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From local to global via OTT

The pandemic unwittingly played a big role in catapulting OTT platforms as the go-to options for entertainment-starved Telugu audiences. These platforms came as a life-saver for both showbiz and audiences in the last two years. The scenario is much the same in neighbouring Tamil Nadu…reports Narendra Puppala

Much like the television boom in the south a couple of decades ago, OTT players streaming content in the southern languages are spoiling viewers for choice. They are dishing up a buffet of content, from music reality shows to cookoffs, even as the rest of the world gets to watch South Indian movies in the comfort of their homes.

OTT platforms, both local and the international behemoths, are vying aggressively for audience eyeballs in the four southern states and each one of them has a dozen-odd players catering to an audience that seems to just love the abundant diversity.

For filmmakers and writers, both established and newbies, as the makers of ‘Minnal Murali’ (Malayalam) and ‘Jai Bhim’ (Tamil) realised only recently, this is an opportunity like never before to be seen and heard around the world. S.S. Rajamouli’s ‘RRR’, for instance, will be dubbed in Spanish, Portuguese and Korean for Netflix.

Interestingly, Netflix has also seen its Tamil anthology ‘Navarasa’ feature in the Top 10 in 10 countries, including India, Malaysia and Sri Lanka. In its first week on Netflix, the series created by Mani Ratnam, the Tamil auteur, more than 40 per cent of the viewers were from outside India.

The story is not any different for Prime Videos India, 50 per cent of whose audiences for regional language content come from outside their respective home states. Globally, these movies are being watched in more than 170 countries, with international viewers accounting for over 20 per cent of the audiences of these films.

The Telugu language space, primarily spread across Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, is one of the larger markets. Naturally, all the major OTT names have made a beeline for Telugu land. You have, as a result, international majors such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, Sony Liv, and Hotstar cheek by jowl with desi biggies like Zee5 and SunNxt. The Telugu OTT platform aha, meanwhile, is creating a buzz with its totally Telugu orientation.

The pandemic unwittingly played a big role in catapulting OTT platforms as the go-to options for entertainment-starved Telugu audiences. These platforms came as a life-saver for both showbiz and audiences in the last two years. The scenario is much the same in neighbouring Tamil Nadu.

Predictably, most of the big OTT platforms rely on a content mix of movies and web series. They also dip into their exhaustive content banks built up over the years. The bulk of the content inventory is made up of dubbed versions of English and other Indian movies and television serials.

The OTT platforms also allow entertainment majors such as Zee, Sun, Sony and Star to monetise their television content in these languages.

It is however aha, promoted by the powerful Allu film family, that has set out on a trajectory powered entirely by Telugu content. Aha’s hugely popular talk show ‘NBK – Totally Unstoppable’, anchored by top Telugu star Nandamuri Balakrishna, has given the platform an enviable traction with audiences.

A web series, ‘Bhamakalaapam’, starring versatile actress Priyamani, who gained a national following after she appeared on ‘Family Man’, followed by the Telugu version of ‘Indian Idol’ are among the latest offerings the platform has picked up to drive growth.

In Karnataka, apart from the limited fare that the OTT majors provide, there’s little else on offer for viewers across the state. This vacuum is being eyed by local players who are setting up OTT platforms dedicated to Konkani and Tulu languages spoken in the coastal parts of the state.

Despite its relatively small geographical spread, God’s Own Country has been seeing an unprecedented proliferation of OTT platforms. At last count there were at least half-a-dozen OTT platforms on the ground or in the making. Even the Kerala government has plans to launch its own streaming to support independent low-budget filmmakers.

Movie-based entertainment content being self-limiting for a number of factors, OTT players are not shying away from looking beyond the trodden path. Malayalam OTT platform Koode is carving out its own identity, cutting through the clutter.

“A lot of platforms are primarily focusing on movies, but we would like to bet on a wider range, so we are looking at data and analytics,” Koode’s Founder Radhakrishnan Ramachandran said. “We analyse data to understand what kind of content genres our audience is looking at. We believe that good content will always have takers and will experiment across multiple genres,” Ramachandran added.

Even as the world gets back to normality after being home-bound for much of the past two years, OTT platforms are signalling that they are set to stay on the entertainment menu of people around the world. It’s not any different in the south.

ALSO READ-STORY OF NETFLIX

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STORY OF NETFLIX

Netflix: From video store chain to global entity that redefined entertainment

As millions of people stream the latest season of ‘Money Heist’ or ‘Squid Game’ on Netflix, little do they know that the streaming giant was born out of a video renting store in the US nearly 25 years ago. Today, Netflix has reached roughly 222 million paid members globally and aims to attract 800-900 million households that use either broadband internet or pay TV around the world.

 In 1997, Reed Hastings (now Chairman and President) and Marc Randolph had an idea to rent DVDs by mail. They tested the concept by mailing themselves a DVD. The DVD arrived intact, and the idea for Netflix was born.

  In 1998, Netflix.com, the first DVD rental and sales site, was launched in Scotts Valley, California. It offered a library of films and television series through distribution deals as well as its own productions, known as Netflix Originals.

  Next year, the Netflix subscription service made its debut, offering members unlimited DVD rentals without due dates, late fees or monthly rental limits.

 In 2002, Netflix made its initial public offering (IPO), at a selling price of $1 a share under the Nasdaq ticker ‘NFLX’.

  Next year, the company was issued a patent by the US Patent & Trademark Office to cover its subscription rental services as membership surpassed 1 million. Finally, in 2007, Netflix introduced streaming, allowing members to instantly watch series and films. It later partnered with consumer electronics brands to allow streaming on Xbox 360, Blu-ray players and TV set-top boxes.

  In 2010, Netflix arrived in Canada and streaming was launched on mobile devices, along with the first dedicated kids experience tab.

  In 2011, the streaming service arrived in Latin America and the Caribbean and the first Netflix button appeared on remote controls. It logged 25 million members a year later and expanded into the UK, Ireland and the Nordic countries.

  Netflix also ventured into stand-up specials with ‘Bill Burr: You People are all the Same.’

  ‘House of Cards,’ ‘Hemlock Grove’, ‘Arrested Development’ and ‘Orange is the New Black’ ushered in the first slate of original series programming for Netflix in 2013.

  ‘House of Cards’ went on to win three Primetime Emmy awards — the first for an internet streaming service. The Profiles and My List features debuted on streaming.

Pic credits ANI

  In 2015, its first original feature film (‘Beasts of no Nation’), first non-English original series (‘Club de Cuervos’) and first Asian original (‘Terrace House’) made their debut.

  In the same year, the company launched audio descriptions for the visually impaired with ‘Daredevil’.

  In 2016, Netflix expanded to 130 new countries, bringing the service to members in more than 190 countries and in 21 languages around the world.

  Next year, Netflix won its first Academy Award for ‘The White Helmets’. The introduction of interactive storytelling and the ‘Skip Intro’ button gave members more choice to tailor their viewing experience.

  In 2018, Netflix was the most-nominated studio at the Emmys, winning 23 for series including ‘GLOW’, ‘Godless’ and ‘Queer Eye’. The streaming service rolled out PIN protection as part of several parental control enhancements.

  In 2019, Netflix won four Academy Awards, for ‘ROMA’, ‘Period’, ‘End of Sentence’, and its first original animated film ‘Klaus’. ‘Bandersnatch’ won the first major Emmy for an interactive title.

ALSO READ: Netflix to charge customers for sharing passwords

  In 2020, as Covid-19 struck the world, Netflix was the most-nominated studio at the Academy Awards and Emmys.

  The Hardship Fund launches aided the creative community workers impacted by Covid-19, while 2 per cent of its  cash holdings moved to financial institutions supporting Black communities.

  Last year, Netflix released its first-ever film and series diversity study, in conjunction with the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative, and announced plans to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by the end of 2022.

  Netflix also launched mobile games last year. As of December 31, 2021, Netflix had 75.2 million users in the US and Canada, 74 million in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, 39.9 million in Latin America and 32.7 million users in the Asia-Pacific.

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Sci-fi shows on OTT for thrilling entertainment

Based on the Marvel Comics character Loki, the American series is hailed as one of the best sci-fi works in recent times. Played by Tom Hiddleston, Loki is the adopted brother of Thor and is also touted as the god of mischief…reports Asian Lite News

Space and time have many mysteries entangled within themselves. There are a number of unanswered questions around us and concepts that claim to be true but are hard to believe. There have, however, been some smart attempts at depicting such tales on the silver screen, where the representation is based on the best of human imagination. To make the binge-watching experience wholesome for you, Here are some of the best sci-fi shows that are currently streaming on various OTT platforms.

Lost in Space

The story of Lost in Space revolves around the Robinson family, which happens to crash land on an alien planet that is nothing like Earth. The family is compelled to fight against all odds in order to ensure their survival and is determined to return to their own planet. However, this alien planet is full of hidden dangers that come to the fore one after another. As a matter of fact, the Robinson family went into space to fight for a chance for humanity, but now fighting to save their life. The series stars the likes of Molly Parker, Toby Stephens and Maxwell Jenkins.

Loki

Based on the Marvel Comics character Loki, the American series is hailed as one of the best sci-fi works in recent times. Played by Tom Hiddleston, Loki is the adopted brother of Thor and is also touted as the god of mischief.

He steps out of the shadow of his brother and embarks on an adventure full of variants, timelines and a multiversal war. Loki, who also has a female variant named Sylvie, gets trapped in a time variance authority, and what follows is a breathtaking experience. The first season of the show is streaming on Disney+ Hotstar.

Detective Boomrah

A man appears mysteriously in a locked room of a heritage hotel and when confronted, he rushes to the roof and jumps to disappear mid-air. In a bid to find his whereabouts, the authorities reach out to Detective Boomrah, who comes to probe the case along with his partner Sam. The show, which delves into concepts like time travel, features the character of Detective Boomrah, which has been a popular name on radio, social media and other online platforms. The first season of the show is available on MX Player.

The Walking Dead: World Beyond

Set in the backdrop of the post-apocalyptic world, The Walking Dead World Beyond is a story about a group of teenagers who are sheltered from the menace outside.

However, upon receiving a message, they decide to leave the safety of their home and embark on a spine-chilling cross-country journey. Struggling with their roles outside, some teens would soon become heroes while some would become villains, with change being inevitable. The show is streaming on Amazon Prime Video.

JL 50

Starring critically acclaimed actors like Pankaj Kapur, Piyush Mishra and Abhay Deol, JL 50 is another series based on the concept of time travel. A flight crashed landed in a remote region of West Bengal, triggering an investigation. It is later discovered that even as the plane crash-landed now, it had gone missing nearly 35 years ago. With a gripping storyline and impeccable performances, JL 50 is definitely a must-watch in the list of sci-fi series. The show is available on Sony Liv.

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3 mn to 30 mn users! Much-needed boost to OTT

“As more and more people buy smartphones with powerful specs, longer battery life and bigger screens, the content consumption is only set to grow in the country,” Pathak told…reports Nishant Arora

What do Indians love to watch on their smartphones? It is entertainment and cricket. Be it live streaming or TV shows, more and more of nearly 600 million Indians who use smartphones are watching their favourite shows on personal devices — giving a much-needed boost to the OTT platforms in the country.

From YouTube to Netflix and from Zee5 to MX Player, the daily consumption of content only increased in the two years of the pandemic.

Indians are currently spending close to five hours on their smartphones (according to app intelligence firm App Annie), and streaming is becoming an integral part for millions, including users from rural India.

According to Tarun Pathak, Research Director at Counterpoint Research, OTT consumption and smartphones go hand-in-hand.

“As more and more people buy smartphones with powerful specs, longer battery life and bigger screens, the content consumption is only set to grow in the country,” Pathak told.

The video streaming market in India has exploded — thanks to Reliance Jio and its ultra-cheap data packs — with more than 65 per cent of video consumption coming from rural India that has around 40 per cent Internet connectivity.

The broadening of the traditional audience in the streaming space, the popularity of international content (such as Korean or Spanish) in India, and the ability to attract a wider audience through subtitles and dubbed content have made established streaming service providers revise their strategy for the Indian market, according to reports.

In December 2021, Netflix slashed the prices of its streaming services in India by 60 per cent, to Rs 199 a month for its basic plan. On the other hand, Amazon Prime Video and Disney+ Hotstar actually marginally hiked their monthly subscription rates.

Walt Disney’s streaming service Disney+ Hotstar added 2.6 million paid subscribers in the first quarter ended January 1, 2022 to take its total base to 45.9 million in India.

Netflix and Amazon Prime Video do not reveal their country-wise figures.

A recent CII-BCG report revealed that India had 70-80 million paid subscribers on OTT platforms at the end of 2021, up from 14 million in 2018.

Wilmot Reed Hastings, Co-Founder, Chairman and President at Netflix, had said earlier this year that what’s unique about India is that cable is about $3 per month per household.

“So radically different pricing than the rest of the world, which does impact consumer expectations. The great news is in every single other major market, we’ve got the flywheel spinning. The thing that frustrates us is why haven’t we been as successful in India. But we’re definitely leaning in there,” Hastings had told analysts.

According to Gregory K. Peters, COO and Chief Product Officer at Netflix, they are learning more about Indian consumers’ tastes which is broadening the offerings in the service across many different dimensions.

India, which is the third-largest 5G smartphone market globally, saw nearly 30 million smartphones that were 5G-ready in 2021 — from just 3 million in 2020.

The total cumulative shipments of smartphones in the country are expected to reach 1.7 billion over 2022-2026, creating a market of about $250 billion; of which, nearly 840 million 5G devices are expected to be sold in a span of five years.

“I think 5G will have a positive impact on OTT consumption in India. The biggest change one can expect is the quality of the content that can be consumed anywhere, especially on the go,” said Pathak.

Content creators will think beyond network limitations while creating content, especially ultra-high definition with much reduced latency.

This, said Pathak, can further spark innovation and make OTT a very competitive space, especially when everyone is targeting to get the maximum share of users’ time.

Streaming war begins

In 2008 when India was warming up to social media, another revolution was taking place, albeit quietly, in the subscription-driven, online movie-on-demand service market.

Reliance Entertainment launched the first Indian movie-on-demand platform called BIGFlix which allowed users to pay and stream or download movies at any time.

In 2010, a domestic tech company called Digivive launched India’s first over-the-top (OTT) mobile app called nexGTv, which provided access to both live TV and on-demand content. It was the first app to livestream the Indian Premier League (IPL) matches on smartphones in 2013 and 2014.

OTT streaming gained momentum in India when both DittoTV (Zee) and Sony Liv were launched around 2013.

Fast forward to 2022 and what we witness in nearly a decade-long period is over 40 OTT platforms — both Ad-based Video on Demand (AVOD) and Subscription Video on Demand (SVOD) services — streaming content 24/7 in India, gaining new users and threatening traditional cable and linear TV.

In two years of the pandemic, the OTT growth has exploded with heavy investments in original content, pricing innovations, low data costs and the rise of short-form content.

According to a Deloitte report that came out in February this year, the Indian OTT space is expected to grow at a CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of more than 20 per cent to reach $13-$15 billion over the next decade.

The OTT market currently makes up only 7-9 per cent of India’s entertainment industry.

The pandemic, however, accelerated SVOD adoption owing to right bundling and pricing innovations, along with the availability of premium original content.

There are currently about 102 million SVOD subscribers and this number is estimated to reach 224 million by 2026.

However, AVOD is expected to continue to pull in more revenue than SVOD in the country, increasing its current rate of $1.1 billion in 2021 to $2.4 billion in 2026, according to Deloitte’s Technology, Media, and Telecommunications (TMT) 2022 report.

Over the same period, SVOD is expected to grow from its current $0.8 billion to $2.1 billion in 2026.

SVOD subscriptions may also be affected by the bring-forward effect of Covid-19 as the currently accelerated growth rate may taper with the pandemic subsiding.

Jehil Thakkar, Partner, Media and Entertainment Leader, Deloitte India, told IANS that the wide adoption of smartphones combined with cheap data as well as the diverse content available to address all tastes is one of the key factors that led to the growing adoption of OTT platforms in India.

“Pricing too has been an influencer as low prices and some free options have always encouraged sampling and adoption in the country,” Thakkar said.

According to experts, the market for providing video streaming services in India is highly fragmented with more than 40 streaming players vying for the customer’s wallet.

Global streaming service providers such as Amazon, Disney-owned Hotstar and Netflix compete with domestic service providers such as Zee5, Voot, SonyLiv and MX Player), as well as a host of regional players.

In a latest move, most major streaming players have launched mobile-centric plans targeting price-sensitive millennials and Gen Z customers.

These plans also capitalise on low data rates ($0.09 per GB) and widespread smartphone user base (more than 600 million) in the country.

Industry experts say that the demand for OTT streaming content based on geo-demography is on the rise, both within India and internationally from the considerable Indian diaspora.

According to Gaurav Gandhi, Director & Country Manager, Amazon Prime Video India, one out of every five viewers for Indian Amazon Originals is from outside the country.

In a recent blog, Gandhi said that the local language titles on Prime Video are viewed in over 4,000 cities and towns in India besides being watched in 170 countries.

“Our Indian Amazon Originals enjoy incredible popularity both in the country and outside India International viewers already account for between 15 and 20 per cent of total audiences of these local language films,” he informed.

In India, the pandemic acted as a boon for streamers as the closure of cinemas forced content owners to look at online distribution platforms.

OTT platforms invested an estimated $665 million in content in the country last year, with Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Disney+ Hotstar leading the pack with a combined spend of $380 million, according to data shared by Deloitte.

Others, led by Zee and Sony, are also gradually scaling their investments as they aim to catch up.

Currently, each paying customer in India has, on an average, 2.4 subscriptions of OTT platforms.

However, given the price sensitivity, Indian customers may not continue to pay for multiple OTT streaming services in the near future.

“App aggregation and bundling can play an important role in expanding the market by bringing considerable value to consumers in terms of affordability, useability (single sign-on, single window content discovery, etc.), and compatibility with existing devices,” according to the Deloitte report.

ALSO READ-Kunal feels working on OTT is creatively satisfying

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Kunal feels working on OTT is creatively satisfying

Considering the fact that Kunal has been living with the character of ‘Abhay’ for last three seasons and the world of the story deals with crime stories, the actor mentioned how those stories used to shock him…reports Asian Lite News

Kunal Kemmu, who is playing the title role in the web series ‘Abhay 3’, says as an actor he is getting more creative satisfaction now than ever thanks to the growth of OTT.

In the latest season of ‘Abhay 3’, the story takes different turns and twists with how the investigating officer is decoding the murder mystery done by a bunch of people who practice witchcraft.

Asked about his interpretation of supernatural power, Kunal told IANS: “As an audience, I enjoy watching horror and supernatural genre of films and show because it really gives me that thrill and edge of the seat experience. But at a personal level, I am not really interested in knowing the existence of dark power, something that we are exploring in the new season of the show.”

Considering the fact that Kunal has been living with the character of ‘Abhay’ for last three seasons and the world of the story deals with crime stories, the actor mentioned how those stories used to shock him.

He answered, “Initially the first two seasons were more shocking for me because some of them were based on the real account. Those were horrifying and shocking, to say the least. Yes, some of those criminals existed in real life and they were medically sick and needed help. There is a reason why they call psychopaths. When as an actor I am living a character like SP Abhay Pratap Singh, I tried to keep it between action and cut and not carry them home.”

“As an individual, I am completely opposite of who Abhay is, so I live him only on-screen. I worked and build the character only to live on-screen and not to carry any hangover of it in my real life,” he added.

Being an actor who has always appeared in experimental films be it – ‘Kalyug’, ‘Go Goa Gone’, ‘Traffic Signal’, ‘Dhoondte Reh Jaaoge’, and also in ‘Golmaal 3’, Kunal said how it is only now with OTT, he is getting the work that he always believed in.

“From the beginning of my career, I always believed in a certain kind of cinema and that was not a regular affair in mainstream Bollywood. So, all my passion-driven choices were limited. I do not complain because I understand that the commercial aspect in mainstream Bollywood was prioritised.

“But now that the section of audience, who had the appetite of watching offbeat stories, that they used to only get from the international show, is celebrating our ‘desi kahaani’ on OTT, actors like us are getting creative satisfaction with good content. I am happy with the work I am doing these days,” Kunal signed off.

Directed by Ken Ghosh, ‘Abhay 3’ also features Asha Negi, Vidya Malvade, Vijay Raaz – and is releasing on ZEE5 on April 8.

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‘Salute’ and ‘Puzhu’ take direct to digital route


Talking about the film, Dulquer Salmaan said, “It was a great experience working on ‘Salute’. I have always been drawn to roles which push me beyond my comfort zone and challenge me as an actor.”…reports Asian Lite News

Malayalam films ‘Salute’ and ‘Puzhu’ are taking a direct to digital route. While ‘Salute’ is an investigative drama starring Dulquer Salman, ‘Puzhu’ is a crime thriller which stars Dulquer’s father and superstar Mammootty.

Both the films will be launching directly on SonyLIV although their release dates are yet to be announced.

‘Salute’ is a grounded procedural drama, where Dulquer will be seen essaying the role of a cop, Aravind Karunkaran. The film follows a non-linear narrative as it cuts between the past and the present-day scenario, where, a once committed and fiery sub inspector, Salmaan has been reduced to a disgraced cop, aching for a shot at redemption.

Talking about the film, Dulquer Salmaan said, “It was a great experience working on ‘Salute’. I have always been drawn to roles which push me beyond my comfort zone and challenge me as an actor.”

Directed by Rosshan Andrews, ‘Salute’ marks the Malayalam debut of Bollywood actress Diana Penty and it will also star Manoj K Jayan in a pivotal role. The film produced by Wayfarer Films, is written by the writer-duo of Bobby and Sanjay.

“Bobby and Sanjay have done a remarkable job with the script. It is an intriguing and taut thriller with the characters going through various emotional conflicts and bearing the consequences of their actions. I have always admired Rosshan Andrews’ craft, and it was an honour to work with him. This is very different than the other films I have done so far, and I cannot wait for the audiences to watch it”, Dulquer added.

‘Puzhu’, on the other hand, is an intense family thriller, which present Mammootty in a grey shade.

Mammootty spoke about the film as he said, “The story of Puzhu excited me the most. As an actor, it has always been my aim to keep reinventing myself, and to take up newer, more exciting projects. Puzhu marks another step in that direction.”

“We tried to tell a story that we believed in and put our hearts into. Hope the viewers like what they see”, the senior actor added.

The film promises to be a gripping thriller around a father and son and the underlying family dynamics and trust issues that follow. Dulquer will also be producing ‘Puzhu’ under his banner along with S George’s Cyn Cyl Celluloid. Helmed by debutante director Ratheena PT, the film will also star Parvathy Thiruvothu in the lead.

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What to watch on this Valentine’s Day online?

The film is directed by Park Hyun-jin and starring Lee Jun-young, Seohyun and Seo Hyun-woo, and is a must watch to understand the depth of emotions through ups and downs relationships…reports Asian Lite News

If you seek to make your Valentine’s Day special and are celebrating indoors, a movie night would be just perfect to bring in the mushiness.

While you prepare for the scrumptious meals and enticing beverages, OTT platforms and television have got your binge-list sorted. Here’s the list of movies that can be watched on Valentine’s Day.

Gehraiyaan

‘Gehraiyaan’ is a kind of romantic movie in which the director Shakun Batra brings out the complex world of relationship dramas. Featuring Deepika Padukone, Ananya Panday, Siddhant Chaturvedi and Dhairya Karwa, ‘Gehraiyaan’ is about a woman finding herself at a crossroads in life. Her six-year relationship has grown monotonous, and her career seems to have hit a roadblock. However things change in her life with the coming of her cousin that forces her to face the troubled past.

‘Gehraiyaan’ is streaming on Amazon Prime Video

Hot Mess Holiday

Bringing in the leading cast of two Indian origin women, Melanie Chandra and Surina Jindal in American cinema, ‘Hot Mess Holiday’ showcases the tale of a girl who gets dumped by her cheating boyfriend during the festival of Diwali, her best friend comes to the rescue and takes her on a girls trip to Chicago where all hell breaks loose in a comic turn of events.

The movie also has appearances by some other Indian actors including Kal Penn and Lilly Singh. The movie airs on February 14 at 1pm and 10pm on Comedy Central India.

Love and Leashes

‘Love and Leashes’ is a South Korean rom-com film that follows two co-workers who enter a purely contractual relationship but soon realize everything is not going according to plan.

The film is directed by Park Hyun-jin and starring Lee Jun-young, Seohyun and Seo Hyun-woo, and is a must watch to understand the depth of emotions through ups and downs relationships.

The movie was released on Netflix on February 11.

MaNan– Kaisi Hai Yaariyaan

This is a special movie based on the three seasons of the series ‘Kaisi Hai Yaariyaan’. The main leads of the series Parth Samthaan and Niti Taylor playing the character of Manik and Nandini, is coming back in the movie. It is a slice-of-life piece that illustrates the bitter-sweet relationship between the couple, evokes nostalgia and gives a major flashback of unforgettable college memories.

The special edit-based film will be streaming from February 18 on Voot.

I Want You Back

Directed by Jason Orley, ‘I Want You Back’ is a American rom-com movie starring Jenny Slate and Charlie Day in the lead roles. It is the story of newly dumped thirty-somethings Peter and Emma who team up to sabotage their exes’ new relationships and win them back for good. It also stars Scott Eastwood, Gina Rodriguez, Manny Jacinto, and Clark Backo in vital roles.

The movie is released on February 11 on Amazon Prime Video.

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Madhuri’s OTT debut film gets release date

The story revolves around Bollywood icon Anamika Anand, who has it all but is her life perfect or a perfectly crafted facade…reports Asian Lite News

Bollywood actress Madhuri Dixit Nene is all set to make her digital debut with the Netflix series ‘The Fame Game’, which is slated to release on February 25.

‘The Fame Game’ also stars Sanjay Kapoor, Manav Kaul, Lakshvir Saran and Suhasini Muley, Muskkaan Jaferi.

The story revolves around Bollywood icon Anamika Anand, who has it all but is her life perfect or a perfectly crafted facade.

‘The Fame Game’, formerly known as Finding Anamika, will take us into the world of superstar Anamika played by the evergreen, ever-gorgeous Madhuri Dixit Nene! Produced by Dharmatic Entertainment, the series marks her streaming debut.

‘The Fame Game’ brings together Sri Rao as the showrunner and writer and Bejoy Nambiar and Karishma Kohli as directors.

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Entertainment in the era of OTT

Hindi films completed and waiting for cinemas to reopen helped some of these platforms. Seeing that the wait could be endless, the production houses decided to premiere the films on OTT platforms…reports Asian Lite News

Netflix laments low subscription base

OTT platforms started in India around 2013-14 with Reliance, Zee, etc. launching a kind of online service for entertainment. Available mostly on mobile phones, but little was known about them and smart phones had yet to catch up.

The major foreign platforms followed a little later, around 2016. Netflix was much talked about among those with buying power. Some liked to boast about being hooked to Netflix! To the others, it did not matter because they did not know what one was talking about. To debate or discuss anything, both sides need to know the subject. The subscriptions were slow to catch up.

People got interested when these platforms started producing or outsourcing specific programmes exclusively for Indian viewers. Netflix was a new entity as far as India was concerned, but other platforms such as Sony, Star, Disney and Zee, though new to OTT, were already familiar brands and people in India kind of knew what to expect from them.

What is more, be it Sony, Zee or Star, they already had an ample repertoire of Indian entertainment, especially Hindi content. Similarly, Eros Now is also an old hand in the film business. Shemaroo Me, the late entrant to the OTT field, is an old hand having started with a video library in the name of Shemaroo and later, the video rights acquisition and distribution business. They believed in buying the rights of films from big-name production houses and today boast of one of the best collections.

Since then, the number of OTT platforms has mushroomed. Many new names sprang up. The Covid-19 lockdown imposed in March 2020 proved to be an opportunity for these platforms. Cinema theatres were ordered to close down, which only added to the OTT count.

To an extent, even the OTT managements were taken unawares. Shooting for films as well as for television and OTT platforms were forced to stop. Television channels, which have banks of ready episodes, managed for a few weeks, but eventually had to resort to reruns. OTT platforms had no such backup. So, they had to fall back on films and both Indian and foreign as well as international OTT streaming content. That kept them going.

Hindi films completed and waiting for cinemas to reopen helped some of these platforms. Seeing that the wait could be endless, the production houses decided to premiere the films on OTT platforms.

Films such as ‘Radhe’, ‘Gulabo Sitabo’, ‘Laxmii’, ‘Ludo’, ‘Sherni’, ‘Hungama 2’, ‘AK vs. AK’, ‘Coolie No. 1’, ‘Tribhanga’, ‘Sadak 2’, ‘The Girl On The Train’, ‘The Big Bull’, ‘Toofaan’, ‘Mimi’, ‘Shershaah’, ‘Bhuj: The Pride Of India’, ‘Bhoot Police’, ‘Rashmi Rocket’, ‘Sardar Udham’, ‘Hum Do Hamare Do’, ‘Dhamaka’ and ‘Bob Biswas’ were released on OTT.

Though most of these films were not appreciated, at least, they sated the curiosity of some, especially the self-styled critics, who like to talk films and rate them with stars.

Not all OTT platforms may be doing well or even getting subscribers. Some may vanish into thin air just like they popped up from nowhere.

But the one that is feeling the pinch is the pioneer international content streaming platform, Netflix. The company feels that it has not got the required subscription base in India, it has not been successful in India. One of the factors that was a deterrent for the masses was the high monthly subscription plan of Rs 499, which the company has set right now by reducing it to Rs 199.

Till not long ago Rs 499 amounted to a month’s subscription of a local cable network with a number of channels, provided that you never bothered to count or surf along with the regular ones in demand. With a choice of multiple OTT providers, forking out almost Rs 6,000 per year was a tough call for the middle class, which spelt a bigger base.

The best example would be Zee 5 and ‘Radhe’. The platform decided to make the most of the opportunity of the Salman Khan film premiering on OTT by offering annual subscriptions at a much lower price, Rs 499 (earlier 799), which included an eight- hour window to watch ‘Radhe’! This was used as an instrument to broaden the viewer base of the platform.

Besides, Netflix is seen more as an elite platform for niche viewers with a huge collection of international programmes, but not much in comparison for the regional language viewers. Netflix has a reason to worry about its subscription lag, which is 5.5 million, against Amazon’s 19 million and the top draw, Disney+ Hotstar’s over 45 million.

Mobile phones and air travel, for example, had a limited number of takers for a long time. A basic ‘dabba’ mobile phone cost more than Rs 15,000 and the call rates were Rs 16 per minute with both parties, caller as well as receiver, billed. What happened was that the phone was used more as a pager as people checked the number and called back from landlines.

Then came the budget airlines and a range of mobile phones suitable for all pockets. One can see the difference. Airports are now overflowing with travellers and a mobile phone adorns just about every pocket.

In India, with its vast consumer base, if you wish to go for volumes, you have to be pocket friendly. That is when you build a mass base.

Producer Suneel Darshan Sues Google/YouTube/Sundar Pichai

YouTube plays thousands of movies, songs and other such content and the number of hits the Indian film and songs get on this platform is amazing. These contain a lot of old films, for, in most cases, nobody seems to know who holds the copyright of such content.

It is the responsibility of YouTube, though, to ascertain and trace the owner of the copyrights before it starts adding any content on its platform. Or at least the platform should inform the parties concerned through a Public Notice in the media as is the trade norm.

When any content watched by a viewer earns a hit, the score is readily available and the platform should have devised some sort of mechanism to deposit the monies so earned with a producers’ body or a trust. That money certainly does not belong to YouTube.

The film business ran on trust for a long time. Even if a producer and his actors had decided on the price to act in a film (there were no other terms, actually), then nothing was put on paper. The agreements were drawn only after the release of a film or when it came to filing income-tax returns! Similar was the practice with distributors and other technicians.

But, as the entertainment industry broadened its base with the arrival of television and video rights, the filmmaker learned at some cost the need for an agreement. Video and satellite channels, while drafting agreements, included what were called ‘Tunnel Rights’, which meant that all rights that may arise from future developments and technology would belong to them!

The producer, working on borrowed monies, signed away just about everything!

When the video format came to the market, many producers were surprised to see their films available in the format. How did it happen? Many prints of Hindi films were lying in the warehouses of overseas distributors, which were acquired by the video companies at a price of as little as Rs 10,000. One Hong Kong-based label specialised in this kind of business.

The producer had neither the inclination, nor the resources to go fight a case in a Hong Kong court. This is akin to what Suneel Darshan states about Google/YouTube. Who will take on such a monstrous entity? Be it a monstrous entity such Google, or other similar players, or even the video pirate at the local level, the producer is left to fight a lone battle.

There is no record of any producers’ association joining forces with him, the very thing these associations are meant for: to protect the interests of their producer members.

Suneel has sued Google, YouTube and CEO Sundar Pichai for the infringement of the copyright of his film, Ek Haseena Thi Ek Deewana Tha. Suneel’s film is available on YouTube and has been uploaded by people other than Suneel himself.

So, does the royalty go to them? Does YouTube ask for any sort of proof of ownership of copyright before uploading a film? If not, the channel is encouraging fraud and piracy.

Suneel states that he wrote many mails to YouTube but got no response. Now this is rude and taking Indian people for granted. Finally, Suneel Darshan had to take recourse to the court of law. Now, besides whatever other observations that the court may make, YouTube needs to be told sternly that it is answerable.

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‘Bloody Mary’ first look poster out


‘Bloody Mary’ will start streaming on Aha soon…reports Asian Lite News

Actress Nivetha Pethuraj makes her Telugu OTT debut in the suspense thriller ‘Bloody Mary’ which is also the first directorial effort of Chandoo Mondeti in the digital space.

The makers of ‘Bloody Mary’ released the first-look poster from the web original, featuring Nivetha Pethuraj.

The poster is engrossing, and has Nivetha, in a badass avatar, sporting an intense look. It comes with a tag line that reads, “If you are bad, she is bloody bad.”

Promising an edge-of-the-seat experience, the upcoming web original by Aha is to showcase Nivetha Pethuraj as the titular character Mary.

‘Bloody Mary’ will start streaming on Aha soon.

Kireeti Damaraju, Rajkumar Kasiredy, Brahmaji, and Ajay play pivotal characters in the film. Produced by TG Vishwa Prasad under People Media Factory.

‘Bloody Mary’ is helmed by Chandoo Mondeti, who shot to fame after his movies ‘Karthikeya’ and Naga Chaitanya’s ‘Premam’. Karthik Gattamneni is the cinematographer, while Kaala Bhairava has composed the music.

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