History is perhaps becoming the new crime thriller on OTT. When Mirzapur and Sacred Games blew up on the internet, dark crime thrillers became the trend. Every platform wanted a piece of that pie, but soon, audiences got tired of the overkill. Now, the same pattern seems to be repeating with historical fiction.
SonyLIV is the dominant force when it comes to historical fiction with shows like Rocket Boys, Freedom at Midnight, and The Hunt: The Rajiv Gandhi Assassination under their belt. Well shot and well informed with always some meaningful story to tell, their efforts genuinely raised the bar for storytelling of historical fiction on Indian OTT. But seeing that success, other platforms have jumped in too. With Netflix we got Heeramandi and Black Warrant, while Prime Video added Ae Watan Mere Watan to its slate. And the list keeps growing, now faster than ever.
Sure, these shows are often rich, well-produced, and informative. But when every other new title is some historical epic or political retelling, fatigue is bound to creep in, just like it did with crime thrillers. Soon as it tends to happen, these shows will only be made with the intention of cashing in with the least bit of care put in, ruining the standard that SonyLIV has set with these shows. The new show on Amazon Prime, The Revolutionaries unfortunately seems to be falling for this very flaw with bombastic production and popular internet personalities on screen over a strong narrative. Nikhil Advani is helming this project with a popular cast. It must compete against the standards of SonyLIV to even make a point.
OTT platforms need to be careful here. What is entertaining today might end up feeling repetitive tomorrow if variety isn’t brought back into the mix.
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