Is the new-age web series revolution an explosion of content or just a gratification of urban lustIJ Team Viva finds out some answers
Devika Dhamendra Dwivedi, the protagonist of a new digital show, is cool with casual sex and chasing men, not keen on marrying, doesn’t want to be a traditional bahu, and spends her time smoking cigarettes, getting high, and drinking neat Old Monk when she’s feeling rejected. Welcome to new-age plots of which Dev DD is illustrative. Currently playing on the AlT Balaji platform, producer Ekta Kapoor has reportedly said that challenging the idea of what actually makes a good Indian girl was the inspiration behind Dev DD. While it scored conceptually, there was a series of me-too spinoffs with only an abandon of sex as the buzzword of liberation and empowerment. Does the modern Indian woman want to have casual sex and get high as a sign of “having arrivedIJ” Or is it just a means to grab eyeballsIJ
For there are examples galore. Vikram Bhatt’s first web series directorial Maaya, set in the world of BDSM, tells an erotic love story. Some have called it a “serialised B-grade movie” in the comments section of the trailer on YouTube. The series revolves around a woman named Sonia (essayed by Shama Sikander) who has a nervous breakdown and forgets the last six months of her life. Her husband, Abhishek, is forced to dig into her life to find out what caused the trauma. He soon finds out that Sonia had a secret life of intense sexuality (involving Rahul) and twisted fantasies that he didn’t know about, a life that betrayed him and yet he is the only one who could save her.
Incidentally, while the serial peddles female liberation, at least of the sexual kind, none of the women are working except for Sonia’s doctor. Moreover, the rest of the women are overtly sexual who make passes at Rahul. According to a critic, the show is really just about male dominance and a man’s pleasure, rather than BDSM. It seems to be poorly shot and scripted, with an array of racy scenes thrown in between.
OPENNESS VS SMUT
So is it openneness or just smut which is an attempt to grab eyeballsIJ As director Onir said, “I think web shows in today’s era are more sex content based. Filmmakers who simultaneously work in mainstream Bollywood, do showcase high sex content when it comes to their exclusive web series which is certainly an abuse.”
Asked how the borders are being blurred in the name of liberalism in the digital context, Shona Urvashi, who has helmed short films like Maya’s story and Jimmy ain’t no gangster replied, “The challenge and struggle really have become more of an attempt to stand out from the clutter as there is so much content available to the viewer. How does one get eyeballs and, therefore, revenue from this contentIJ So creatives go for easy tricks and twists. A lot of the stuff is made on shoestring budgets and tight timelines and the competition from international content is high because of the much higher production values. Enter smut, with loads of sex and controversial content which draws attention to the story becomes the strategy. Fortunately, good content is king even if one is using these tactics to hook audiences, eventually it still boils down to good writing. To retain and get a repeat audience this is one element that is sacrosanct.”
Added she, “Openness is well written content, where whatever is expressed on screen is driven by the character and elegantly, or realistically portrayed. Smut borders on pornographic content where the point of the scene is too see the sexual act. It can be an obvious difference or a subtle one. As we learn to get comfortable with our own sexuality as Indians, (a topic which deserves its own story perhaps) it will lead to better ‘adult’ content.”
Onir said, “I think we all have the freedom of speech and expression. But how a particular scene is portrayed varies from director to director. Being a filmmaker myself, if I portray a gay character, it’s difficult to get through Censor Board. But in web series, it’s the opposite. You have more freedom to talk openly about certain things especially when it comes to sexuality. However, as a filmmaker, it depends on me whether I wanted to show sex elementIJ And if yes, then in what ratioIJ” He makes a valid point but aren’t the directors going overboard with the freedom they haveIJ
Ajay Rajpal, who has directed a forthcoming web series, That Good Ugly Day, said, “In web series content is always uncontrolled unlike movies. Yet on the flipside web series content is well-described as they are episode-driven and considering the length of episodes the amount of openness and the amount of smut used varies from script to script. Around 80 per cent viewers prefer the episodes to be crisp, short length yet impactful for which the filmmaker tries to keep the content attractive. To ensure content doesn’t get negative with censor and other authorities filmmakers of web series try and use the two-way content. One that signifies conclusion and the other that signifies USPs of that particular episodes.”
MARKET-DRIVEN
Then there is the demographic profile of viewers online, who are mostly male.
Onir expressed his opinion regarding it. “As long as men hold the share of economic power, such content will stay market-driven. Earlier we have seen a slow-shift towards women-centric films or films about women empowerment but comparatively, male-dominant plots are still in rage. Of course short films or web series with such content is majorly market-driven. Also because buyers/viewers want that and accordingly the filmmaker design it. It’s just like an item number — it is put in purposely. You wouldn’t see any man dancing in an item number, it’s women who always fill that space. And that’s because our audience wants it.”
He added, “The biggest example is that the directors of the movies which have such content generally refuse to talk openly about these problematic aspects.”
REVOlT AGAINST STATUS QUO
Urvashi asserted, “The content is driven by the viewers and by the mood of the country. In a conservative social/ political scenario, the uncensored nature of web based content gives a sense of rebellion to the viewer. His or her ability to choose what content they consume rather than be tied down by acceptable norms that are shown on television. The content is also far more specific to each ones needs. Whether it’s a great documentary, a kinky millennial love story or an artistic short you crave, they are all served up on a platter. There are far more options now that there have ever been. It also frees the content creator who is encouraged to be bolder in their story choices as that content is rewarded. Definitely the point of a system that delivers straight to the viewer, is to be sensitive to those needs and reactive real time. The content has to be current to stay relevant, or in a click of a button you run the risk of loosing your audience.”
Urvashi’s definition of urban lust is appropriate. “Swapping love for lust is an urban phenomenon that has gained momentum in the age of social media and digital content. Everyone is busy, there are career goals, financial goals, lifespans are longer, people travel more, party hard and there just isn’t a desire for many people to venture into deeper relationships that require their time and attention. The desire to watch kinky, horror or extreme reality based content addresses the sanitised nature of modern existence. Its purpose to titillate, shock, stir emotions in an otherwise anesthetised urban life. Is it a good thing, a bad thingIJ Its just a thing, a new way that we live in cities and the media we create reflects who we are and are not.”
Onir’s views it differently. “lust I believe is just a mode of accentuating a desire but today we have mobile porn available which is accessible in the remotest areas of the country. I even read that India and Pakistan have a high consumption of porn content and also that sex is the most googled word on the Internet in these countries.”
SOCIAl CHURNING
Is the explosion of in-your face content symptomatic of the deep societal complexities coming to the foreIJ Urvashi emphasised, “In your face content has gotten a bit ridiculous, the ads you are forced to watch to see content for free, ads of newly made content, trailers, shows and more shows, International and local. The content you watch is tracked and audiences are profiled. If something is for free the viewer is the commodity being sold. The advertising and subscription revenues is what funds the content and it is a double-edged sword. We all want to watch stuff for next to nothing, but that doesn’t mean great content, like a specially collected library of your favourite music or films is of immense value to the viewer, we just have to ensure that our privacy and freedom to chose content is indeed persevered. The content options are only going to increase and not decrease in the years to come, but as long as we have the power to choose what we see, some sanity will prevail.”
“On the bright side these are exciting times, so many fun new ideas, amazing new talent, new ideas are completely redefining how content is created. The exclusivity that filmmaking once had is diminishing into interactive conversations where groups of highly talented people work to create complex projects and storylines. With augmented reality and immersive mediums, who knows what conversations we will have even five years from now,” added Urvashi.
The director is currently working on a web series titled Mercury Rising which she has also written.
