‘Pushpa’, ‘RRR’, and ‘KGF: Chapter 2’ have become massive successes all over the country in the past few months. Audiences have not just lapped on to the films when they were released theatrically, but they also did well when released on OTT.
Disney+ Hotstar Content Head Talks About Pan-India Success Of Regional Films On OTT
Content Head of Disney+ Hotstar, Gaurav Banerjee, opens up about how regional films are getting a pan-India appeal thanks to OTT platforms. He feels now only captivating and engaging storylines matter to the audiences and not the language.
Not just the big-budget films, but even the smaller budget, high-on-content regional films are doing well on OTT. Many of the popular OTT platforms are keeping specific sections for regional films, and that is giving a boost to the viewership. Even if the language is unknown to the viewer, they can still easily watch the film.
Talking about how OTT platforms have helped regional cinema to become pan-India hits, Gaurav Banerjee, Head Content, Disney+ Hotstar & HSM Entertainment Network, Disney Star, says, “OTT platforms offer viewers the opportunity to discover content, sans geographical and language barriers. This is helping viewers widen their watch preferences which are slowly, and steadily, building the market for regional titles. With evolving consumer needs, we believe OTT platforms are becoming stations that are giving audiences content options that appeal to their sensibilities.”
Not just the direct to OTT releases, but films that have been released in theatres are getting a new lease of life on varied OTT platforms. Lots of films which have probably not done great business at the box-office are suddenly becoming top trending films on their respective OTT platforms after the release.
“Recent successes with regional films, like ‘Bro Daddy’, ‘Akhanda’ and ‘Maaran’ is a testimony to the fact that audiences are keen on exploring content with captivating and engaging storylines,” adds Banerjee.
The dubbing industry is booming with lots of regional films getting dubbed and showcased once again on OTT platforms. At times, even with subtitles, regional films are making an impact pan-India.
“With the language barrier diminishing steadily, our aim is to offer access to viewers their local and international content in different regional languages like Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, and Malayalam, allowing for an easy transfusion of titles from one region to another,” concludes Banerjee.
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