SS Rajamouli is known for changing the rules of Indian cinema, both in filmmaking and business. After setting a new trend with the two-part Baahubali franchise, the director also explored different strategies for selling digital rights. Now, he is reportedly planning another unusual OTT deal for his upcoming big-budget film Varanasi.
For quite some time, Rajamouli has been negotiating with Netflix over the streaming rights of Varanasi. However, the discussions have reportedly hit a roadblock due to a massive Rs 100 crore difference between the asking price and Netflix’s offer.
The OTT market has changed drastically, with companies reducing their spending and becoming increasingly cautious about acquiring expensive films.
To overcome this situation, Rajamouli is reportedly considering splitting Varanasi’s digital rights into three separate packages instead of selling everything to one platform.
According to the ongoing buzz, Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, and Kannada rights will form one package, Hindi rights will be sold separately, while international languages including English, French, Spanish, and Japanese will form another package.
Netflix and JioHotstar are reportedly among the platforms being considered for these deals.
Interestingly, Rajamouli followed a somewhat similar strategy for RRR, where South Indian language rights and Hindi rights were sold separately. However, Varanasi could take this strategy further by introducing a separate international streaming package.
This approach could help Rajamouli secure his expected price while expanding the film’s reach among global audiences.
However, there is a major problem. Streaming platforms generally prefer complete language packages because splitting rights could limit their potential viewership.
A similar situation occurred with RRR, where ZEE5 secured the South Indian language rights but missed out on a significant section of Hindi audiences.
The big question now is whether Netflix and other OTT giants will accept Rajamouli’s ambitious strategy in today’s cautious streaming market.
