Streaming and India's film-centred video culture: Linguistic and formal diversity

Abstract

In this article, I foreground the importance of the ‘cinematic’ as the most important vector of video cultures in India. The article identifies how the timeline of video culture disruption in India deviates from countries with stronger television-based cultures. The availability of videocassettes and their ability to make movies more widely available was consequently of greater consequence in India than in other places, and a development that was still adjusting the video culture as digital distribution arrived. Internet distribution and digital production technologies have also brought significant changes to India's viewing culture, though again, the peculiarities of the Indian market make these changes distinctive. Where many countries have encountered greater access to foreign-produced content and services, key digital changes in India tie into access to and interest in a broader range of domestic cinema. The following analysis flags key moments of disruption and explores discussion of the emergence of pan-Indian film that coincided with streaming platform adoption in India.

Tracing Evolution and Communication Dynamics in Chinese Independent Documentary Films (2012-2022): A Systematic Review of Genre, Censorship, Culture, and Distribution

“…Online platforms have offered a global stage for independent documentaries, providing them with the visibility and accessibility they deserve (Flew et al, 2019). These platforms, spanning video-sharing websites and streaming services, have become the modernday venues for showcasing documentary narratives (Tiwary, 2024). Filmmakers have found in them not just a distribution channel but also a means to transcend borders, sharing their stories with audiences far beyond their immediate geographical reach.…”

Relocating video cultures

“…Unlike many Western countries with long histories of wide television adoption, cinema and cinemagoing were the defining aspects of Indian video culture, and the arrival of digital technologies introduced substantial changes to the significant adjustments wrought by VHS and VCD that were still being negotiated. Ishita Tiwary (2024) discusses how streaming technologies have expanded available films, especially regional films, for Indian viewers by extending distribution of such content, but also through better subtitling and dubbing. Despite the ‘global’ implications of streaming in many markets, the adjustment in Indian video cultures is more closely linked to greater access to a range of regional cinemas within the nation, and more opportunity for a variety of film cultures to be served.…”