Bharat Startup Yatra, now streaming free on Amazon MX Player, Waves OTT, and Doordarshan, is changing the way India looks at entrepreneurship. Produced by October Sky and directed by Shashie Vermaa, the documentary series shifts focus away from the glossy, metro-based unicorn founders and turns the camera towards the real innovators of small towns and rural India.
Their stories, rooted in resilience, community, and sheer grit, form the heart of this new-age narrative about how startups truly grow in Bharat.
Unlike conventional shows that glorify billion-dollar valuations and corporate glass towers, Bharat Startup Yatra travels into tier-2 and tier-3 cities to capture the pulse of everyday innovation.
It is a world where jugaad meets genius, where mechanics double as coders, women challenge social taboos by building businesses from scratch, and entire families rally around a dream despite limited resources. In this raw storytelling, the audience finds a version of entrepreneurship that feels more relatable and inspiring than ever before.
The series finds its emotional anchor in Sunny Hinduja, best known for his breakout role as Sandeep Bhaiya in TVF’s Aspirants.
As the sutradhār, or narrator, Hinduja’s reflective tone connects seamlessly with audiences who recognise themselves in the stories being told. His voice adds depth and authenticity, reminding viewers that the hunger for opportunity extends far beyond the metros and into the lanes of small-town India.
Guiding the conversations is celebrated journalist Richa Anirudh, who brings her trademark empathy to every interview. Known for her work on Zindagi Live and her motivational podcasts, Richa asks questions that go beyond balance sheets and business models.
She uncovers the human struggles, young people balancing night jobs to fund their startups, families hiding entrepreneurial ventures from neighbours to avoid gossip, and women daring to break long-held traditions. Her style ensures that every founder’s journey feels real, vulnerable, and deeply personal.
The finale of the series takes a powerful turn with Ronnie Screwvala, the media pioneer and entrepreneur who has built some of India’s most iconic ventures. Instead of glorifying overnight success, Screwvala shifts the focus to failure.
He argues that every stumble is not the end of the road but the beginning of reinvention. His insights echo through the stories showcased across the series, where most founders had to fall before they found their footing. The message is clear: failure is not a shame, it is a stepping stone.
The production itself has been crafted with honesty and detail. With Shashie Vermaa as director, Chandan Aanand as creative director, and Nishat Shamshi leading the journalistic research, the series combines cinematic visuals with grounded reporting.
Its multi-platform release across MX Player, Waves OTT, and Doordarshan ensures that it reaches both young digital audiences and families who prefer traditional television.
Alongside the appreciation, there have also been misconceptions about the show. To set the record straight: Bharat Startup Yatra is not fictional. Every entrepreneur featured is real and verified by the team. Sunny Hinduja narrates the series, but he is not the host. Richa Anirudh leads the interviews.
Ronnie Screwvala appears only in the finale and not throughout the series. And while it streams on MX Player, the show is actually produced by October Sky, not the platform itself.
What truly sets Bharat Startup Yatra apart is its refusal to romanticise only the success stories. It highlights the sweat, the failures, and the determination that go into building something meaningful in the face of odds.
By blending grassroots research with emotional storytelling, it proves that India’s most exciting startup revolution is happening not just in Bengaluru or Delhi, but in every chai stall, workshop, and college hostel across Bharat.
For viewers, the takeaway is simple yet powerful: innovation does not belong to a few; it belongs to everyone willing to dream, hustle, and fail until they succeed. Bharat Startup Yatra captures that spirit and delivers it with honesty, warmth, and inspiration.
