Digital platforms like YouTube, MX Player and TVF Play keep entertainment flowing at no cost. We wonder if it leads to greater experimentation or dilutes the quality!

Sheetal

The best things in life are free. Luther Vandross

Digital platforms like YouTube, MX Player and TVF Play keep entertainment flowing for people at no cost. Of course, they too have premium subscriptions with charges, but it is advertisement-barred, which freeloaders have to sit through just like daily soap lovers! We bring you shows that garnered attention much like the big platform originals. Also, actors who have worked in web series of the same category talk what difference it makes when they do something that is accessible to all and whether it allows more experimentation and redefines the future of content.

Number game

MX Player has given two gems; Aashram, starring Bobby Deol, and the latest original, Matsya Kaand, for free. The latter, starring Ravi Dubey, Ravi Kisan and Piyush Mishra, has become the most-binged web series with a 9.5/10 IMDb rating. On the other hand, YouTuber Bhuvan Bam has delivered his first web series, Dhindora (9.7/10), on his YouTube channel BB Ki Vines.

To name a few popular web series in the free category, there is TVF’s Permanent Roommates, Bachelors and Cubicles and MX Player’s Samantar. Dice Media, premium digital video division of Pocket Aces, has delivered good content, including PariWar (available for free on Disney+Hotstar), Little Things, Operation MBBS, Adulting, What The Folks, Home Sweet Office and Please Find Attached.

On the trend, actor Karan V Grover says, “I think reels, You Tube videos and much of the content that is available for free has changed the entire game. Nobody thought that a video of a few seconds would ever be called entertainment. Even at SIT (Shitty Ideas Trending), a channel on YouTube, with which I have a show The Better Half, is on par with the changing times.”

Clear take

SK of Aspirants aka actor Abhilash Thapliyal, who delivered an impressive performance, believes, “I think nothing comes for free and as far as the thought of artistes or content-creators doing it for free is concerned, it’s a very personal call.

Even when you talk about Aspirants, it was a sponsored show. There was someone who was paying for it. There isn’t any compulsion to work on free content. It’s a team call, whether you want to share your work with or without any cost.”

Smart content

So, does ‘no-subscription’ content allow more experimentation? Abhilash says, “If we create content, we obviously want to make some money. So, we pitch to different people. In other words, production houses, platforms and brands. Usually when your content is discarded, you put it up for free. But at times, you get to discover some gems through this process.”

Much likely why the first season of Dice Media’s Little Things and TVF’s Kota Factory were initially available on their respective YouTube channels for free, but later OTT giant Netflix released the subsequent seasons.

Moolah matters

Nikkesha, who was part of AltBalaji’s Haq Se, sees free content availability as a way to keep the huge population in India entertained at all times. She adds, “Usually, the makers and the platforms have that in-between brand promotions or advertisements that help them earn in a big way. Sometimes, many brands promote their product in between the shots as well, by putting their product in major view. This is the reason why YouTubers like Bhuvan Bam are able to make their web series and succeed.”