How to Take Your Script to Netflix in India: The Door That Actually Opens
If you want to know how to sell a script to Netflix in India, start with one plain fact: Netflix does not read scripts sent in by strangers. Your script reaches Netflix through an agent, a producer or a production house, and that door is open to new writers.
I get this message on WhatsApp almost every week. A writer in Indore or Patna has finished a web series pilot, found an email address for Netflix India, and wants to know if they should hit send. Google shows the same worry in its "People also ask" box: "Can I sell my script to Netflix?", "Will Netflix buy my script?", "How much will Netflix pay?"
So let me answer them properly, and then give you the first steps I would take if I were starting today.
Does Netflix accept scripts from new writers?
Not directly. Netflix's own Help Center has a page called "How ideas are pitched to Netflix". It says Netflix doesn't accept or review material it hasn't asked for. Pitches come through a licensed agent, a producer, a manager, an attorney or an industry executive who already has a relationship with Netflix. The page also says Netflix can't give you names of these people.
This is not a rule against new writers. It is a rule about the route. Big platforms get a flood of ideas, and many look alike, so reading cold emails would invite copyright trouble. Netflix listens to people it already works with, and those people are the ones who find new writers.
In 25 years of advertising, I saw the same thing on the client side. A big brand rarely bought an idea from a stranger who walked in. It bought ideas through an agency it trusted. The agency's job was to find good people and bring their work to the table. In OTT, a production house plays that agency role.
Do I need an agent to pitch to Netflix in India?
You need someone in the middle, but in India that person is usually not an agent in the Hollywood sense. In my experience, most new writers here get their first OTT work through a production house or a producer who makes shows for the platforms. The production house develops the idea with you, takes it to Netflix or another platform, and, if it is picked up, signs the deal.
Talent agencies in India do represent writers, but from what I've seen they mostly take on people who already have credits. For your first show, the producer is the door. Ek accha producer aapki kahani ko sahi table tak le jaata hai.
Will Netflix buy my script, and how much will it pay?
Netflix rarely "buys a script" the way people imagine, with a writer selling a finished file for a fixed price. In India, shows are usually commissioned through a production house, and the writer's fee is negotiated with that production house. It depends on the format, the episode count, your experience and the deal on the table.
I won't quote a number, because I haven't seen a reliable, current one I'd stand behind. If you want to understand how OTT writing work is structured here, I've written about it in How to Write for OTT in India.
One door Netflix opened this year
There is one exception worth knowing about. In July 2026, Netflix brought its NextGen Writers Program to India for the first time, for writers with up to three years of professional experience. Applications closed on 1 September 2026.
Keep an eye on Netflix India's newsroom for future editions. When a platform asks for material, that is a solicited pitch, and the rule above doesn't block you.
Your first steps as an Indian writer
Here is what I'd do this month.
Register with the Screenwriters Association (SWA). SWA is the writers' body in Mumbai. Once you are a member, you can register your scripts with SWA online through swaindia.org. The registration certificate is a dated record that the work is yours, which matters when you start narrating to people you don't know. I'm a member myself, and it is the first thing I tell new writers to do.
Build a short sample folder, and lead with your best. A producer will read one thing, maybe two. Keep a pilot episode, a one-page series idea and a sharp logline ready. Put your strongest piece first, not your newest. If your logline still feels loose, this guide on writing a logline will help.
Pitch production houses that make OTT shows. Watch the end credits of shows you love on Netflix, Prime Video and JioHotstar. Note the production houses. Find out how each one takes submissions, then approach them with a short, polite email and your registered sample. Many will ask you to sign a submission form first. That is normal.
Your first deal may not be with Netflix at all. It may be a writers' room seat, a short format or a different platform. Every credit makes the next door easier.
Try this
Pick three shows you admire on any OTT platform. Find the production house behind each one from the credits. For each house, write two lines: what kind of stories they make, and which piece in your folder fits them best.
If nothing in your folder fits any of them, you now know what your next sample should be.
Quick answers
Can I send my script directly to Netflix India? No. Netflix's Help Center says it does not accept or review material it hasn't asked for. Go through a producer, a production house or an agent.
Is it safe to share my script with a production house? Register it with SWA first, keep a record of who you sent it to and when, and sign their submission form if they ask.
Do new writers ever get onto Netflix? Yes. Usually through a production house that believes in their work, and sometimes through programmes Netflix runs, like NextGen.
How much does Netflix pay for a script in India? It varies by project and is negotiated through the production house. There is no fixed rate for a new writer.
Building a story strong enough to pitch starts with the basics. That is what The Foundation of Storytelling, my live online course in Hindi and English, is for.
Send me your logline on WhatsApp. I'll tell you if I'd read the pilot.
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