Sandeep Vanga’s Animal made a record debut in the global non-English films category, securing the 4th position in Netflix’s top 10.
Given the significant number of hours watched, the question arises: is boldness not an issue for OTT viewers? If it isn’t, what’s all the fuss on social media about?
When Venkatesh’s Rana Naidu was released, many labeled it as vulgar, but a few weeks later, Rana Naidu surprisingly entered Netflix’s Top 10, much like Animal has now.
One thing is clear; we can’t say that those criticizing bold content aren’t consuming it. The controversy and the flurry of anger on social media are only helping streaming platforms like Netflix gain more views.
It doesn’t necessarily mean that vulgar or bold content always sells on OTT, as Bollywood stopped making films like Mastizaade or Great Grand Masti for the same reason.
So far, we have only two examples that worked well despite their ‘bold’ content – Rana Naidu (TV series) and Animal (Movie), both featuring known stars. This could be a trend going forward: having a known star cast and controversy around ‘boldness’ may lead to blockbuster success on OTT.
