Nivedita Basu, Vice President – Fiction (Hindi, Oriya, Bangla) at Dangal, says that the trend in entertainment has shifted toward more homegrown content. She adds that people are no longer as interested in seeing adaptations.
“It’s a totally different medium altogether when it comes to the web. My feeling is that people like more homegrown content, and indie content. This type of content resonates more with audiences, which is great because it creates so much scope for Indians to present what they are best at,” she says.
Discussing how the channel has adapted to shifting viewer preferences this year, she says, “Fortunately or unfortunately, the television audience graduates only 4 to 5% every 4 or 5 years. So, there isn’t any drastic change for audiences. But yes, you get an idea of what people like or don’t like. For instance, if a channel like Dangal, which shares about three and a half hours of original content daily, is doing well, we can experiment with one half-hour slot to see what we want to make and if the audience likes it.”
She adds, “Crime and dark stories have always been very popular. For now, we’re taking a break from that, but we’re trying something else. I think the whole idea is to experiment. And of course, don’t feel disheartened—everything will not be well-received by the audience. But that shouldn’t stop you from ideating and coming up with out-of-the-box ideas.”
Talking about emerging trends, she says, “At Dangal, we are now planning to restart our OTT space. As a new OTT platform, you need to have fresh content. People like Indian stories, and there’s a noticeable shift from rural to urban, new to old. That’s what we are trying to capture. It will be a surprise what we bring, and by mid-next year, we will be releasing new content.”
Discussing other advancements in entertainment, she says, “AI in music videos has really got me excited about what the future can hold. This is something I would really like to explore this year and see what we can bring to the table.”
