The first Indian fiction original on Amazon Video, Inside Edge, is now streaming on the platform. A few days back, producers Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani with director Karan Anshuman and Amazon India head, Nitesh Kripalani, spoke to THE WEEK about the show, the changes that comes with the platform and what's there to look forward to
The writer is the primary element in creating any video
We may believe that a lot of things change if the medium changes. Akhtar and Sidhwani have only been associated with making films. The digital platform is new to them, as it is new to India. Usually, the show-runners are the primary force behind a digital series, but Akhtar has a different point of view. He says, "It is [the series] actually a writer's medium. I think the writers and the content creators are 'the most important people' in the creation of the show. Of course producers facilitate to the best of their abilities, given their passion for the project. But what you eventually see, you are going to love it or hate on the basis of the writing of the show.”
Karan, however, begs to differ when he says that series are more often run by the show-runners/producers. "But show-runners are oftentimes the producers as well as the writers of the show. And that is what is different here." Sidhwani adds, "Whether you make a film or TV show or a digital show, if the writer hasn't done the work, none of us would have a job—no actor, no director, no producer. There is someone who has been there and been inspired by things around him, or has been moved by an idea. The writer is the primary element in the creation of any kind of content irrespective of the medium we are exploring."
Being a producer for a series is different from a film
Akhtar says that he was involved in the development of Inside Edge, but only to a certain extent. “We have been getting great material to read. But you have got very little feedback to give. There is certain flow [when you develop a series], especially when you are writing something of this nature, which is just not a two hour film or two-and-a-half hour film. There is a certain understanding of the character, which they [writer-director] have created, they must have created where they want them to be by the end of the ten episodes, which I am not aware of. I was only aware of what was going on while I was reading it and wondering what's going to happen next.” Akhtar says, to be a producer in a series, is more like being a sounding board. “One has to be present more like a critic than anything else.”
Binge watching is the norm
Some popular shows still believe in giving out a little at a time, streaming only one episode a week. But the 10-episodes of Inside Edge is out there for binge watching. Kripalani says that it is the norm globally, as well as in India. “Customers wants to watch shows in one shot. If you release episodes weekly, it's pretty much like a TV channel. The whole advantage of a digital platform would be lost if binge watching is not an option,” says Kripalani.
Who is it for?
The show brings together two streams that are thought to be a religion in India. While we wonder if this is the first show from India on a digital platform because it will have a surety to sell and grab eyeballs, Kripalani has a different view. "It is a great show that Ritesh has been telling me about and Karan had the vision as well. It's a great story and has great characters. It is increasing the quality of what shows we see in India to global scale. As far as Bollywood and cricket is concerned, it is just an added advantage."
Akhtar also thinks that the show will set a precedent for the online viewers. So far, at least in India, online streaming platforms are mostly thought to be a catch-up platform for TV viewers. But fiction originals may change the way it's perceived – in India as well as otherwise.
"With this show, we are creating something very new. We can't compare it with anything that has happened before. This is going to create its own analysis in the future of how these shows [on digital platforms] work. I think the fact that it is produced out of India for a global market, it's about Indian people, culturally. It's going to resonate in a very different way. We will create a new audience with this."
According to Sidhwani, the whole of doing a show and taking it to 200 countries is the thought of seeing the entire world as an audience. “It's not just restricted to your own country. The intention, through this show, is to increase the online audience. A lot of the audience which is not on TV because they don't like the content on TV, but are watching the various content—from short-form to fiction on many other platforms—this is an effort to bring them to watch Indian content. It will only expand audience,” he says.