Gautam Talwar, Chief Content Officer, MX Player and artistes Vikrant Massey and Ali Fazal, were part of a panel on ‘OTT Superpower – Freedom and Nuances of Creativity’.
“More than 95 percent of content across most of the OTT platforms are consumed on mobile phones. Most of us are not making content for connected TV audiences,” said Gautam Talwar, Chief Content Officer, MX Player, while speaking on day two of Goafest 2022.
He was part of a panel discussion on ‘OTT Superpower – Freedom and Nuances of Creativity’ with artistes Vikrant Massey and Ali Fazal, moderated by anchor and creative director Atika Farooqi.
Massey said, “OTT has changed the lives of people – both the creators and the audience. It gave an opportunity to the creators to go out there and explore their skills. Our exposure to international content has widened.”
Massey said he believes that OTT is still at a nascent stage and has a large scope for growth. In the pandemic, his OTT releases helped him stay connected with his audience, he noted.
OTT is Personal Content
“Most people I come across watch shows while travelling and on their phones. This is evidence of the massive audience reach but doesn’t compete with the community-watching experience. So, cinema watching will always remain,” he added.
Talwar said that the reach to mass India is one of the greatest advantages for MX Player.
He underlined that OTT is a writer’s medium and the audience is drawn to it because of its authenticity.
“They achieve this authenticity by borrowing content from advertisements, television and movies. And talent from all three places forms the 4th platform – OTT,” observed Talwar.
“A writer doesn’t start with his story because the platform gives him a certain sense of freedom. He writes his story because he wants to. OTT has democratised storytelling and consumption and this kind of storytelling has never been available before,” he added.
Changed the Game
Ali Faizal noted that theatrical releases followed a formula-based structure, which OTT helped break.
He explained, “If one action movie works, the whole year will only have action movies in the theatre. But OTT changed the game. It gave the audience the opportunity to watch what they want and opt for newer things. It helps tell original stories. Freedom is in the way of telling a story on that particular platform. It comes with great responsibility; a structure allows freedom.”
