Who Is Bela Bejaria? Netflix’s Head Part Of TIME 100 List 2022

Indian-American Businesswoman and media executive Bela Bajaria joined Netflix as an executive content head overseeing all of its English and vernacular content. She became Netflix’s head of global TV during the COVID-19 pandemic. In May this year, we saw Bajaria in India discussing the platform’s recent performance and the suggestions she gets from her surroundings. Three days ago, she became a part of TIME's list of 100 Most Influential People Of 2022.

Helping to create the "future of television," as mentioned by TIME, Bela has brought assimilation of cultures across the globe with Bridgerton, Squid Game and Indian Matchmaking. "Bela had the foresight to see that there is no “niche” anymore—there’s just good, relatable storytelling, which is always universal," says actor and Emmy-nominated producer and writer, Mindy Kaling.

Bela Bajaria TIME 100 List 2022

In May, during an interview with the Hindustan Times, Bajaria was asked how much advice she was receiving then on how to run Netflix content. She said, “I’d say it varies between 8-10. I also have a large extended Indian family in Los Angeles, and I get a lot of opinions all the time. But I can see that it comes from being excited when they see a new show or a film on Netflix, and that comes up a lot in conversations. When The Fame Game released, many people in my personal life started talking about how much they love it.”

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In the fifth annual edition of Variety 500, an index of the most powerful business leaders shaping the media industry, breakout series like “La Casa de Papel” and “Squid Game” were key to Bela’s scheme of discovery hits from the 40 markets around the world in which Netflix produced content.

Shonda Rhimes’ Bridgeton being a U.S.-based break also justifies Netflix’s enormous spending on producer deals in recent years. Bajaria employed her influence with an up-and-down reconstruction of the TV content team exposed in October 2020 to underscore a global viewpoint on content, talent and wheeling and dealing. “She has been active in recruiting new producers (Courtney A. Kemp, Dan Levy) with overall deals more modest than the nine-figure scale of the streamer’s deals a few years ago,” it said.

In another interview with the Business Today in April, they asked Bajaria if she saw Indian content being globally “at par.” She answered that there has been a great investment in India and the exciting news was that the content like—Aaranyak, Kapil Sharma, Fame Game and resonated among global audiences.

“We are also seeing returning seasons of fan favourites like Delhi Crime, and really high quality of upcoming shows and films like Monica Oh My Darling. The investment in India is big and a big commitment in India, an important part of our growth. Budgets depend on the storyline and what it entails. Something like The Crown required heavy sets and costumes. I fully committed us to creating quality content from India,” she said.