Netflix, Amazon sign ₹4-bn deal with Anushka Sharma’s company

Clean Slate Filmz, actor Anushka Sharma’s production house, has tied up Amazon and Netflix and other OTT platforms to release eight films and series worth about 4 billion rupees ($54 million), according to a Bloomberg report.

Karnesh Ssharma, co-founder of Clean Slate Filmz and Anushka’s brother, told the news agency that these films and shows will be released on the platforms over the next 18 months. The details of the works will be revealed at the time of the release only.

A Netflix spokesperson confirmed to Bloomberg about three collaborations with Clean Slate Filmz.

The huge investment comes as a sign of recovery to the film industry which has for long been suffering due to the Covid-19 pandemic and related curbs, which included restrictions on number of people gathering for movie-making and at cinema halls.

With easing of curbs over the last several months, the movie industry has been seeing a revival of its fortunes, despite certain hiccups as the current wave of pandemic hit.

However, the pandemic forced people indoors and this came as a boon for the OTT platforms which took advantage of the situation and showcased a wide range of films and shows of niche genres across the globe.

Also read: South films leave Bollywood behind in race for OTT

OTT platforms are also fighting with each other to vie for the best content from studios.

Smaller studios like Clean Slate Filmz benefitted from the move. The studio has produced the 2015 film NH10, which deals with the practice of honour killings in India. It has also produced the acclaimed crime series Paatal Lok on Amazon Prime Video.

As part of an effort to regain market share from Amazon and Disney Co., Netflix slashed its India subscription prices by as much as 60% last month.

In a series of tweets last week, Reed Hastings expressed frustration that Netflix had not picked up momentum in India, despite the country’s price-conscious consumers.

Due to the competition between OTT giants, budgets are rising, as is the willingness to experiment, according to Ssharma.

“What has happened over a period of time is ambition is also going up within the studio systems,” Ssharma said. “And that’s great for people like us,” he told Bloomberg.