In a bid to make deeper inroads into India, Netflix is looking to bring a wider range of local content to the platform in 2022, including regional language content in Tamil, Telegu and Malayalam.
Monika Shergill, Vice President, Content, Netflix India told BusinessLine in an exclusive interaction: “In terms of content, we are looking at mixed genres, fast-moving genres. We are looking at Hindi and regional language content in Tamil, Telegu and Malayalam. There will be a primary focus on films in regional content.”
Shergill said that there will be many powerful and diverse stories told on the platform next year.
As the pandemic wanes and cinemas start to open, Shergill is not concerned as films start to return to theatres and the direct to stream era is over for big-ticket properties. Shergill said, “There will be more for anyone to enjoy and not less because there is no direct to digital. We are not missing direct to digital at all since we have a lot of content lined up. In fact, it is good for films to open in theatres and then come to the service, so that people who want to watch it in theatres can watch it while people who prefer to stream can do that.”
According to Shergill, Netflix’s content strategy will continue to focus on its own originals.
“Core of our content strategy is the originals that we make- we are programming bigger- we are programming much more diverse”. Meanwhile, “License cinema (being a) great addition to the strategy, we are very excited to have a lot of films we have signed on that will come post-theatrical releases onto the platform” said Shergill.
When asked about the biggest draw for the Indian audience within Netflix’s vast repertoire of content, Shergill noted, “If you look at Netflix’s top ten, you will see local content feature consistently in it.” This is another reason why local content is a major focus for Netflix.
Netflix is slated to release, Aranyak, a crime thriller starring Raveena Tandon, on December 10. “Our audiences love thrillers, that is our staple. The motivation to make this show is how uniquely Indian this story is. We as a people define our stories and that, in turn, defines us to the world,” said Tanya Bami, Director, Local Language Originals.
