The OTT industry is booming in India like elsewhere in the world. The advent of OTT is always on cards but that has happened so quickly thanks to the pandemic. The role of the Governments is debatable with the discussions about censorship and creative freedom. We have just seen the Tamil Nadu Government writing to the Central Government to ban the release of The Family Man 2. At this juncture, another state government has revealed its intention to foray into the OTT space.
Saji Cheriyan, the new Kerala minister for Fisheries, Culture & Cinema in a Television interview assured that a special package is being worked out for the film industry which has been hit by the pandemic. He also went on to reveal that the Kerala Government is planning to get into OTT space.
Even though it sounds as if not possible. That is very much possible because Kerala Government already runs studios and post-production theatres (22 screens). If the government gets into the OTT space to commend the makers and assist them with more opportunities, this announcement should be welcomed. But if that is done with the intention to enforce the censorship and imposing Government’s agenda on the audience, it will only lead to more public resistance.