Jan 21, 2026 5:53pm IST
Tarun Katial Promotes Emotional Wellness, Says It’s As Fundamental As Physical Fitness (EXCLUSIVE)
From heading top TV channels to a successful stint as the CEO of popular OTT platform, Tarun Katial has redefined content in the television and streaming business. When he suddenly decided to shift gears and launch a startup, it sparked curiosity in the industry. The move probably felt questionable to his peers. However, TK has submerged himself into his new calling. In an exclusive chat with Variety India, the former ZEE5 CEO, talks about quitting a lucrative career and launching coto, an app on mental health awareness which provides safe space for people across all ages and genders.
You were a leader in the media space, what triggered your switch to mental health awareness?
Media has been a remarkable journey. It allows you to reach millions, tell great stories, and build iconic characters. I have had the opportunity to do this across many formats: from the advent of satellite television with Star and Sony, to creating BigFM in India, and later venturing into OTT with ZEE5 and direct-to-digital films. Eventually, I reached a turning point. I craved a deeper sense of purpose. I asked myself, ‘What can I do to touch people’s lives directly?’ I wanted to connect with people one-on-one. I wanted to help them navigate the mental noise we all face and provide support for those who feel they have no one else.
When did this interest in mental health awareness begin?
When I left Star TV nearly 20 years ago, an aunt recommended Vipassana. It became a cathartic, life-transforming moment. It changed me and made me look inward. It planted a seed of awareness in me, teaching me that my breath is the primary indicator of my equilibrium and that I can find balance through breathwork. That purpose has stayed with me for years. Now, I see a great opportunity to turn that purpose into a mission-helping others find their equilibrium and providing support when they need it most.. When you run a daily show for 10,000 episodes, you eventually lose the purpose you started with. Even the characters lose their shape and form. Every time you start a story, you believe it has a great purpose and impact. But viewers’ choices shift so dramatically, that in trying to marry commerce with creativity, you end up making compromises. You slowly lose the motivation and inspiration you had at the beginning.
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That’s why our television industry seems to be stuck in a rut?
Every now and then, you have to ask: ‘Is this what we intended to do? Is this the right choice?’ I was in a position where I could make the hard calls - saying, ‘We won’t tell this story any longer,’ or ‘This is the full stop,’ because it was the right thing to do. We eventually stopped making compromises. There is a limit to how much you can stretch creativity for commerce. In today’s media world, something has to be truly meaningful for it to even crystallize as commerce. Consumers get it now. Pure-play entertainment with no meaning is finding it harder and harder to create a real impact.
What is the origin of the name coto?
“We thought of many names; we hired agencies and paid them to brainstorm ideas. But as we circled back to our core mission, we realized that support is the true, missing need in today’s society. In those moments we crave authenticity and company - finding someone is what ‘coming together’ (coto) is all about.”
What is the core value of coto?
Digital wellness today is like e-commerce ten years ago - it has a trust problem. Back then, you’d worry about quality, sizing, or whether a product was a fake. While e-commerce has evolved, that ‘trust gap’ still exists for things that feel personal, like fresh groceries. You still want to go to the market to check the quality yourself. Trust equals quality, and that’s what we are solving at coto. The one thing we did differently is that we are not a marketplace. We aren’t just a platform where you list yourself and hope for customers. Even today, I won’t buy certain branded products from big marketplaces because you just don’t know if they’re original - it’s like buying perfume from a local kirana; you’re never quite sure. So, we decided to be fully accountable.
And how would coto do that?
Our model is like a great hospital: we employ our own experts. No freelancers, no gig workers. Everyone on our platform undergoes rigorous vetting, is hired on our rolls, and receives a salary. We own the quality, so you can own the results.”
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What’s the long-term plan to sustain the app?
While people can pay by the minute, we increasingly discourage it. We don’t want our motivation to be tied to making you speak longer. Instead, we encourage specific 20, 30, or 40-minute ‘diagnostic’ sessions - much like an OPD - where we can truly understand your core challenges. From there, we build a personalized healing pathway. We never push a solution; we simply show you the possibilities. Whether it’s breathwork, a healing journey, relationship coaching, or sacred geometry, we help you find a path that fits your belief system and clears your specific blocks. You pay for these pathways as you go. One thing we say proudly is: ‘Pay only if you’re happy.’ For your first three consultations, if you feel the quality wasn’t there, we offer an unquestioned refund. It takes exactly 30 seconds. You just hit a button that says ‘Didn’t like? Refund’ and the money is returned - no questions asked. When you are this open and honest, very few people actually exploit the system. Our refund rate is incredibly low because trust is mutual.
Are mental health issues a bigger problem today, than it was a decade ago?
The world has become increasingly difficult to navigate. Technology now defines our level of intimacy; we measure connection by response time. If I message you and you reply immediately, we’re good. But if one of us goes cold, ‘digital ghosting’ becomes an emotional burden. We’ve lost the art of closure. If we have a fight, we simply block each other. No conversation, no resolution-just a digital wall that leaves both parties without closure. Zoya Akhtar’s "Kho Gaye Hum Kahan", captured this perfectly: the life we live digitally has become more important to us than the real world, and it’s creating chaos.
What is the one problem you see most on the app?
90 percent of our calls at coto are about breakdowns in communication. People want to know: How do I rebuild trust? How do I talk to the people I love again? We’ve just launched a subscription plan. We want to make emotional wellness as fundamental as physical fitness. You have a gym membership for your body; we want you to have a habit for your mind. Whether it’s meditation, energy healing, or just a 10-minute weekly ‘unloading’ session, we want to help you unravel the emotional baggage. Finally, we believe in the ‘India-to-the-World’ model. India has always been the land of spirituality, and we have so much to offer the global stage.
In 2026, what can one expect from coto?
I think the big thing is our vision, it’s accessibility. And we want to use as much AI to be able to create accessible wellness and care for people. That’s really the thought for next year.
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