‘Desi Bling’ Producer on Why the Netflix Reality Show, About Ultra-Wealthy Indian Expats in Dubai, Is Such a Hit: People ‘Like to See Their Dreams on Screen’
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- "Desi Bling" launched on Netflix on May 20 with a seven-episode first season and has consistently made Netflix's Global Top 10, reaching No. 1 in India, the UAE and a dozen other countries, per producer Mazen Laham.
- Different Productions, the Dubai-based company founded in 2014 by Laham, produced the show as a spinoff of "Dubai Bling" and also makes "Shark Tank Dubai" and "Shark Tank Lebanon."
- Laham said the show was pitched to Netflix India, not Netflix MENA, because the target audience is Indians who "like to see their dreams on screen" and are curious about how successful people live.
- Key storylines include the divorce of cast members Dyuti Parruck and Ukrainian model Iryna Kinakh, Tabinda Sanpal's viral "I have 40 kilos of gold" comment, and the on-show engagement of Bollywood stars Karan Kundrra and Tejasswi Prakash.
- The cast features self-made billionaires Rizwan Sajan (Danube Group), Satish Sanpal (Anax Holding) and Mona Mirza, founder of Dubai's Biolite Clinic, alongside the Bollywood pair and model Pamela Serena.
- Laham called the series one of the most-watched pieces of content ever produced in the MENA region, citing Netflix's global reach as a factor no other regional platform can match.
Why it matters: Laham said "Desi Bling" is becoming one of the most-watched pieces of content ever produced in the MENA region, validating Different Productions' bet on pitching to Netflix India rather than Netflix MENA — a strategy that captured the Indian diaspora audience across 12+ countries. For Netflix, the show's #1 performance in India and the UAE demonstrates that South Asian diaspora content can drive global Top 10 numbers, not just regional ones.
