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Ekta Kapoor’s entry into the OTT sector with ALTBalaji seemed like a much needed and welcome change three years back when her only contribution to the Indian entertainment industry was saas-bahu soaps and tacky horror movies.
Impact Of Ekta Kapoor On Indian Television
Nobody today is unaware of the cultural impact that Ekta Kapoor is capable of creating. She single-handedly redesigned or rather, exacerbated the content of Indian television. You won’t probably believe me, right?
Search for Hum Log, Buniyaad, Arohan, Malgudi days on the internet, and you will have your answer!
Her OTT Content Is Not Really Progressive!
Therefore, when she decided to launch her own OTT app, ALT Balaji, the stakes were pretty high. Because this was meant to cater to a much larger group of audience, everybody expected something a little more progressive and intelligent.
The web-series sold under the garb of modernity and liberalism are no less mindless, creepy, and misogynistic. Many of the shows on this platform are just a lite version of what other awful streaming platforms like ULLU and KooKu are doing.
The unrestricted portrayal of sex is hardly the problem here because the old and awkward Bollywood way of dealing with sex still dominates the script. The in-your-face breast and penis jokes and metaphors do not really make Ekta Kapoor’s content bold and challenging.
Also Read: From Ekta Kapoor’s Gandi Baat, To Netflix’s Lust Stories, Indian Erotica Is Becoming Increasingly Popular Online
How Can Her Shows Impact Indian OTT Platforms?
Over the years, Ekta Kapoor has divided the audience into four main categories- rural male and female, and urban male and female.
It may show that she is too good to understand what her audience wants. But what it definitely shows is that she is perpetuating stereotypes by compartmentalizing content according to its supposed audience.
We do know what she has done with Indian television, and therefore we should know what she is capable of doing with the Indian OTT platforms. The cheap subscription for her app makes it much more accessible, and many more Indians are now vulnerable to the trash she claims as being ‘content’.
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The post is tagged under: Ekta Kapoor, Indian soap-operas, OTT, Gandi Baat, XXX, Saas Bahu, regressive, sexist, insensitive, ALT Balaji, Cultural regression, negative impact, sex, poor content, cheap subscription, boring, mindless, garbage, trash content, TRP
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