In 2021, over-the-top (OTT) streaming platforms saw films in the four south Indian languages, including their dubbed versions, gain big audiences accounting for as much as 10% of overall viewing minutes.
Western and north Indian states like Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi NCR (National Capital Region) accounted for 75% of viewership for dubbed films, said platform executives. Malayalam film Minnal Murali was one of the top ten non-English films on Netflix for the last week of December, with 5.9 million viewing hours while Jai Bhim, Sarpatta Parambarai and Soorarai Pottru are among Amazon Prime Video’s biggest hits. After its release in theatres, period drama RRR has been dubbed in Spanish, Portuguese and Korean for Netflix.
Netflix has also seen its Tamil anthology Navarasa feature in the Top 10 in 10 countries including India, Malaysia, and Sri Lanka. In its first week on Netflix, more than 40% of the viewers for the film were from outside India.
In the last one year, films like Nayattu (Malayalam), Andhaghaaram (Tamil), Pitta Kathalu (Telugu), Paava Kadhaigal (Tamil), Cinema Bandi (Telugu) and Mandela (Tamil) have all featured in the Top 10 in India.
Regional films, especially in south Indian languages, have been attracting viewership around the world. This is because different states in southern India offer unique films which tend to highlight their traditions, culture, locations, and so on. South Indian diaspora is also present in large numbers across the world. Leading platforms are actively acquiring films from these languages. Southern language films provide a sort of freshness and storylines different from Hindi, which is now primarily focusing on urban-centric narratives.
