India is a highly diverse country, and all popular OTT platforms operating here understand the importance of offering diverse content to their respective users. Streaming services such as JioHotstar and SonyLIV seem to grasp this need more deeply than notable competitors like Netflix. While both JioHotstar and SonyLIV provide most of their regional content in multiple dubbed languages, Netflix, by contrast, remains limited in its language offerings.
Recently, JioHotstar announced that Special Ops 2 will be released in seven different languages, including Bengali and Marathi, in addition to the usual entries like Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, and Malayalam. Similarly, SonyLIV is also known for making its original shows available in multiple languages.
It’s not that Netflix doesn’t offer dubbed content, but many believe the platform could perform better in terms of reach, viewership, and subscriber growth if it expanded the availability of its Indian-made titles in other regional languages such as Marathi and Bengali.
The lack of Bengali or Marathi dubbed content is clearly evident on Netflix India. For instance, the highly anticipated Rana Naidu Season 2 is available primarily in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, and English. The same goes for Dabba Cartel, although that show can also be streamed in Spanish, Thai, and Portuguese.
While dubbing Indian content in foreign languages may support global market expansion, it wouldn’t hurt Netflix to also cater more robustly to regional Indian audiences.
Saif Ali Khan’s Jewel Thief is currently available to stream in English, Tamil, Telugu, and Hindi for Indian viewers. For international viewers, the film is offered in Spanish, Thai, Indonesian, Portuguese, Polish, and Turkish. A similar pattern applies to Nadaaniyan, Dhoom Dhaam, The Royals, and many of Netflix India’s 2025 releases.
While Bengali and Marathi are major Indian languages, Tamil and Telugu (often grouped as “South Indian languages”) have historically shown stronger box office and cross-regional content consumption trends. This has led OTT platforms to prioritize dubbing into these languages. In that sense, Netflix’s initial focus on South Indian markets is understandable.
However, we cannot ignore the growing number of OTT viewers in regions where Marathi and Bengali are widely spoken today.
Moreover, the majority of India’s population lives outside the top metropolitan areas. These viewers are often price-sensitive and prefer content in their native languages. JioHotstar and SonyLIV are actively targeting these segments with hyper-localized content and aggressive dubbing strategies. In contrast, Netflix is lagging behind in this area.
While Netflix has invested heavily in Indian originals in recent years, its limited dubbing efforts in languages like Bengali and Marathi may give the impression that it isn’t fully committed to serving all Indian audiences.
Despite its significant spending on Indian content, Netflix’s narrow focus on select regional languages limits access for a large portion of Indian viewers. This ultimately affects its impact, return on investment (ROI), and viewership in the country.
This could be one of the reasons Netflix has failed to make it to the list of the top ten most-watched Indian shows on OTT post-COVID, despite heavy investment in Indian-made content over the past 4–5 years.
If regional consumption continues to grow exponentially, as many online reports suggest, and competitors keep capitalizing on this trend, Netflix will face increasing pressure to broaden its language offerings. Doing so is critical to remain competitive and unlock the next phase of growth in one of the world’s most important streaming markets. The trend clearly suggests that the future of OTT in India is increasingly regional. Stay tuned for more updates.
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