Posters of ‘KGF: Chapter 2’, ‘RRR’, and ‘Beast’
| Photo Credit: BookMyShow
Apart from releasing Tamil movies, Over-the-top (OTT) video streaming platforms have churned out more interesting web series in regional languages during 2022.
Amazon Prime Video released its first long-format scripted Tamil original Suzhal – The Vortex, written and created by the renowned filmmaker duo, Pushkar–Gayatri. Vadhandhi: The Fable of Velonie, created by Andrew Louis from the house of Pushkar–Gayatri, and Putham Pudhu Kaalai: Vidiyaadha were also released on the platform this year.
Key Trends
Amazon Prime Video premiered nine films directly onto the service out of which three were in Tamil- Mahaan starring Vikram, Oh my Dog, produced by actor Suriya and his wife Jyothika under the 2D Entertainment banner, and Saani Kayidham starring Keerthy Suresh.
In 2022, Beast (Tamil) , starring actor Vijay, trended in the Global Top 10 for non-English films alongside its Hindi version. The film was also in the Top 10 in 13 countries on Netflix.
Zee5 said it had four movies- RRR, Vikram, Veetla Vishesham, and Yaanai– that were now a part of the ‘100 million streaming club’.
The spokesperson of Amazon Prime Video said, “Following the success of Suzhal – The Vortex and Vadhandhi: The Fable of Velonie, we are excited to bring the Chennai chapter of the widely loved U.S. Original anthology series, Modern Love Chennai in 2023. Other Original series in the 2023 pipeline include Sweet Karam Coffee, a drama surrounding an epic road trip featuring three generations of women from the same family, and The Village, a horror series adapted from a graphic novel.”
Manish Kalra, Chief Business Officer of Zee5 India, also indicated that in 2023, the group would continue to invest in both originals and acquired content. “Like 2022 saw Anantham with Prakash Raj, we have already announced Nilamellam Ratham with Vetrimaaran. The audience can expect content of a similar scale in the upcoming year as well,” he said. He also noted that Vilangu was the most watched Tamil web series on Zee5. For Zee5, Tamil is the second largest in terms of viewer base.
The movie game
During 2022, actor Vijay starrer Beast (Tamil) trended in the Global Top 10 for non-English films alongside its Hindi version. The film was in the Top 10 in 13 countries on Netflix. Other Tamil titles released on Netflix in 2022 include Kalagathalaivan, Love Today, Nitham Oru Vaanam, The Elephant Whisperers, Sinam, Poochandi, Natchathiram Nagargiradhu and Buffoon.
Zee5 released a total of 21 Tamil movies on the platform. These include 14 original movies and seven dubbed ones. The top five most popular Tamil films on Zee5 were Valimai, RRR (Tamil), Veetla Vishesham, Yaanai and Veeramae Vaagai Soodum.
The Amazon Prime Video spokesperson said, “We released close to 30 Tamil language titles on Prime Video as direct-to-service premieres and digital premieres for licensed movies, soon after the theatrical launch. In addition, a large number of our originals – both Indian and International and licensed content – were localized with Tamil subs and dubs, giving consumers the option to watch content in a language of their choice.”
“In fact, our first Telugu Amazon Original Movie Ammu, and our biggest series of the year The Lord of The Rings: The Rings of Power, as well as other international Originals such as The Boys, The Terminal List and The Peripheral were launched with Tamil localisation.”
OTT players said over 50% of viewership for Tamil films came from other States and around 25% from international markets.
