Regular readers of Binged must know that we’ve always taken up the case of bias in top OTT platforms, against a few Indian languages. We had first highlighted how top OTT platforms like Netflix and Prime Video were openly giving stepmotherly treatment to Malayalam content. Malayalam hit ‘The Great Indian Kitchen’ had found no takers amongst Indian OTT platforms at first, and the film had to release on the then unknown platform, Saina Play.
Cut to today, Malayalam content has become hot property among all major streaming platforms, including SonyLIV, Netflix, Prime Video India and Disney Plus Hotstar. OTT platforms are falling over themselves to grab the latest Malayalam movies for both post-theatrical and direct-to-digital releases. There have also been SonyLIV has several Malayalam series announced for the coming days on OTT.
However, now we see the same stepmotherly treatment being meted out to Kannada content on every top OTT platform. Whenever Netflix India, Disney Plus Hotstar and Prime Video India have announced their Indian slates, they’ve consisted predominantly of Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and even Malayalam content. Not just that, even Bengali, Marathi and Gujarati content is being announced left, right and center by OTT platforms.
However, Kannada content has been glaringly missing from the lineups of every OTT platform. This, despite Kannada being the seventh most spoken language India. And every OTT platform is guilty of the oversight. To put it bluntly, Kannada is the one language that is consistently meted out shocking step-motherly treatment by all the OTT platforms in the country – both big and small.
Recently, SonyLIV announced their slate of an impressive 35 Indian titles for 2023. And guess what – there were Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam titles in the mix. But — no Kannada titles.
May we ask why?
Why don’t the top OTT platforms — all deep-pocketed ones, mind you — make any effort to create original content in Kannada? Is Kannada a difficult language to understand or make content in? Are there not enough good content creators in the Kannada entertainment industry? Certainly not for both the above points – going by the thumping, blockbuster successes of KGF, KGF Chapter 2 and Kantara.
Not just creating new original content in Kannada ml. OTT platforms are lax also in providing dubbed versions of popular shows in Kannada. They’ll dub shows and movies in Tamil, Telugu, English shows in Hindi too. But when it comes to Kannada, these platforms do the disappearing act. Why the bias, folks? If a piece of content can be dubbed in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Hindi (where applicable), then it can surely be dubbed in Kannada too.
So then why?
The latest announcement of SonyLIV’s content slate — and its glaring ommission of Kannada — has only served to rub salt into already festering wounds of Kannada language speakers. Harried Kannada viewers keep demanding Kannada original titles and Kannada dubbed versions for popular films and series. But to no avail. It’s as if Kannada viewers don’t exist as a category for Netflix, Prime Video, Disney Plus Hotstar, SonyLIV, ZEE5, and the rest.
Care to reply, dear Netflix India, Prime Video India, ZEE5, SonyLIV, Disney Plus Hotstar?