The year has been a most exciting one for the entertainment industry. The digital space has displayed positive growth and continues to swell with every passing day. As production houses put their best foot forward, they open themselves to yet another untapped dimension of the Indian market.
The rural arena
Today the medium has evolved tremendously almost ruling over the urban arena, and fast penetrating into the rural space as well. According to the COO of Hungama Digital Media, Siddharth Roy, “Backed by competitive data prices and internet penetration in Tier II and Tier III markets, we expect the OTT space to grow even more in the coming few years. Additionally, as usage increases, we anticipate a significant rise in stories steeped in local culture and regional languages that appeal to global audiences as well.”
Technological developments
The chances to grow in the OTT platform areendless. Both the well know and lesser know platforms are taking a step up toimprovise and deliver entertainment of unmatched quality. Vishal Maheshwari ofVIU India adds, “We are looking at a future where advanced technology such asAI and VR will abet the growth of OTT platforms. With greater collaborationamong our industry, investment in richer content and quality and newtechnologies to enhance the consumer experience, we are well on course toseeing India soon be one of the biggest players in the global OTTecosystem.”
The talent space
The growing OTT space has given impetus toemployment on a very large scale. According to Neha K Bisht, the COO ofTalentNext.com (casting company), “This outflow of content definitely hasworked well for an online discovery platform like ours. There is a constantdemand for fresh faces (actors) or certain specific demands (other categorieslike singers/dancers etc.) from across the globe. We work with amateur talentsto the well-known ones across 35 different categories.”
Anupriya Goenka, who stars in Stories By Rabindranath Tagore, states, “Earlier on we have never had the likes of Sacred Games being made either for television or for cinema. Today it is the most sought after webisode, and the second part is much awaited in 2019.”
Saloni Batra, the lead in the upcomingNetflix film, Soni adds, “Writers have earlier never explored women who seem tostruggle between professional careers and domestic arena. This untapped arenatotally excites me as I even play the lead protagonist in the film.”
Here’s a look at how some of the major players are faring…
Amazon Prime
The Game of Thrones is what all the web stars swear by. The last season of the webisode is much awaited in 2019. Another hot favourite is The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel that runs on Amazon Prime. Viewers also enjoy Breathe, Comicstaan and Mirzapur. The most awaited Amazon Prime webisodes include, Four More Shots Please, Jestination Unknown, and Made in Heaven.
VIU India
On VIU India, there is Love Lust andConfusion, Kaushiki, Memories’, and Pelli Gola 1&2 (Telugu series) that istaking the platform by storm. Much awaited on the same platform is Love Lustand Confusion 2, and Unafraid. Rajeev Siddharth of Kaushiki fame cherishesOzark, while Tara Alisha Berry of Love, Lust, Confusion fame, enjoys watchingJammin.
Alt Balaji
Alt Balaji has made some serious headway in the web arena. They saw a total of 16 million+ downloads of the app and sees great IMDB ratings across all shows. The most viewed sitcoms include Apaharan. The much-awaited 2019 lot includes, Gandii Baat 2, Kehne Ko Humsafar Hain 2, Cold Lassi Aur Chicken Masala, Puncchbeat, The Verdict, State Vs Nanavati and Cartel. Lead protagonist of Apaharan fame, Nidhi Singh adds, “I totally await Gandi Baat 2 but I greatly enjoy This is Us, and Mind Hunter”. Flora Saini, lead protagonist from Gandi Baat, absolutely cherishes Broken but Beautiful and Apaharan.
Hungama Play
The platform plays a lead at experimentingwith regional content. Bar Code is one of the most viewed webisodes on thisplatform. Kaamdev Live (Marathi), Boys with Toys, and Damaged 2, is what ismost awaited on this platform. Amruta Khanvilkar, lead actor from HungamaPlay’s Damaged, says, “Damaged, House of Cards, Sabrina and The Sinner Season 2are some of my favourite shows. I also enjoyed watching Mirzapur.” AniketVishwasrao, lead in Hungama Play’s first regional original, Padded Ki Pushup,stated, “I enjoyed watching The Haunting of Hill House and Sacred Games andtotally await Game of Thrones season finale.”
