Netflix eyes original series, films, vernacular content to widen reach in 2021

Unlike rival Amazon Prime Video, American streaming platform Netflix is not looking at big acquisitions of mainstream Bollywood films as its key strategy in 2021. The Reed Hastings-owned platform is focusing on its original web shows, films and language content to widen reach and deepen consumer engagement.

Netflix has readied a new slate of programming like Tribhanga, starring Bollywood star Kajol, an LGBT tale Cobalt Blue, and Tamil anthology Navarasa for release. It pitches these as authentic Indian stories that have the potential to travel the globe.

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To be sure, the service has had original films such as Lust Stories and Love Per Square Foot as early as 2018. “Unlike other services, it’s always been part of our plan to have original films, we’ve always had that unique understanding about how much Indians enjoy their films,” Srishti Arya, director, international original film, Netflix India said. In an earlier blog, Monika Shergill, vice-president, content, Netflix India had pointed out that India notched up the highest viewing of films on the service globally in 2020 and that 80% of its members in the country chose to watch a film every week during the year.

With theatres shut for more than seven months last year and production of web originals stalled, media experts have pointed out that acquisition of feature films helped fill the content lag on video streaming platforms while enabling some recovery for producers. However, even with its acquisitions of films like Gunjan Saxena-The Kargil Girl and Ludo that were meant to go to theatres, Arya said the company was not filling lacunas.

“We had a vision for the kind of films that we do and most of the films that we’ve gotten fit beautifully into that narrative,” Arya said, dismissing the suggestion that its acquisitions during the pandemic have been niche compared to its competitors. Some like Amazon Prime Video, have spent upwards of ₹90 crore on mainstream entertainers like Coolie No.1 while Disney+ Hotstar acquired a clutch of titles including Laxmii, Bhuj: The Pride of India, Sadak 2 and others in a bulk deal estimated to have cost them Rs. 400 crore.

Balkrishna Hari Singh, founder and CEO, Frenzi - a single window search and recommendation app for streaming content said big movie acquisitions like Laxmii may not have got critical appreciation but they create enough hype and noise for some fence-sitters to feel compelled to join the streaming service and then lap up other original, long-form content that is on offer.

“Amazon clearly looks at movies first and then originals. However, Netflix’s movie strategy has been thoroughly muted and even its acquisitions have been the arthouse kind that could play both in India and abroad,” a senior executive at a rival platform said on condition of anonymity. The person added that the backlash to films like Coolie No.1 and Laxmii will definitely lead to VoD platforms reconsidering how much they pay for movies.

To be sure, Gaurav Gandhi, director and country general manager, Amazon Prime Video India had earlier said that through digital premieres, high-quality films becoming available to customers to be streamed in the comfort and safety of their homes during the pandemic has led to them now expecting this to happen on a continued basis.

Arya, however, emphasized that Netflix does not see theatres as an alternative and that the company will continue to license titles post their theatrical release as it tries to build its non-Hindi slate that saw much traction last year with titles like Miss India, Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo and Andhaghaaram. She, however, declined to share details of the company’s investment in India for the coming year adding that Netflix’s commitment reflects in its regular supply of local content.

The desire to go mainstream is manifest in Netflix’s Rs. 199 mobile-only plan, the Rs. 349 test plan that works on all devices except TV sets and the latest collaboration with comic star Kapil Sharma.

“There are 11 languages in India that we have content in at Netflix and our ability to dub and subtitle in 32 languages are things we bring in. So we want to be authentic to what the creator’s vision is and we believe that having passionate, honest creators on the service is what is going to help us penetrate deeper,” Arya added.