Malayalam web series make a commercial splash in entertainment industry

Web series’ are making a splash in Kerala’s OTT sphere. More than 10 of them are in various stages of production, making it a new area of interest along with films and serials. Manaorama Max produced Kerala’s first web series, ‘Menaka’, which triggered a flurry of activity in this space.

OTT platforms which thrived on films to usher in a subscription model made a giant leap in that sphere with the introduction of a slew of the web series genre, film producers pointed out. Those who had bagged digital rights for films quoting astronomical amounts are now getting content of longer duration than cinema for a lesser price.

'Kerala Crime Files' came as a refreshing take tapping the shifting priorities of audiovisual audiences in June 2023. The industry and audiences were anxious about the first web series. The soaring popularity of Malayalam web series’ and their trendy picturisation is underscored by the participation of stars from other languages.

Central Pictures, which produced innumerable Malyalam films, also ventured into the new terrain by producing the web series, ‘Masterpiece, which was a departure from the crime genre that was gaining traction in Malayalam.

Central Pictures is now producing another web series titled ‘Secret Stories – Roslin.’ M Ranjith feels cinema and web series are almost similar projects, with the major difference being that the latter is a small screen project. “If you produce a cinema with a budget of Rs 6 crore, promotions would require Rs 3 crore. Web series makers doesn’t have to break their brains over this,” says he.

OTT platforms that lock the deals with producers will definitely supervise the production aspects, said Ranjith. He added it is of paramount importance to wrap up the production within the budget allocated by the OTT platforms. Ranjith is of the opinion that there is no difference at all in the making of a film and a web series, who is producing a web series, ‘Love under construction’.

Precise planning

A production controller who is managing an ongoing shoot of a web series said there is lesser pressure involved in the making of a web series since the makers do not need to ponder about its promotional aspects or its financial success. The focus is on the quality of the content and other aspects. Also, unlike the past, stars are no more reluctant to get involved in web series. "The only issue is that most stars expect the same remuneration they receive from cinema. This is not affordable for web series makers," the production controller said.

Midhun Manuel Thomas said cinema and web series’ are making inroads together. "Web series’ are not a threat to cinema and vice versa. The attraction of the web series is the opportunity to tell the story without bothering about time limit. There are umpteen stories which cannot be picturised in the format of a movie and such stories can be embraced by web series,” he said.

Krishand, who directed the movies ‘Avasavyooham’ and ‘Purusha Pretham,’ is a classic example to negate the theory that those who move to web series are forced to do so due to the shrinking success ratio of movies.