A Production House is Tapping Net-savvy Youth to Build its Niche "Web series will not overtake the traditional forms of entertainment in future. There will be a harmonious co-existence"
By Nidhi Singh •
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Web series have suddenly become everybody's favourite in India in the past two-three years. Keeping a tab on the changing viewership trends, the entertainment industry is bringing in diversity in their digital content making it fresh, original and youth –specific.
The web series are always associated with freedom of thought and allow artists to experiment with new content.
Having noticed the new trend in the industry, Amritpal Bindra and Anand Tiwari founded Still and Still Media Collective, a leading content house that aims to experiment with digital content bringing in creativity, innovation, and quality.
The company currently operates under five verticals — Still and Still Moving Pictures for film production; Still and Still Out of the Box for television production, Still and Still Net for digital content, The Tweakers for VFX and Still and Still Brand Solutions.
The digital arm is known for some of the most popular, sought-after web shows, including Bang Baaja Baarat, Sex Chat with Pappu and Papa — the country's first digital sex education series on Yash Raj Films web channel— and Girl in the City Season 1 and 2 on Disney's Youth Channel Bindass.
For Youths Only
Bindra's motivation behind making a web series is his long-time wish to tell great tales in an efficient and effective manner. He said web series offer a unique opportunity to create disruptive content across genres for a large audience.
For Tiwari, the biggest advantage of making a web series is its power to attract young generation the most.
"The web series media itself is young. And so are we. As audiences we have the opportunity to watch shows made worldwide. And as makers, that is the biggest advantage. Your viewership is not restricted to India. We have so many people from various countries watching and liking our shows," added Tiwari.
Future Looks Promising
The future of web series seems exciting in India. More and more companies here are showing interest and investing in the sector every year.
Bindra stressed that the future looked promising with the increasing ad spends on digital media.
He claimed, "A number of people with good stories now have a chance to share their ideas with the world because digital as a platform is far more approachable and accessible than the traditional mediums like film and television. The digital audience is ever-evolving, very discerning and hungry for great content and is not necessarily driven by the star system that rules some of the traditional formats. This is also why there is a huge influx of content on the digital media."
Tiwari said internet connectivity was another factor for the growth of webs series in India.
"I just visited a remote place in Uttarakhand where there's no cinema hall within miles. Their primary source of entertainment is TV and now the net. We feel it's only the first step of a great digital revolution that India is going through," he added.
Tv Shows will Stay
It's true that web series are slowly replacing Indian daily soaps, but Tiwari opined that television was still the biggest entertainment business we have in our country. He claimed that soon the lines between digital and broadcast will blur and even erased out and there would be something for everyone.
"I don't think web series will displace or overtake the traditional forms of entertainment in the near future. But hopefully, there will be a harmonious co-existence," Bindra said.
Web Series – The Big Thing
According to Bindra, it is very presumptuous to accept that web series will be the next big thing on the Internet.
"Well at the cost of sounding pessimistic, I think fiction content is in a very exciting space on the digital medium but also at a fascinating crossroad as far as economics are concerned. With bigwigs like Netflix in a 20-billion-dollar debt and Amazon Prime Video only accounting for a minimal percentage of total revenues for Amazon, I think there is a lot of thinking to be done," he said.
Tiwari, on the other hand, asserted that the web series culture in India would rapidly evolve.
"There's no way to accurately predict. We just want to keep our ears to the ground and make sure we are ahead of the curve," he concluded.
