Streaming Giants Carve New Paths in India: The Rise of Female Production, Content, and Consumption

Abstract

This article examines how through their competitive drive to expand in India’s rapidly growing market, the streaming services Netflix and Amazon Prime are contributing to a shift in the country’s media production and content by opening up the market to more women creators and consumers. Beginning by looking at production shifts, this article will then explore how these shifts are impacting content. Streaming series examined here will include Netflix’s Bombay Begums (Alankrita Shrivastava, 2021) and Masaba Masaba (Ashvini Yardi, 2020) and Amazon Prime’s Four More Shots Please! (Rangita Pritish Nandy, 2019–2020) and Made in Heaven (Zoya Akhtar and Reema Kagti, 2019). All these shows not only center on female protagonists, but are created, written, and directed by women. Just as the new possibilities of multiplex cinema impacted mainstream cinema as filmmakers crossed between the alternative and multiplex markets and the mainstream, this shift has the potential to have ramifications in further content creation and will be something to watch as the streaming service sector continues to grow in India.