Mumbai: YRF and Netflix have a thriving partnership. It started with the The Romantics. This is a 2023 limited series English and Hindi language documentary, created by Smriti Mundhra and Michael T Vollmann. The four-part series explores the impact of Yash Chopra, his son Aditya Chopra, and their company Yash Raj Films on Hindi Cinema.
Speaking at the 24th edition of Ficci Frames the convention for the business of media and entertainment in a Fireside Chat: Lights, Camera, Action: Golden Era of Storytelling Akshaye Widhani, Chief Executive Officer, Yash Raj Films Monika Shergill, Vice President – Content, Netflix said that the reason that they are successful is that they don’t punish failure and there is no fear of failure. The DNA is the same for both companies.
Shergill said that she asked Akshay why they weren’t working together. “The DNA OF YRF and Netflix is the same. We are both lovers of stories and a lot of high-quality work, finding new talent, new voices, and working with seasoned talent, and voices. There was something so common between us and the ambition to experiment, innovate, and keep telling stories. We have no fear of failure. We embrace this so much and that is why we innovate so much. We say this our creators, our execs. In my team when we have conversations I am not the person who is deciding everything that needs to be done. We have a team.”
“At YRF the way they plan their stories, look at their slate, figure out the next idea somewhere we found a meeting of minds. We have a common ambition and we decided to start with The Romantics. We wanted to plan that was game-changing, and iconic. In my mind, it was clear that it has to be a game-changing partnership.” She noted that Railway Men is one of the most powerful stories that has come from India. It is in the top 10 of 35 countries. It did 100 straight days of streaming in an environment where there are hundreds of choices on a service. It trended for a long time and it talks about why the parties are together.
Widhani said that his company is a big fan of Netflix and has been since it launched. “We admire the content they create the world over. The scale that they operate on is just marvellous. What we have learnt from working with them is that we have been given a wide global footprint. When people who don’t speak your language enjoy your content that for me is a huge definition of success. We want to be able to do disruptive content and I am glad that we have a partner that supports us in that endeavour. We will do more in time to come.” He explains that his company does not punish failure. “You will go right. You will go wrong. But it is about the story. The story is the North Star.”
Green lighting is based on how the story appeals to the company. YRF he said is a porous studio. “We have our ears to the ground. You have to be able to know what the audience wants to watch. Sometimes you can go wrong with that but as long as you go more right it is fine.”
Shergill noted that Netflix is at a very interesting juncture in its journey on streaming. Streaming is a nascent industry in the country but it is evolving so fast and people are adopting it at a fast rate. She conceded that while Netflix had a big bang start that was followed by a bit of a slow run. But in two years the company had an exciting complete turnaround. This is in terms of the offering and what it is here to do. The aim is to have the most diverse and high-quality slate. So 2022 and 2023 were milestone years. The goal is to tell very locally authentic stories with very universal emotions. It is transparent and shares data upfront.
“We are here to back the most unique creative voices and the best filmmakers. We are here to partner with the most amazing creators. What Netflix India stands for is for people to discover the best, newest stories and at consistency and quality that you will not find on any other service. That is why we have had amazing growth in the past couple of years.” She said that the streaming philosophy is that what makes it work anywhere in the world is that it is all about storytelling and creating something for everyone. It does not create one kind of story.
People wear different colours. Their moods are different. This is what Netflix keeps in mind. It does not like to put everybody in a box and tell them that they will only get one genre like crime or just one show. Everyone should be able to find something on Netflix. “The value of time is something that is very important to us and coming to you meeting you halfway and be able to show you what you like. Anyone can find what they are looking for. Our philosophy is to value you as a member. We really value our members. We make content for you. But this does not mean making niche programming.”
The Romantics she explains talk to everyone who are lovers of Indian cinema. It will also find people across the world and tell them stories of Indian cinema. She noted that The Romantics she noted came at a time when people were disillusioned with Hindi cinema and wondered what films were happening. The Romantics was about nostalgia and love of films. She said in screenings there was not a dry eye in the theatres here and abroad in cities like Paris, New York. “That is the power of great stories I think.”
Widhani said that his company took time to create content it wanted to create for streaming. “I am glad that we took the time we did. It is worth spending time on content. Give your story the best shape it needs and do it when the time is right.” Widhani said that the company want to tell cinematic stories on streaming whether films or shows. “The desire and vision is to create scale content. There is no better partner than Netflix. They do it globally. Some of the biggest and best shows are on Netflix. I have worked with their marketing and comms teams and I have to give them credit on positioning.” He said that the passion, energy and hardwork that goes into pushing a big movie is what Netflix has done for YRFs shows he said. “The proof is in the pudding. We were able to achieve the success that we did.”
She said that the partnership is about a very large, long legacy media studio coming together with a new, streaming company. There are newer ways of doing things that Netflix learns from across the world. The aim is to be open-minded and to learn from each other. “A partnership can only work brilliantly if you are willing to learn from each other, if you are willing to challenge each other, push each other and believe in each other. We have fun working with each other across our teams and that is a great receipe for success. You can expect the very best quality from everything that qwe do together. Both of us have the responsibility as entertainment brands to really be serving the audiences ti deliver the best. We want to be challenged to do our best. We want to surprise and delight with the next idea. What you are not expecting will come your way.”
The companies recently announced two films one of which will mark the launch of Aamir Khan’s son and a genre bending show. This is a fantasy thriller. They will all launch this year. Then another show is under production. “A lot more will come from this partnership which we are very excited about.”
