Drishyam Producer Panorama Studios Invests in Vertical Streaming Platform Rocket Reels

Panorama Studios, the Indian production house behind the Bollywood Drishyam franchise, has invested in Rocket Reels, a vertical streaming platform that delivers short-form, phone-first video to audiences across India and the diaspora. Variety reported the deal on 13 August 2026. The deal value and stake percentage were not disclosed.

Vertical streaming means shows are shot and viewed in portrait mode, the way most people already hold their phones, rather than the horizontal format used for traditional television and cinema. Rocket Reels was founded by Kranti Shanbhag and was among the first platforms to build a dedicated vertical streaming catalogue in India, according to Variety.

The platform offers stories in six Indian languages: Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Marathi, Bengali and Gujarati. It is available in ten countries, including the U.S., U.K., Canada, Australia, U.A.E., Singapore, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Nepal and South Africa.

Panorama Studios is chaired by Kumar Mangat Pathak, a veteran film producer whose company has built a slate that includes Omkara, Special 26, Pyaar Ka Punchnama, Raid, Shaitaan and the Drishyam franchise — productions that have collectively won more than 50 awards. His son, Abhishek Pathak, serves as managing director and directed Drishyam 2. Abhishek Pathak is also directing and producing Drishyam 3, which is due in theatres on 2 October.

For a production company rooted in theatrical filmmaking, the Rocket Reels investment places Panorama into a different part of the streaming economy — one built around short episodes, phone screens and multi-language delivery rather than the three-hour cinema format the studio is known for. The connection between Panorama's feature slate and what Rocket Reels might commission or host was not detailed in Variety's report.

Rocket Reels' reach across ten countries also gives the investment an international dimension. India's large diaspora populations in the U.S., U.K. and the Gulf already consume streaming content in multiple Indian languages; a vertical-first platform slots into the same mobile habits that short-video apps have trained over the past several years.

Whether Panorama's involvement brings original productions to Rocket Reels, or serves as a financial stake in an existing platform, remains unconfirmed. The reported facts cover the investment itself, the parties involved and the platform's footprint — not the creative plans that may follow.