<p>A ten-member committee is looking into the proposal to launch a government-run OTT platform to promote Kannada films. Headed by the Commissioner of Information and Public Relations Department, it is examining a pioneering initiative in Kerala, a state which launched its own OTT platform in 2024.</p><p>Filmmakers and cinephiles Showtime spoke to, say a government-run OTT platform could address the concerns of filmmakers in Karnataka.</p><p>“Kannada cinema is facing a peculiar problem. In Karnataka, films made in all the south Indian languages and English and Hindi find a market. So the competition is between Kannada filmmakers and the bigwigs of other languages,” says Girish Kasaravalli, veteran filmmaker with a body of work spanning five decades and 18 films.</p><p><strong>Kerala model</strong></p><p>In March 2024, the Kerala government launched the first government backed OTT space. Called CSpace, it was developed by Kerala State Film Development Corporation (KSTDC) to promote Malayalam films with artistic and cultural value.</p><p>Creative director and producer Muktha Deedi Chand’s film ‘John’, a tribute to stalwart filmmaker John Abraham, is on the platform. She is worried about its technical glitches.</p>.<p>“CSpace is a great initiative, but the system keeps crashing interrupting the streaming,” she says. “The backend team resolves problems quickly, but not everybody has the patience to call them up.” </p>.<p>CSpace follows a rental system. Viewers are charged <br>Rs 75 for a film, and the fee allows them to watch it three times. The revenue is shared by the government and the filmmaker on a 50-50 basis. “At the end of the month, the producer’s share is deposited in the linked account,” says Muktha.</p>.<p>Is the system transparent? “They do give us the credentials to check the dashboard but that hasn’t been functioning too well either,” she says. She believes shifting to a monthly subscription model might work better for everyone.</p>.<p><strong>Focus questions</strong></p>.<p>Apart from promoting Kannada films, it would be good for a state-run OTT platform to feature good world cinema, cinephiles and filmmakers say. </p>.<p>Vivekananda Kodandaraman, cinephile from Bengaluru, believes that the platform should work towards improving the cinema literacy of the state. “Many TV channels like UTV World Movies used to show foreign language films, and they introduced me to films from different countries. Some OTT platforms now have foreign language films but they are mostly mainstream,” he says.</p>.<p>He believes the Karnataka OTT platform can do for the districts what film festivals do for cities. “People complain about film festivals being limited to only Bengaluru. This platform can source foreign language films and add Kannada subtitles,” he suggests. </p>.<p>Film critic and curator Christopher Dalton says old Malayalam classics are popular, and could be onboarded on CSpace. “Pirated copies make their way to online spaces in low resolution prints without subtitles. And they have a substantial audience,” he says. </p>.<p>“In addition to Kannada, the state should focus on the other languages of Karnataka like Tulu and Kodava-tak,” says Samvartha Sahil, who teaches screenwriting at Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune. This will attract diverse audiences who can then be introduced to serious cinema, he reckons.</p>.<p>“Curation is important. If the OTT platform can do what film societies did, then it will be a great initiative. But if it ends up being another Netflix or Amazon Prime… we don’t need another,” he says.</p>.<p><strong>Who curates them?</strong></p>.<p>Viveka, a cinephile who watches non-mainstream OTT channels such as Mubi, says the danger with a state-backed OTT platform is that it could be used for ruling party propaganda.</p>.<p>“The most important question is, who will run the platform. Is it government officials or filmmakers? If the person heading the platform is answerable to a government official, then it is a problem. It must be independent,” he says.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Kasaravalli agrees. “People who are aware of the arts and cinema’s social responsibility must be on the curation committee,” he says emphasising that meaningful Kannada films must be prioritised.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The government has come up with many initiatives to promote Kannada cinema. But they are often misused. The subsidy scheme is a glaring example.</p>
<p>A ten-member committee is looking into the proposal to launch a government-run OTT platform to promote Kannada films. Headed by the Commissioner of Information and Public Relations Department, it is examining a pioneering initiative in Kerala, a state which launched its own OTT platform in 2024.</p><p>Filmmakers and cinephiles Showtime spoke to, say a government-run OTT platform could address the concerns of filmmakers in Karnataka.</p><p>“Kannada cinema is facing a peculiar problem. In Karnataka, films made in all the south Indian languages and English and Hindi find a market. So the competition is between Kannada filmmakers and the bigwigs of other languages,” says Girish Kasaravalli, veteran filmmaker with a body of work spanning five decades and 18 films.</p><p><strong>Kerala model</strong></p><p>In March 2024, the Kerala government launched the first government backed OTT space. Called CSpace, it was developed by Kerala State Film Development Corporation (KSTDC) to promote Malayalam films with artistic and cultural value.</p><p>Creative director and producer Muktha Deedi Chand’s film ‘John’, a tribute to stalwart filmmaker John Abraham, is on the platform. She is worried about its technical glitches.</p>.<p>“CSpace is a great initiative, but the system keeps crashing interrupting the streaming,” she says. “The backend team resolves problems quickly, but not everybody has the patience to call them up.” </p>.<p>CSpace follows a rental system. Viewers are charged <br>Rs 75 for a film, and the fee allows them to watch it three times. The revenue is shared by the government and the filmmaker on a 50-50 basis. “At the end of the month, the producer’s share is deposited in the linked account,” says Muktha.</p>.<p>Is the system transparent? “They do give us the credentials to check the dashboard but that hasn’t been functioning too well either,” she says. She believes shifting to a monthly subscription model might work better for everyone.</p>.<p><strong>Focus questions</strong></p>.<p>Apart from promoting Kannada films, it would be good for a state-run OTT platform to feature good world cinema, cinephiles and filmmakers say. </p>.<p>Vivekananda Kodandaraman, cinephile from Bengaluru, believes that the platform should work towards improving the cinema literacy of the state. “Many TV channels like UTV World Movies used to show foreign language films, and they introduced me to films from different countries. Some OTT platforms now have foreign language films but they are mostly mainstream,” he says.</p>.<p>He believes the Karnataka OTT platform can do for the districts what film festivals do for cities. “People complain about film festivals being limited to only Bengaluru. This platform can source foreign language films and add Kannada subtitles,” he suggests. </p>.<p>Film critic and curator Christopher Dalton says old Malayalam classics are popular, and could be onboarded on CSpace. “Pirated copies make their way to online spaces in low resolution prints without subtitles. And they have a substantial audience,” he says. </p>.<p>“In addition to Kannada, the state should focus on the other languages of Karnataka like Tulu and Kodava-tak,” says Samvartha Sahil, who teaches screenwriting at Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune. This will attract diverse audiences who can then be introduced to serious cinema, he reckons.</p>.<p>“Curation is important. If the OTT platform can do what film societies did, then it will be a great initiative. But if it ends up being another Netflix or Amazon Prime… we don’t need another,” he says.</p>.<p><strong>Who curates them?</strong></p>.<p>Viveka, a cinephile who watches non-mainstream OTT channels such as Mubi, says the danger with a state-backed OTT platform is that it could be used for ruling party propaganda.</p>.<p>“The most important question is, who will run the platform. Is it government officials or filmmakers? If the person heading the platform is answerable to a government official, then it is a problem. It must be independent,” he says.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Kasaravalli agrees. “People who are aware of the arts and cinema’s social responsibility must be on the curation committee,” he says emphasising that meaningful Kannada films must be prioritised.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The government has come up with many initiatives to promote Kannada cinema. But they are often misused. The subsidy scheme is a glaring example.</p>