Nukkad Naatak, a tiny indie film with a production budget under ₹1 crore, has trended in the top 10 on Netflix, reaching audiences who had no idea the film even existed. This is the most extreme example of a recent phenomenon in which streaming has turned films that have not received their due in theatres into 'successes' on OTT.
Whether it is films like Haq or Dhadak 2 that failed at the box office and were dubbed 'flops' or something like a Kennedy that never even got its intended theatrical release, OTT has emerged as the life raft for these films, allowing them to become 'cult hits' within months of release.
OTT has ensured that it takes just weeks for films to break the tag of 'flop' and become successes later. Shazia Iqbal's Dhadak 2 was hailed by critics, but it failed to earn big bucks at the box office. Many termed it a flop until it released on Netflix six weeks later. Pretty soon, it became one of the most-watched films on the platform.
Independent films find it harder to catch the audience's eye in theatres. Vadh 2 starred Sanjay Mishra and Neena Gupta. The film had a brief, unmemorable run at the theatres, lasting just two weeks. And it would have been forgotten had it not been for its run on OTT. On Netflix, it reached 1.5 million views in its first two weeks and trended at number 1 in India.
The success of Yami Gautam and Emraan Hashmi's Haq was even bigger. The film, which earned only ₹30 crore at the box office, had a jaw-dropping 11 million views on Netflix and trended in the top 10 in 14 countries outside India.
OTT platforms have also emerged as saviours for award-winning indie films that do not find space theatrically or do so only in limited release. After its triumphant show at Cannes, Payal Kapadia's All We Imagine As Light streamed on JioHotstar, topping the viewership charts.
Platforms admit that they are looking for diverse films, betting on smaller films to break out in time, and sometimes just going by their gut. Monika Shergill, Vice President, Content, Netflix India, admits that buying these independent films is not always a business decision.
The democratisation of cinema is perhaps the biggest achievement of this trend. An independent film like Nukkad Naatak is on the same platform as Dhurandhar. There is no 10 shows versus 10000 screen disparity here. This allows those films to reach newer audiences.
