From cave walls to smartphones: The rise of vertical cinema and micro-dramas

Mumbai: If you jumped through a portal to 15,000 BC, you would find art on cave walls. By 500 BC, artists in Greece were enclosing images within decorative frames. The Renaissance solidified the rectangular frame by 1500 AD, and the 1890s brought cinema’s near-square 1.33:1 frame.

Wider aspect ratios in the 1950s launched the widescreen revolution, shaping the cinema we know today.

Now return to 2026. Open mobile apps like KadhaiShorts or Jio Hotstar’s Tadka and you will find series storytelling in a vertical format, covering most of your smartphone screen in a 9:16 aspect ratio.

Episodes now run less than three minutes. The shift marks the rise of vertical cinema and micro-dramas, a format built for mobile-first audiences and changing viewing habits across India.