Video streaming firms are investing heavily in historical programmes, which might cost them as much as 20-30 per cent more than their modern counterparts. As yet unannounced, Applause Entertainment is developing a multi-season series about Gandhi based on the rights it acquired to two books on the topic. There’s going to be another instalment of Rocket Boys, the biographical series on Homi J. Bhabha and Vikram Sarabhai that SonyLIV had remarkable success with. It is also working on programmes based on other historical accounts. In the works is a documentary about K.B. Hegdewar, the founder of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, as well as a Netflix film version of The Archies, directed by Zoya Akhtar and set in 1960s India. The epidemic has brought in older and family viewers to the OTT fold, according to executives at streaming providers, who say such stories draw a more mature audience to the platform.
Many older individuals have discovered OTT’s accessibility and diversity while under lockdown, even though they were among the early users of digital material. The average age of Indian SVoD viewers has now grown. People who can now afford OTT subscriptions want intellectual material and deeper tales, according to Ashish Golwalkar, head of programming at Sony Pictures Networks India for SonyLIV and Sony Entertainment TV. Golwalkar said the platform is dedicated to sharing the tales of India via book adaptations and the stories of those who had a role in the country’s establishment.
“Period plays and narratives attract to audiences of all ages, regardless of gender or inclination,” says Applause Entertainment chief creative officer Deepak Segal. History fascinates a wide range of people, and age is merely a figure.” For us, it’s critical that we learn the history of how we got here and what happened in the past so that we can tell excellent tales, Segal said.
As Locomotive Global Media’s assistant producer Laura Mishra points out, “the investment for historical pieces is clearly larger than tales set in a current context.” Locomotive Global Media is making a programme about the burgeoning Indian television business in the 1990s. They’re also the most-watched series on streaming services, based on audience feedback and opinion. It is essential to do extensive study in order to retain the authenticity of a period play. According to Mishra, a decent, effective, and the financially successful period piece must have the right writer and director.
Akshay Bardapurkar, the creator of the Planet Marathi OTT platform, estimates that the art direction and production design of historical programmes, including sets and costumes, account for 70 to 80 per cent of the overall expenditure.
There is little doubt that period-specific material appeals to audiences all across the world, as shown by recent market studies. People from all around the world have been able to enjoy films and television programmes including The Imitation Game, Sardar Uddham, and Gangubai Kathiawadi as well as The Crown,, and Bridgerton, according to Mishra.
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