Though the Malayalam industry continues to be a smaller market in the OTT space, it has grown by leaps and bounds in the past few years. Today, the Malayalam web series' are powered by more prominent, influential names from various industries. Bollywood powerhouse Alia Bhatt, producing Malayalam web series 'Poacher' directed by Richie Mehta, lent more poster value to the Prime Video original.
So did Suhasini's presence in 'Jai Mahendran' and 'Soul Stories', which premiered in SonyLiv and Manorama Max, respectively, and Neena Gupta's collaboration in Disney+Hotstar's original ‘1000 Babies.' Sangeetha Janachandran, founder, Stories Social and marketing & Communications consultant, said there has been a general shift in the way OTT platforms market their content now. "OTT platforms are now more focused on increasing subscriptions through original content, rather than depending solely on theatrical to OTT releases.
So, casting actors across industries will increase diversity and bring in more subscriptions across languages to OTT platforms. The same formula applies to Malayalam web series, too," she said. She added that OTT platforms won't have to worry about budget constraints while casting big names in their original content.
"Unlike cinema, OTT platforms set aside a certain budget for each season, so remuneration for big stars is comparatively smooth and easy," she said. Rahul Riji Nair, who headlined 'Jai Mahendran', said makers think pan-Indian in every aspect, including c.
