one you want to call out, the biggest one that you think we should know?

00:03:20 – 00:03:54 Anjana Gopakumar

One of the biggest challenges, I would say, collectively, that all of us are facing media and generally media technology, everywhere today what we are facing might be, as a startup, how do you bridge that gap between your early momentum and how do you build that scalability? There’s clearly a demand for the goals and the values and the vision that we have. There’s a clear demand in the market or on the other side with creators, audience and creators, definitely for bold South Asian stories.

00:03:55 – 00:04:22 Anjana Gopakumar

We are seeing that in the ecosystem. Stories that have the global appeal. We’ve seen very strong validation through our festival premieres and the quality of projects coming through our way via our pipeline. The challenge now for us would be to build that sustained funding, the sustained infrastructure that allows us to move from supporting, let’s say, individual projects right now as we’re starting, to really consistently backing a full slate and that to upscale.

00:04:24 – 00:04:32 Nitin Bajaj

Very true. Now, on the flip side of these challenges are opportunities. What’s the one you’re most excited about?

00:04:32 – 00:05:17 Anjana Gopakumar

The one opportunity I’m really, really excited about is that at the upcoming Cannes Film Festival, South Stack Studios will host a very forward-looking panel exploring the intersection of AI, storytelling, and global South Asian cinema. This conversation will bring together creators, technologists, industry leaders in figuring out how are we examining our emerging tools and how are these tools then reshaping not just how these stories are told or being made, but how do we, again, like I was saying, like how do we make this scalable and accessible to emerging creators from our home countries when we look at the subcontinent and also our diaspora, because we are one of the biggest communities in the world.

00:05:17 – 00:05:38 Anjana Gopakumar

So this panel will feature participation from leading global technology companies who are at the forefront of AI innovation, bringing that perspective of cutting-edge tools which are transforming the creative process. We would also love prominent industry leaders from the ecosystem to participate, filmmakers, producers, cultural voices who are really shaping our community.

00:05:39 – 00:05:45 Nitin Bajaj

Very exciting. This is something right up your alley. You come from that world, and I’m glad you’re bringing this to life.

00:05:46 – 00:05:50 Anjana Gopakumar

Extremely passionate and really looking forward to putting this show together.

00:05:50 – 00:06:13 Nitin Bajaj

Very exciting. Now, as we look forward, I like to pause and reflect. I would love to invite you to share two moments from your past life, one where things did not work out as you had expected. There was disappointment, failure, lessons, and another instance where things exceeded your expectations and became a success beyond your imagination.

00:06:16 – 00:07:04 Anjana Gopakumar

Definitely. As I’m thinking through two prongs of the double-pronged question or like two spokes of the same wheel, if I might say, on something that really shaped me from a failure that turned out to be a great lesson or leadership principle is, I would say, the power of delegation and the power of saying no. So I’m a doer. I’m a builder. I’m a doer. I’m constantly tinkering, doing something. I have always believed that doing everything myself was the safest way forward. If something mattered, like I really had to hold onto it, and something had to be done well, I would just jump in and take on more things than just wanting to do it. I always feeling responsible to do it well and just even like getting to do it.

00:07:06 – 00:07:32 Anjana Gopakumar

It took me a while to realize that delegation is not when you’re not losing control, but it is you’re still in that driver’s seat, but you’re choosing where your control actually matters. Then, like I said, saying no is not an avoidance. It’s just a boundary that really protects our focus. So these days, I have more and more things that I prioritize and add to my no bucket and things that I add to my delegation bucket than me doing everything.

00:07:33 – 00:08:46 Anjana Gopakumar

On the success story, something, again, like that I hadn’t anticipated as we started off on our entrepreneurial journey. But I think it’s also because of the sheer commitment like myself and my founders have that we were operating in a stealth mode since 2024. There was a lot of prep, a lot of practice went into maybe like one and a half years of us meeting every week. All of us who had like day jobs had like this commitment. We would take time, at least on the weekend, to meet and really power out about what we want to do, how we want to do it, how we want to strategize. So from there to once we burst out on the scene, which is almost like six months ago, last October 2025, we’ve managed to take our slate from early development to that real recognition in under six months. Our projects have been selected for we have an Oscar-qualifying short film that we produced, Hanging by a Wire, opening at Sundance, and we’re also going to Tribeca Film Festival. I’m really excited about what the future will hold in terms of a success story, but I think the lesson from here is well begun is half done.

00:08:47 – 00:08:53 Nitin Bajaj

Very exciting. Congratulations on all the successes so far, and I know you’re only getting started, so that’s amazing.

00:08:53 – 00:08:54 Anjana Gopakumar

Thank you so much.

00:08:55 – 00:09:07 Nitin Bajaj

Now, this is fun. This is exciting. You’re passionate about this, but what do you do to de-stress, get off the treadmill, and just not think work?

00:09:07 – 00:09:26 Anjana Gopakumar

Yeah. So in my world, I don’t know if that is still de-stressing, but it is for me and for the general, for everyone, is films, right? Like what do you do for fun? You watch films. But fortunately or unfortunately for me, films, right, that are it’s still part of work, but it’s still something that is me at the very core.

00:09:26 – 00:09:55 Anjana Gopakumar

When I used to work at Netflix, I used to lead the team that got you know like our main role or the responsibility was watching all the content, the branded and the unbranded content that came to Netflix. So obviously, a hardcore film enthusiast. But these days, I’m not just watching them. I’ve started reading the scripts. We have a lot of exciting projects coming via the pipeline. So both you know reading the scripts and watching films only hones my skills and makes me sharper in the job that I’m committed to do.

00:09:56 – 00:10:16 Anjana Gopakumar

Something else, a complete reset button, nature, that is my reset button. I love just wandering into the nature, going on hikes, just you know climbing up a mountain, watching the ocean from a mountain, all that. Travel again, like always, travel is something very close to me. One new country or a new city in a country is something I strive for every year.

00:10:17 – 00:10:21 Nitin Bajaj

Amazing. Do you have a book or a podcast that’s your favorite?

00:10:22 – 00:10:37 Anjana Gopakumar

I wouldn’t say it’s my favorite, but something that you know recently came across my orbit, and you know it was very interesting for me, and especially as a woman, the myth of the nice girl. It’s not super new. It’s been around, Fran Hauser.

00:10:37 – 00:10:52 Anjana Gopakumar

So it talks about how you know like you don’t have to become aggressive. You don’t have to lose that empathetic side, especially your femininity or your feminine side that you might be super proud and fiercely proud about. You don’t have to lose that to succeed.

00:10:52 – 00:11:02 Anjana Gopakumar

There is this general notion that the nice girls cannot succeed. So you can still be very kind. You can still be extremely powerful, decisive, and respected.

00:11:04 – 00:11:20 Nitin Bajaj

Love that. As a parent of two daughters, that’s a good reminder and something that I would love to share with them. Now, onto my favorite part of the show. We call this the one-line life lessons. Anjana, I would love for you to share your life lessons with us.

00:11:22 – 00:12:04 Anjana Gopakumar

My life lessons, there might not be a lot because I’m not you know a person who collects these things and puts them away like in a little treasure trove of advices or these vignettes in that sense, because for me, I love that variety in life. So my one-liners keep changing based on the era, based on my mood and all that. But some of the ones that have stuck with me are one is without hustle, talent will only carry you so far. So the importance of hard work, right? You might have sort of sensed it because I said well begun is half done earlier. In that sense, right? Like you might have everything going for you, but without prep, talent or everything else can only carry you so far.

00:12:05 – 00:12:26 Anjana Gopakumar

The next one, again, I think is related to time, and one of my favorites is Carpe Diem. You know seize the day, seize the opportunity. I also love this one. If opportunity does not knock on your door, build a door, right? Like it all ties together. Like go seize that one because time and tide does not wait for you in that sense.

00:12:27 – 00:12:48 Anjana Gopakumar

The last two, I would say, are especially related to how fierce women operate in tune with my femininity. Women belong in all places where decisions are being made by Ruth Ginsburg. Today, in today’s times, it becomes even more important to have women being in all the more important conversations and places.

00:12:50 – 00:13:03 Nitin Bajaj

Anjana, thank you so much for sharing your journey, your story, and your life lessons with us. Really appreciate it. Again, congratulations on all of the successes so far, and really excited to see what else is to come.

00:13:03 – 00:13:09 Anjana Gopakumar

Thank you so much, Nitin. This has been a wonderful experience and abundant pleasure in joining you here today.