Big wonders on small screens
What's the common thread between 'Sacred Games', 'Mirzapur', 'Breathe', 'Inside Edge' and 'Ghoul'? They are big names and were big hits. But not on the big screen. The year turned out to be one of big wonders on the small screen – all thanks to the proliferation of over-the-top or OTT platforms in India. It was in 2017 that OTT platforms, which provide video content over the Internet, made their presence felt in the Indian market. This year, its world expanded with a robust roster of content.
"Content emerged as the undisputed king, not just in a proverbial sense, but even in terms of what clicked with the audience. Since the audience is becoming increasingly diverse, storytellers have the option to explore narratives that resonate at a hyper-local level, yet, can be appreciated by a global audience as well," Siddhartha Roy, Chief Operating Officer of Hungama Digital said.
The shrinking size of screens is in no way a measure of the size of the entertainment. If there was Saif Ali Khan and Nawazuddin Siddiqui entwined in a tale of a police officer's race against time to save Mumbai from an attack after a tip-off in 'Sacred Games', there was also Radhika Apte entering the paranormal realm with 'Ghoul'.
R Madhavan captured the plight of a father in his digital debut 'Breathe'; Ali Fazal and Pankaj Tripathi narrated a story of lawless land filled with action with 'Mirzapur'; Rohan Sippy had fun spreading laughs with his humorous take on all Bollywood things with 'Side Hero'; and Sunny Leone's life story unfolded with 'Karenjit Kaur: The Untold Story of Sunny Leone'.
There were others which made a mark. Aravind Adiga's 2016 novel 'Selection Day' became subject of a web series and Mithila Palkar and Dhruv Sehgal navigated the complicated world of relationships with the second season of 'Little Things'.
Freedom comes with some sense of responsibility, Roy pointed.
"The Internet is easily accessible to all, including children, while that poses a great responsibility upon platforms and content creators like us, it is also a huge opportunity in terms of providing our consumers differential/unmodified content."
