New Delhi: Amazon Prime Video has announced 18 original shows for India, making it Amazon Inc.’s first international market with the largest number of original shows outside US, as the American company prepares to change the way Indians consume entertainment content. Amazon Prime Video is run by Seattle-based e-commerce firm Amazon Inc. in India.
Launched last week, Amazon Prime Video is readying programming ranging from sports drama to mythological fiction to comedy, with a big focus on local content.
“India is the only international market where 18 Amazon originals have been announced right from the word go. It’s the largest number of shows announced at one time for one market,” said Nitesh Kripalani, director and country head, Amazon Prime Video.
The company plans to acquire the best talent among writers, filmmakers and producers.
“We want to tell our customers new, fresh, relevant and engaging stories that are smartly written and intelligent. We want the content creators to think about that one project they have always wanted to make, without worrying about length, number of episodes, etc.,” Kripalani said.
After tying up with film-makers and film studios beginning September, Amazon Prime’s video content portfolio is now led by Bollywood movies, a popular content category in India.
To be sure, in India, at present nine shows are in production while nine are in different stages of development.The first Amazon India original is likely to go live in the April-June quarter next year. All new shows will be in line with Bollywood productions, both in terms of scale and budgets.
Filmmakers such as Vikram Malhotra and Raj Nidimoru, who are collaborating with Amazon, say that the content will be across genres and the company isn’t scrimping on budgets. Nidimoru and his partner Krishna D.K. are the director duo best known for films such as Shor in the City and Go Goa Gone. They are creating a series titled The Family Man for Amazon.
