let’s face the harsh reality and mince no words. Indian television’s merit is scattered in a garbage pool of manipulative melodrama — even if it’s in the context of daily news telecasts. And its fiction shows are sagas that never end, about characters that never age. Irony dies a double death when one sees massive hoardings of a leading channel’s new primetime show, Naagin, at Metro stations (marker of an elite metropolis), in 2015! I repeat, 2015, if the makers were not keeping count! It’s equally flabbergasting to discover that the epitome of saas-bahu kitchen politics, Sasural Simar Ka, has outdone itself and is now suddenly a show about tantras and mantras. And a show like Balika Vadhu, which had initially enjoyed a cult status given its socio-cultural prominence, has now lost all sheen and is being dragged through every lame trick in the book. I also remember watching an episode once where a mother cries her eyes out throughout the episode — amidst thundering background music and awkward zooming of the tears — after discovering that her daughter had once had a boyfriend. After which, I developed selective amnesia and forgot the name of the show.
While there may still be shows that are entertaining and original, largely, fiction in Indian television is a sinking ship. And the reality shows and comedy series, with their unapologetic stereotypes and the chauvinistic and regressive overtones, cannot help either.
Fortunately for us, as 2015 is officially over, it is safe to announce that the Web series formula, which started in India in 2014, has now successfully filtered into the mainstream. Churning one blockbuster hit after the other, 2015 kept the Indian internet users hooked to a plethora of excellent short fiction shows and introduced them to a portal of vibrant creativity and charm.
YouTube channels such as AIB and The Viral Fever (TVF) not only rose to massive popularity but also received backing from established production houses and film stars. 2015 was the year of the internet and the Web series slotted for 2016 are one of the most fascinating things to look forward to this year.
Historic popularity
One of the first such shows in 2014, TVF’s Permanent Roommates, revolved around two confused lovers. The first season had five episodes, of which, the first received a million views. In 2015, TVF came up with yet another big hit, Pitchers — about four friends who give up their jobs to develop their dream start-up venture — and this time, the first episode received two million views. Pitchers by far is the most successful show among all the Indian web series. In fact, its catchphrase, ‘Tu beer hain’ is a part of the youths’ colloquial lexicon now. Not only that, it has also managed to beat global shows like Friends (1994-2004) and Seinfeld (1989-1998) in IMDB’s top-rated TV show list. Another rage among the young lot last year was Bang Baaja Baaraat (BBB), created by the youth wing of Yash Raj Films (YRF), Y Films. Starring Ali Fazal and Angira Dhar in the lead roles, it was the story of two lovers (and their families) belonging to two different social setups, deciding to get married, and the marriage going obnoxiously wrong on D-day. Apart from these, Sony lIV’s #loveBytes and YRF’s Man’s World were some of the other popular names that garnered the attention of innumerable Web viewers.
Added Star power
While BBB starred seasoned actors such as Rajit Kapoor and Shernaz Patel, and Man’s World had appearances by Parineeti Chopra, Kalki Koechlin, Ayushmann Khurrana, Richa Chadda etc, director Rohan Sippy is said to be currently working on two new such shows for Eros Now, titled The Client, starring Bipasha Basu, and Side Hero, starring Kunaal Roy Kapur and Konkona Sen Sharma. UTV’s Ronnie Screwvala, on the other hand, is working on a unique reality show that will experiment with gender transformation. Big production houses foraying into the Web is a clear giveaway about how the digital hub is the future’s mainstream.
Both TVF and AIB had already made sketch comedy popular in India through their numerous spoofs and other humorous videos. Web series then became a delightful extension of their triumphant resources. AIB — primarily led by four young men — has always employed digital narratives to provide wholesome infotainment. They have advocated for Net Neutrality, mocked the mercenary and consumerist approaches of arranged marriages to make a social statement, parodied mainstream cinema’s embarrassingly poor content, and so on, among many other different themes. Recently, they have been alerting viewers to not fall into the trap of Facebook’s Free Basics and how it is a threat to internet freedom. Merging information with entertainment, no wonder they have hit the nail on the head.
Their Roast in early 2015 was one of the most talked about — albeit controversial — videos of the year. In a first for India, it brought established names like Karan Johar, Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone, Arjun Kapoor, Rajeev Masand, Alia Bhatt, Sonakshi Sinha etc under the same roof and reduced them to objects of ridicule; and in the process made about `40 lakh, which went to different charity organistions.
Absence of censorship
What makes these series and videos popular is that they are unadulterated. There is neither any censorship and bleeping of cuss words nor any self-righteous appropriation in terms of their plotlines and character formations. Keeping the language colloquial and youth-oriented, they strike a sense of familiarity with the viewers. Y Film’s CEO Ashish Patil had mentioned that they had 18,000 subscribers before Man’s World and BBB, but after the shows were released they reached two lakh subscribers and around 17 million hits on YouTube.
TVF, which was started in 2015 by alumni of IIT Kharagpur mostly, now has offices in three cities and it is a 90-member team. They started making shows for the internet after their proposals were rejected by television channels. No wonder Arunabh Kumar, TVF’s Creative Experiment Officer (CEO), once said that it was overwhelming to find that makers who had turned them down are now drawing inspiration from them; possibly hinting at YRF.
Budget and sponsorships
One must, at the same time, also not be under the impression that these shows could be produced within an economic budget. There is, of course, monetisation from the views on YouTube. Nevertheless, Pitchers was made at a cost of `50 lakh per episode. It was sponsored by Kingfisher, Pond’s and Uber. Permanent Roommates, which revolved around the lovers finding a house for themselves, merged with real estate portal CommonFloor. Apparently, the makers now want to make the second season on the same scale as Kaun Banega Crorepati. Additionally, these shows have generated T-shirts with their dialogues, posters and such merchandise from the series which are available for sale online. Also, the listicles and memes which fans have created on social media are only strengthening their popularity. Reportedly, 2016 will see plenty of more such Web series. ScoopWhoop, after their Baked last year, intends to make six more this year.
Brand building and promotions
These online channels have also become a hot hub for film promotions. While AIB and TVF never had a shortage of stars appearing in their videos, be it Alia Bhatt’s spoof on herself or Irrfan Khan’s parody on item numbers (both for AIB), TVF’s Qtiyapa had a series of such sketches about different subjects from Roadies to censorship, which starred Mahesh Bhatt, Dibakar Banerjee, Anurag Kashyap, Sudhir Mishra etc. Recently, they also came up with a promotional video, Bhaag Jeetu Bhaag, where Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol kidnap Jitendra Kumar — since both actors play gangsters in Dilwale — and the rest is for the viewers to download the TVF app and find out how it unfolds. In the same vein, Shuddh Desi Romance’s parody of the film’s song Gerua is not only hilarious but also features SRK. If reports are true, TVF is working towards making a film.
Season format in India
An important reason to encourage these series would be two-fold. First, it’s high time India adapted itself to the season format in shows. TV queen Ekta Kapoor has repeatedly maintained that she could create better content if the Indian audience welcomes the season format, just like they do in the West. That, sadly, seems to be a distant dream. Almost a decade ago, YRF had experimented with the format with shows like Rishta.com and Maahi Way, and there was also the very popular Sarabhai vs Sarabhai. Unfortunately none of them lasted beyond a single season. These online series, on the other hand, have a better future where they can experiment with the content and keep it rejuvenated.
Curbing Piracy
Other than that, it’s time to boost them because they are a befitting answer to piracy. They make online content so cheap that one need not resort to the sorcery of torrents. There is no copyright, legal, business or any other violation. India doesn’t have internet streaming devices such as Netflix. Because of the problem of piracy and steep licensing costs, Netflix hasn’t penetrated into the subcontinent. Under these circumstances, one can only hope that these channels could be our answer to Netflix. At the same time, however, it has been unanimously maintained by these channels that Indian TV will continue to be the dominant medium in cases such as this. That TV doesn’t seem to be losing its importance any time soon is still a valid rhetoric .
India’s answer to Netflix
It’s ironic because two of the finest shows in the world today, namely, the Emmy-nominated House of Cards and Orange is the New Black, were originally only available on Netflix, before they became television shows. And given its grand shows or its film deals such as the four-picture deal with Adam Sandler, Netflix is nothing short of a TV network now. Sandler’s The Ridiculous Six was premiered on Netflix. last month, James Franco launched four new Web series, and Ashton Kutcher is said to be trying to reinvent himself by starring in The Ranch, which will debut on Netflix in 2016. Also, guess who was a guest on the Web series, Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee, last yearIJ US President Barack Obama!
Not that Indian television has always been oblivious of charismatic visual aesthetics. Its shows originally had powerful and enchanting content. If the previous generation watched Mahabharat, Buniyaad, Hum log, Byomkesh Bakshi, Banegi Apni Baat, Karamchand, Yeh Jo Hai Zindagi, Mungerilal Ke Haseen Sapne, Office Office, Dekh Bhai Dekh etc, my generation adored Malgudi Days, Hum Paanch, Hip Hip Hurray, left Right left, Sarabhai vs Sarabhai, or even the desi superheroes such as Shaktimaan and Captain Vyom. Of course, there were also the dubbed versions of Small Wonder, Aladdin, and the Disney wonderland. Although we have also been privy to Balaji’s monumental, melodramatic world when the K-series were at their peak, and one must confess, a Kasautii Zindagii Kay has indeed been a guilty pleasure for many. After all, it’s the same generation that put Chetan Bhagat’s notion of warped modern romances on a pedestal.
Somewhere between Small Wonder and Chetan Bhagat, the Indian kids of the 1990s had lost touch with their unfiltered, uninhibited, undistracted instincts. But with the emergence of Web series, it looks like we will get back what we had lost in a battle of TRPs.
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