While streaming platforms have created a new set of stars up North, thanks to a slew of original content in languages like Hindi, Marathi and Bengali, the South is lagging behind. In 2017, Tamil director Balaji Mohan made a splash with As I’m Suffering from Kadhal on Hotstar, and now, over a year later, shows like Vella Raja (Prime Video), What’s up Velakkari and Auto Shankar (Zee5) are trying to turn the tide. But Mohan, who has since turned producer, backing young directors, admits the process to “reach the approval stage” is more difficult now.
Opinions are mixed on this. A director who recently attempted to pitch a story, but gave up after the platforms kept changing their idea about what would work, says the criteria is fluid. “Once, it was young, urban stories. Then thrillers took over. Now, I hear biographies are in. The decision makers are all in Mumbai, and clueless about local requirements,” he says. Ajay Bhuyan, director of GangStars , Prime Video’s first foray into Telugu, however, believes the fault also lies with producers. “In Mumbai, they [production houses] get around 100 pitches a day. But from the South, it around one a month,” he says. “To make a 10-part series, you need to give eight hours of content. Producers are more focussed on films here, and, I think, there is a laziness in making the content.”
Starting slow
The Malayalam industry, known for its creative output, should have been lording it in the OTT space. But when Zee5 began with Utsaha Ithihasam last year, the show — which won an award at the Seoul Web Series Festival — did not find much traction. Currently, it has Porn Ok Please .
“We may have started late, but that’s not a bad thing,” says actor Parvathy Thiruvothu, who is researching the OTT space. “It allows us to learn from what has been done in Hindi and Marathi, and what worked and what did not.” Malayalam comes with a content all its own — sarcasm, dark humour, comedy. And on streaming platforms, which “allows us freedom to work without censorship”, you can showcase them all. Sub-titles will be the biggest trump card, she feels. “I also see it as an opportunity to bring in more women into the industry.” Thiruvothu hopes to get into direction and production, too, and explore features. “But whatever we do, it can’t be mindless. It should be so well made, it strikes a chord.”
Diversifying reach
Players like OML, Applause Entertainment and Zee5 are actively looking to the South now. Suriya Narayanan, South Head - Original Content, Zee5, says the group has so far launched several shows each in Tamil, Telugu — High Priestess , starring Amala Akkineni is doing well — and in Malayalam. “We might look at Kannada in the future,” he says, adding Zee5 is also planning to acquire original TV series, and is in talks with Minbimbingal productions, which produced path-breaking content in the 1990s and early 2000.
The channel has a few shows awating release: Thiravam , starring actor Prasanna (May 21) and Postman in Tamil; Ms Subbulakshmi (starring Lakshmi Manchu), political thriller Chadarangam and gangster-political saga Gangs of Dharmapuri in Telugu; and Mystic Rose , Mirror and Aarpoo (about boat racing) in Malayalam.
This, however, begs the question why OTT has been a non-starter in Kannada. Director Pawan Kumar believes it boils down to demand. “Not many people are keen on watching something interesting, even if it is shown for free,” says Kumar, who is co-directing the mini-series Leila , with Deepa Mehta and Shanker Raman. “For instance, there was this beautiful dance video by Gomtesh Upadhya that was released in Kannada, Telugu and Tamil. I tracked its viewership. While Telugu and Tamil did more than 10 lakh views in the initial days, there was hardly a lakh in Kannada. Numbers bring in OTT platforms; without that, it is difficult for them to consider original content in Kannada.”
