Overview

• Actor Sooraj Pancholi confirmed that leading podcast hosts in India now demand up to ₹30 lakh per interview and that he personally received such an offer
• The trend began during the 2020 COVID-19 lockdowns when podcasts emerged as a key platform for stars locked out of traditional talk shows
• Hosts are exercising growing selectivity—comedian Kareem Rahma recently turned down Amy Schumer for not fitting his show’s format
• Several Indian celebrities, including Neha Dhupia, Kalki Koechlin and Navya Naveli Nanda, have launched their own podcasts to share stories and build their brands
• The global audience for podcasts now exceeds 540 million listeners, underscoring the format’s expanding cultural influence and commercial value