Netflix has a great habit that distinguishes itself from other platforms. They publish impartial charts thus explaining the performance of any film/series on their platform. It helps us analyse contents through a hawk’s eye and you to know the performance of your favourite shows/movies.
Last week, the published data was much more interesting than any other week so far. It showed how Gangubai Kathiawadi brutally bashed Thalapathy Vijay’s Beast even when the latter had multiple edges.
Regardless, for the first time 5 Indian films made it to the Global Non-English list of films. It means that out of the 10 most-streamed non-English films on Netflix, 5 of them were Indian. But are Indian films really performing so good or is it just a gimmick?
But before we begin with the reality check, let’s show you the viewing stats.
3rd position by Gangubai Kathiawadi, 5th by Raw, 6th by Thar, 7th by Beast and 10th by Radhe Shyam (Hindi).
But things are not as good as they seem to be. Because the watch hours reveal the true catch. If you go to the English films then the 10th position is acquired by Men in Black: International. It has a watch hours of 4650000.
This is more than Thar which is in the sixth position. The condition of Radhe Shyam is terribly worse than that.
Even Gangubai Kathiawadi, which is the most successful Indian film on Netflix has significantly fewer watch hours than its counterpart in the English list.
The reason behind 5 films sneaking to the list is simple. The biggest Netflix release last week was ‘Senior Year’ which is too woke for a majority of Indian as well as foreign audiences. As a result, the viewers diverted towards other films which also include Indian films; particularly Gangubai Kathiawadi which was gaining immense appreciation.
Normally American, European and now even Korean films have an edge in gaining viewership. They are watched all across the globe and sadly this is not the case with Indian films.
It would be absolutely truthful to say that Indian films are a victim of bias. Foreign countries don’t appreciate let alone acknowledge the existence of good Indian movies. But at least the efforts must be made to get over those biases and Netflix India does not seem to be solving that. When Thar should be rocking the charts it is the magic of Sanjay Leela Bhansali that after years of existence, Netflix India acquired the number one position.
So currently it is delusional to celebrate the traction of Indian movies on Netflix because this is a result of multiple fortuities.
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