Who run the world? Not girls

Or women. At least not in the Indian entertainment ecosystem. RIP 🙏🏻 Shyam Benegal. Tamil streaming shows find viewers and rave reviews.

Dec 25, 2024

If you are here, then you are probably curious about the burgeoning entertainment landscape in India and other major markets globally.

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Hello lovely folks,

Merry Christmas🎄and happy holidays.

How have you’ll been? It has been a while since we last met. Almost three months. We have been MIA (missing in action) for almost the entire December-ended quarter.

That is about 90 days. One could form habits, switch jobs and even attain sobriety in this time span.

I am curious to know if any of you did something mind blowing in the last three months? Tell us.

Not some. Not many.

There were only 15 percent female heads of departments in 2023, across direction, cinematography, editing and production design, among other positions, according to O Womaniya! report 2024, created by streaming Amazon Prime Video, with analysis firm Ormax Media and content player Film Companion Studios.

This is a three-percentage point increase from 12 percent in 2022.

But the number of women, who were in-charge of commissioning content in senior management, across 25 leading media and entertainment companies, reduced by a percentage-point to 12 percent last year from 13 percent in the 2022.

This means more men have the final say in the kind of shows and movies that go into development.

Female streaming executives have been known to greenlight content delving into different themes and genres. The O Womaniya! report also claims female heads to be cognizant about equal representation and gender diversity in story idea and pitches compared to their male counterparts.

The report’s results comes from analysing 169 properties such as theatrical and streaming films and digital series, across Hindi, Tamil and Gujarati, among five other Indian languages.

Female onscreen representation has gotten better though. The report takes Bechdel Test’s benchmark- of having at least one scene in a film where two female characters are not talking about men or man- into consideration.

This meant 52 percent female characters, in 2023, had better story arcs that did not necessarily revolve around their male protagonist’s interests.

This is a five percentage-point jump from 47 percent in 2022.

Out of the 169 properties, only 18 theatrical films passed the female representation test mentioned in the report. Apart from films, 45 streaming series and 31 streaming films passed the test.

Access the full report here.

Online ticketing

Bookmyshow’s fresh vertical

After scaling the events division, ticket booking platform Bookmyshow is rolling out the second edition of its own film festival.

At the Red Lorry Film Festival Take 2 movies including Academy Award shortlisted Universal Language, a Mexican-American crime comedy Failure!, and Hollywoodgate, an on-the-ground look at post-2021 Taliban-ruled Kabul will be showcased.

This development comes at a time when lower number of mainstream Hindi films are being released in theatres affecting the platform’s primary business.

*A few movies to be screened at the Red Lorry Film Festival in March 2025. Image source: Bookmyshow*

“The film festival’s first edition’s success has reinforced our belief in the growing demand for world cinema among Indian audiences,” said Ashish Saksena, chief operating officer – Cinemas, Bookmyshow, in a note shared by the firm.

India’s largest film ticket booking company’s business was badly hit due to lockdown-induced closure of cinema halls.

Generating commission or platform fee on movie ticket bookings was Bookmyshow’s primary business. It came to a screeching halt as theatres closed down abruptly and film releases were diverted straight to streaming platforms.

Since then the Mumbai-headquartered platform started renting films, and hosted concerts of musician including Prateek Kuhad and Ed Sheeran’s and Backstreet Boys through the events vertical.

The 25-year-old firm’s monopoly on entertainment bookings in India is similar to Ticket Master’s hold in the US.

Red Lorry Film Festival Take 2 will be held in Mumbai and Hyderabad between March 21 and March 23, 2025.

Streaming platforms

South-ern content is driving streaming platforms’ North star

Amazon Prime Video’s Tamil original shows The Village, Suzhal: The Vortex and Inspector Rishi have generated raves from audiences and critics alike. So much so that the Seattle-based platform has renewed two shows of these shows for a new season.

While Suzhal’s second season is expected to release in early months of 2025 and Inspector Rishi next season is being scripted at the moment, according to The Hollywood Reporter India. “The universal nature of the narrative and its emotions made it appealing for audiences in India and around the world,” said Nikhil Madhok, Head of Originals, Prime Video, about Suzhal to THR.

Tamil is one of India’s major languages spoken by over 60 million people out of the country’s population of over a billion.

Getting a season renewal in the streaming ecosystem could not be discounted as less than a miracle, especially in the current entertainment market climate where content is being axed left, right and centre.

“Any show, which is getting a new season, is probably because that show has led to paid subscribers or increased engagement or other metrics a particular platform values,” says Nandhini JS, creator of Inspector Rishi, in the report.

Access the complete story here.

Liked what you read so far? Still curious? Find our earlier edition here.

In case you missed out…

Revered Indian filmmaker Shyam Benegal passed away
on Dec 24, 2024, about 10 days after celebrating his 90^th birthday. Benegal broke into India’s filmmaking floors with Ankur (1974).
Benegal was born in Hyderabad to a prominent photographer. Image source: X
He came to be known as a director, who veered away from mainstream film genres to explore life of India’s lower-class citizens and brothel runners, among others, pioneering India’s parallel cinema.

Benegal’s vast filmography consists of National Award winners and acclaimed films including Mandi (1983), Manthan (1976), Well Done Abba (2010) and Zubeidaa (2001). His last film Mujib: The Making of a Nation was released in 2023. More here.
Blake Lively’s recent sexual misconduct accusation
against co-star and director Justin Baldoni, from hit film It Ends With Us, showcases a new way of creating celebrity smearing campaigns. In the digital age a campaign’s source could remain untraceable, says The New York Times.
Director Christopher Nolan’s next film to hit theatres in July 2026
GenZ seem to be cinephiles
The Covid-led cinema closures has created many issues in major film industries globally. From less movies making it to cinema halls to consistently low box office collections have only created a doomy scene for filmmakers and studio executives.
A still image from In the Mood For Love. Image source: X
But re-releases of old titles including In the Mood for Love (2000), After Hours (1985) and Barry Lyndon (1975) have been attracting people in the late teens and early 20s, says The Guardian.
‘Dune: Prophecy’ Star Tabu on Sister Francesca Role: ‘Every Scene of Mine Was Beautiful to Play’ (Variety)