It seems Netflix completely forgot about the vernacular vertical. Isn’t it strange to see that in a country so diverse, a streaming giant like Netflix ignored the ever so evolving regional content. Given that the regional movies like Kappela and Krishna and His Leela that released on the platform created quite a buzz recently, makes it more so questionable.
This recent line-up leaves very little room for doubt regarding Netflix concentrating more on the majority Hindi speaking population of India. Though Netflix boasts a wide variety of content on the platform, it has lacked behind on the regional front for quite a while now, if compared to it’s fellow competitors.
In a recent interview with a prominent media agency Vice President of Content – Netflix India, Monika Shergill, did not seem to answer the question directly regarding no south Indian content in the recent announcement. She answered in a diplomatic manner saying that the regional cinema titles on the platform are doing great and that Netflix is very invested in finding stories from down south. But how does that justify the absence of any such title in this massive unveiling of titles?
The regional cinema has immense untapped potential and streaming platforms like Netflix can make the most of the opportunity by providing them that necessary platform. The array of resources that these OTT giants have matched with the incredible talent in the regional industry could make for a win-win situation for both of them. OTT platforms are the best kind of stage to integrate north Indian hindi speaking audience with the south Indian film industry. But the step motherly treatment towards regional content is not the way forward for sure.