The pandemic push for OTT in the entertainment space has resulted in a paradigm shift. It has not just widened the choices for the audience but also has made way for more female-centric stories.
Last week, Sakshi Tanwar-starrer Mai: A Mother’s Rage premiered on Netflix. A transformation saga of a docile homemaker confronted by situations, Mai is the latest to join the long list of female-centric plots on different platforms in the last few years.
How OTT gained space?
In 2020, when Covid began to take over our lives, the entertainment industry largely dominated by television serials was in for a shocker. Sets had to be packed up and serials were on hold for a few months. No films were being released, considering the tight lockdown.
That made many wonder if the fledgling OTT scene in India would receive an impetus.
And, it did- going by the sea-change the entertainment sector has seen in the last two years. OTT has elbowed its way into our lives, comfortably positioning itself on the top of our entertainment list.
Setting the tone
OTT had taken the lead with female-oriented subjects much before the pandemic. In 2019, Lust Stories, Karenjit Kaur, and Four More Shots Please! showed the potential of the medium and the appetite for the same among the audience.
The pandemic thrust was evident in the responses received by the Sushmita Sen-starrer Aarya, a thriller series, about a mother who sees her whole world falling apart after her husband is killed, forcing her to enter the dark underbelly of crime.
Regional content threw in some fresh content like Sara’s in Malayalam, which delved into the topic of a woman’s reproductive rights. Ponmagal Vandhaal, a Tamil legal drama starring Jyothika become one of the most-watched films on digital services in 2020. It was one of the first movies to release in the thick of the pandemic.
Other noteworthy films have been Rashmi Rocket featuring Taapsee portraying an athlete, and Sherni, starring Vidhya Balan, which was based on the real-life story of a woman forest officer. While the series on a group of aspiring women, Bombay Begums, stole the show, Haseen Dilruba on Netflix remains the most-watched film of 2021 on the platform, reaching the top 10 in 22 countries. A mystery thriller, the plot revolves around a homemaker accused of getting her husband killed.
Women lead the show
With nearly 50% of Netflix India’s workforce being women, it has a high representation of women in its stories and behind the scenes. Amazon Prime Video has also announced the launch of Maitri- A Female Collective of women from media and films that will come together to discuss experiences, perspectives, and challenges. Who knows; these constant discussions can also inspire the work on the platform in the coming years.
The advantage for all the platforms, including Zee 5 and Hot Star, is the absence of pressure to rake in the moolah to join the 100-crore club. While films released in theatres too are cutting the clutter by coming up with unconventional themes sans the quintessential macho hero, OTT has the inherent advantage of delivering a mix and the larger space to experiment. This bid is a win-win situation for OTT and diversity.
