Small regional films face streaming challenge despite rising demand

The surge in regional language content on streaming platforms hasn't really benefited small-budget films in languages other than Hindi, such as Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Punjabi and others.

- Lata Jha

Trade experts and industry executives said while acquisitions are mainly limited to Netflix, Prime Video and JioHotstar, and to a lesser extent SonyLIV and ZEE5, only about half of the movies made in many regional film industries find buyers, thanks to the packed calendars and limited budgets of streaming services. This means these films either remain completely unreleased or have to wait for a streaming platform to buy them after their theatrical release.

This is despite the fact that India's streaming audiences are no longer binge-watching just in Hindi. Regional originals-from Tamil thrillers to Malayalam crime sagas-are steadily climbing the charts.