Shillong (Meghalaya), June 21: Meghalaya turned up the volume on its creative ambitions Saturday, with Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma unveiling plans for a Film City and Film Institute in Shillong and a Music Institute in Tura, staking the state’s claim as India’s next big hub for music, film, and digital dreams.
The stage was the first Hello Meghalaya Music Awards on World Music Day. But the real headline was scale. Sangma framed spending on artists, filmmakers, and creators as investment, not expense, calling it a direct line to youth aspirations. His proof point: Hello Meghalaya. The state-run OTT platform launched in 2024 has already crossed 5 lakh downloads, hosts more than 1,000 titles, and backs over 150 filmmakers and 230 creators. Khasi, Garo, and Jaintia stories are now streaming beyond the hills, turning local voices into economic engines.
The Grassroots Music Program now supports 7,000 artists, Sangma said, building an ecosystem where opportunities did not exist before. To push it further, the government rolled out the second Grant Disbursement Booklet Saturday. Six filmmakers will get up to Rs 35 lakh each for features, 18 will receive up to Rs 25 lakh, four web series get Rs 20 lakh each, and 19 emerging filmmakers get up to Rs 5 lakh each for shorts. The first round dropped in May 2025.
The night belonged to the winners. Sixteen artists swept categories from folk and pop to hip-hop, gospel, and original soundtrack. Reble, whose voice lit up the Bollywood film Dhurandhar, took the first Icon of the Year Award. Eastern Brook, a band of visually impaired musicians, won Best Inspirational Song for Echoes of Unity. Performances by Kids Tarari Choir, Steve Jyrwa, Amachi Sangma, Khmih Creative Society, and Bending Waves kept the energy high.
Hello Meghalaya marked two years with a video tracing its rise from streaming hub to talent incubator. It has trained 30 filmmakers through the IFTI Film Exchange Programme and carried Meghalaya’s stories to the WAVES Summit 2025 in Mumbai. For a state once known only for its landscapes, the message was clear: the hills are now exporting hits.
