Computer jobs to creator economy: India’s journey through three Bollywood movies

Bollywood movies provide mass entertainment. They may even carry a social message. Rarely do they touch on macroeconomic issues. But looking at them through an economic lens gives surprisingly accurate insights about India’s development journey.

Consider three movies made and released roughly a decade apart: Dil Chahta Hai (2001), Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara (ZNMD, 2011) and Kho Gaye Hum Kahan (KGHK, 2023). They have much in common. Each is a coming-of-age story. The plots are simple: three friends, all in their twenties, navigate career choices, relationships and life goals on the way to adulthood. The main characters are urban, educated, and upper-middle class or richer. They represent a tiny fraction of India, with the luxury of life choices and the time and energy to ponder over them. This three-movie arc, spanning two-and-a-half decades, captures the changing aspirations of India’s educated, well-off, urban youth.

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The biggest shift captured by the films is the transformation of the job market between 2001 and 2023. In Dil Chahta Hai, two of the leads join family businesses in computers and exports, while the third is an artist. This mirrors the actual growth drivers of that time: information technology and exports. The steep growth in software development outsourcing in the mid-90s perfectly matched India’s pool of low-cost, educated youngsters. 

Most jobs required limited training, and institutes such as NIIT mushroomed to provide “computer classes” to students desperate to ride the technology boom. At the same time, trade liberalisation and rupee devaluation pushed up exports, including IT exports. Job creation in exports was strong in the early years – at its peak in 2008, the sector generated 77 million jobs. 

The optimism of the first post-liberalisation decade continued until 2008, with industry, construction, and financial/professional services growing at a robust pace. Fittingly, the ZNMD trio included an ad agency copywriter, a financial broker, and a businessman in the construction industry. Two of the three were salaried employees in the service sector—a shift from the usual Bollywood depiction of the wealthy as businessmen. Again, this was very representative of changing trends: strong economic growth coupled with a rush of multinationals into India ensured high double-digit salary increases for qualified professionals. 

In fact, an international first job was highly possible for top talent: the number of overseas postings in the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad’s graduating class increased from 26 in 2011 to 40 in 2012. The fact that the financial broker in ZNMD lived and worked in London reflected this trend.

The 2011 young Indian professional was confident, well-travelled and at home in the world. In Dil Chahta Hai, the friends took a road trip to Goa; the plot of ZNMD unraveled during a holiday in Spain. The takeaway? By 2011, more Indians could afford to take European holidays. Data backs this inference: in 2007, the World Bank upgraded India's status from a low-income country to a middle-income one. The dividing line is around $1,000 per capita income (based on gross national income), but it took almost two decades after economic reforms to get there.

Fast forward to 2023. Gen Z, born between 1997 and 2012, entered the workforce. On one hand, there was a shortage of formal sector jobs; on the other, several new earning opportunities emerged. Consider the professions of the characters in Kho Gaye Hum Kahan—stand-up comic, personal fitness trainer, influencer, photographer, and corporate consultant. More than half of these jobs were unheard of a decade ago; only one counts as salaried employment.

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This reflects the rise of two new ecosystems: the gig and platform economy, and online content creation. Peole in both sectors rely heavily on social media networks to find work, advertise talent, and promote accomplishments. Neither offers guaranteed or regular pay, but the lure of being one’s own boss, while shaping conversations and trends, is irresistible.

That may explain the rapid growth in the number of influencers (over 4 million by the end of 2024) and gig workers (12.7 million in 2024-25). These new-age gigs are not just for the urban elite: digital technology and internet penetration have made them accessible to everyone. All one needs to become an influencer is a smartphone and an idea: the growth of “heartland influencers” proves the popularity of regional content.

A fun way to describe India’s changing job landscape is through the titles of the three movies. Dil Chahta Hai — 'The Heart Desires' — represented a time when the young aspired for better lives in newly opened India. ZNMD—'You Won't Get This Life Again'—captured a time of strong economic growth, when they enjoyed prosperity. KGHK—'Where have we lost ourselves?'—is the question to ask as Gen Zs look for work that provides purpose as well as a livelihood.

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This is a bit of an oversimplification, but the point is to emphasise the urgent need to create jobs. The recent announcement of a $1-billion government fund to support creators is a timely idea, but it is too early to assess its impact. Meanwhile, it should be remembered that India has 377 million Gen Zs—more than the population of the US. And the young are a demographic dividend only when they're productive.

The author is an independent writer in economics and finance.