“This lockdown has either made everyone a cook or a Malayalam movie reviewer,” tweeted Chennai-based stand-up comedian Abishek Kumar a few months ago.
He was, and still is, right. With the pandemic and lockdown forcing people to stay indoors, most of us have resorted to digging up content on OTT platforms that we would otherwise have not discovered.
This has resulted in a significant increase in the number of unique films being uncovered on a national and international scale. So much so that a Malayalam film like Kumbalangi Nights, which is a delightful slice-of-life portrayal of a village in Kerala, has ended up as a popular title on OTT. “It is one of the most successful titles on Amazon Prime, with a viewer base across the country,”says Aparna Purohit, current head of India Originals at Amazon Prime Video.
All the time in the world
Even as the world deals with an unprecedented situation, film buffs are happily occupied with all the cinematic discoveries that they are making. Actor-director Musthafa Muhammed knows that feeling well; his Malayalam flick Kappela, starring Anna Ben, Sreenath Bhasi and Roshan Mathew, has been appreciated across the country since its release on Netflix.
“I recently got a call from a filmmaker in Maharasthra, who spoke at length about my film,” beams Musthafa, “This wouldn’t have happened if not for it being streamed on an OTT platform. The scope and reach of the film has widened.”
Tamil director Desingh Periyasamy knows a thing or two about reach. His heist rom-com film, Kannum Kannum Kolaiyadithaal (KKK), was one of the last big Tamil films to release on the big screen before the nationwide lockdown, and it also had the film industry’s who’s who and mass audiences raving about it when it subsequently dropped on Netflix. It even drew praise from Superstar Rajinikanth, who recently telephoned its director and asked him “to think of a subject for him”.
“Due to the lockdown, many celebrities who might have otherwise been busy due to shoots and commitments got the time to watch my film,” beams Desingh, adding that the Telugu version of the film is faring well too.
Word play
One of the major reasons for films garnering attention across regions is that they are subtitled, thus giving viewers anywhere in the world a peek into the cinematic universe that the director explores.
Vivek Ranjit, who has subtitled more than 150 Malayalam films, says he joined the industry to “present Malayalam films to a different audience”. With the rise in demand for content among OTT players, he has been busy; his work can be seen in hits like Ayyappanum Koshiyum, Kappela and Lucifer, films that non-Malayali audiences have discovered in recent months.
“When I subtitle, I let some of the cultural references like chechi (elder sister) stay. For some others, I put an explanation within brackets. This is to educate audiences about Malayalam culture,” explains Vivek, who adds that the OTT platforms’ algorithm-based suggestions lead people to discover other films that match their viewing preferences.
Stars promoting their films on social media also help them reach a wider audience, as has been proved in the case of comedian Danish Sait’s recent Kannada flick French Biriyani. “The good hasn’t gone to the head and the bad hasn’t gone to the heart,” tweets Danish, on the reach of his comedy, which dropped directly on Amazon Prime last month.
Content consumption patterns
Telugu cinema has had its share of notable content as well; films like Krishna And His Leela (on Netflix and Aha), Uma Maheshwara Ugra Roopasya (Netflix) and Bhanumathi & Ramakrishna (Aha) are among the most talked-about films.
Ravikanth Perepu, who directed Krishna And His Leela (KAHL) and edited Bhanumathi & Ramakrishna (BR), says that the response has been warm from Telugu-speaking as well as non-Telugu viewers.
Streaming KAHL on a global and a regional platform simultaneously, he has been getting feedback from viewers in the US, West Asia and Malaysia. Also Bengaluru, Mumbai, cities in Tamil Nadu and Kerala, and interiors of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. “It was in Malaysia Top 10 for a week. The subtitles by Raghuram Sreepada worked in our favour. Instead of literal translation, he rephrased the lines in context for English,” he says.
Apart from new Telugu films, what has come as a surprise is the popularity of films specially dubbed in Telugu for OTT. The 2015 Tamil film 36 Vayadhinile starring Jyotika, dubbed as 36 Vayasulo, is among the widely viewed films on Aha. Ajit Thakur, CEO of Aha, observes, “Globally, there has been a surge in consumption of content in native language in recent years.”
The team noticed that a large segment of Telugu viewers preferred to view content in Telugu rather than read English subtitles. Hence, they decided to stream popular films from Tamil, Kannada and Malayalam by dubbing them in Telugu.
Malayalam films Trance, Shylock and Forensic, and Tamil film Gypsy are now streaming on Aha. Commenting on 36 Vayasulo grabbing eyeballs, Ajit says, “We follow certain parameters while acquiring films, preferring recent releases. However, we make exceptions if certain films can also help us build a good library. 36 Vayadhinile was not dubbed in Telugu for theatrical release, so it’s a new film for many Telugu viewers.” Since its launch in February 2020, Aha has had 12.3 million unique visitors to the platform and registered the highest number of subscriptions in July, clocking more than a million viewers on the weekend when BR and KAHL released.
The news of Suriya’s much-awaited Tamil film Soorarai Potru opting for a direct release on Amazon Prime is a significant announcement in the OTT space; this means that fans will be able to catch a biggie across the globe at the same time in the comfort of their home. There is also Nani’s Telugu film V and Fahadh Faasil’s CU Soon to look forward to.
Zee 5 has made good in-roads; they released Tamil film Lock Up, starring Vaibhav and Venkat Prabhu, recently. Meanwhile, Disney+Hotstar, which won a lot of hearts for streaming late Sushant Singh Rajput’s Hindi flick Dil Bechara for free, also has a handful of interesting titles, as has SunNXT that primarily focusses on South Indian content. The future seems ripe for more discoveries.
(With inputs from Sangeetha Devi Dundoo and Shilpa Nair Anand)