Streaming Hot

OTT platforms are a boon to filmmakers who can build narratives without fear or censorship

- Kunal Purandare

Towards the end of 1998, a sizeable mob belonging to a political party ran amok in Mumbai, vandalising theatres for screening Deepa Mehta’s film, Fire. The flames of dissent against the portrayal of a lesbian relationship between the lead actors, Shabana Azmi and Nandita Das, soon spread to other parts of the country. While the perpetrators of violence justified their act, terming the depiction “alien to our culture”, activists and members of the film fraternity called it an attack on the freedom of speech. Much water has flown under the bridge since then.

Almost two decades later, Romil and Jugal (2017), an adaptation of William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, but with two young men as protagonists, has found loyal viewers among a smartphone-savvy and hungry-for-quality-content audience. The 10-episode series streamed on ALTBalaji, a digital offering from Balaji Telefilms launched in April 2017, has been lauded for its sensitive representation of same-sex love.

The difference between 1998 and 2018 is not just a result of awareness and changing attitudes—the Supreme Court is hearing arguments for and against repealing Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, which criminalises homosexuality—but also the way Indians consume content.

The number of single-screen theatres can now be counted on our fingertips, as multiplexes began to mushroom in the noughties. The latter offered multiple shows of the same movie, and screenings of different films, including foreign and regional ones, at the same venue. Today, all of these and more can be viewed on our phones or televisions, thanks to the proliferation of over-the-top (OTT) platforms in the country. Not only do they offer content across genres for a nominal subscription fee, but also provide filmmakers the freedom to tell stories without fear.