Netflix has been betting big on the Indian market and the last time we reported they had signed a deal with an Indian director for the show Brahman Naman, but that was only about exclusively streaming the movie online. Today, the company has announced yet another partnership, this time around an original series with Sacred Games author Vikram Chandra, and the much acclaimed Phantom films. The series will be shot in India and made available for the Netflix global audience.
The Sacred Games is akin to a part thriller part true story that dissects into the world of organised crimes, corruptions, power games and political ordeals with the Indian context. The series is also expected to traverse through the story of how the rich and the ones that weave power will go to extreme extents for their personal gains. Sacred Games is not just restricted to the present day political liaisons but it also imbibes the themes from the rather gruesome violence of the 1947 partition.
This is what Mr Chandra had to say about the deal, “Over the last few years, I’ve watched with great excitement and pleasure as Netflix has transformed narrative television with its ground-breaking, genre-bending shows,” he further added that “I’m confident that all the colour and vitality and music of the fictional world I’ve lived with for so long will come fully alive on the large scale canvas provided by Netflix, I’m thrilled to be working with Netflix and Phantom Films.”
We're excited to announce our first original series from India in partnership with @FuhSePhantom based on Vikram Chandra's Sacred Games!
— Netflix India (@NetflixIndia) June 6, 2016
Netflix has been thriving on its original content from long and unlike other services like Hotstar they don’t have licensing pact with other content providers like HBO. In fact, it is said that most of the production houses are reluctant to license their content to Netflix since they see them more like a rival than a partner.
The economics for Netflix is pretty simple – create original, exclusive content and get more subscribers on board. Despite the high costs associated with the original content, it is very likely that the corresponding increase in the subscribers will help Netflix rake in more revenue and also increase their user base considerably. Nevertheless we are excited to watch how the Sacred Games would shape up as a Netflix series and considering the finesse with which Netflix partners produce their shows, we are sure that it will be an exciting watch.