Leveraging Indian Folklore in Modern Media to Build Cultural Enterprises

Abstract

Indian folklore—spanning myths, oral epics, folktales, songs, puppetry, and proverbs—has historically functioned as a cultural archive, transmitting values, identities, and cosmologies across generations. With the rapid growth of global media industries, folklore has become an increasingly important resource for building cultural enterprises. This paper investigates how Indian oral traditions are transformed into commercial successes in modern media, analyzing their adaptation in literature, film, television, animation, gaming, and transmedia enterprises. It also examines intellectual property challenges, cultural entrepreneurship models, and socio-political implications of commodifying folklore. Drawing on comparative case studies from India and other cultural economies, the paper argues that Indian folklore represents not merely heritage but an underutilized economic driver. Policy recommendations are offered to balance preservation, innovation, and commercialization.