Once upon a time, streaming was the promised land. In India, theaters have long been overlooked by independent filmmakers, such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Jiohotstar (merged Jio Cinema and Disney+Hotstar), Zee5 and Sonyliv become lifelines. "It feels like we can finally tell stories without fighting the same gatekeeper," said Sumanth Bhat, director of Kannada drama. Missy. “We think we have found our place.”

At that time, streamers seemed to yearn for movies and filmmakers, who were not afraid of taking risks. Netflix picks up sensitive adult drama Axonstrouble Meel Patthar Chaitanya Tamhane's positive reviews disciple. But somewhere along the way, especially after the pandemic, the appetite faded.

After years of design and design, Bhat closed two successful companies in early 2020 and they thought it was time to make a movie. “I have a dream of over 15 years of trust in OTTS (on the top or on streaming) and they are actually commissioning movies.” Then the pandemic. “By the time we recover from it, the entire ecosystem has changed.”

In 2023, Jayant Digambar Somalkar made StarrIt is a moderately Marathi film, and is told in a small village, and is told with amazing restraint. It premiered in Toronto and won the Netpac Award for Best Movie. bhat's Missy Played at the Mumbai Mumbai Film Festival and headed to several other film festivals. Harshad Nalawade Followers debuted at the Rotterdam International Film Festival. All independent films are produced in 2023. All three films will be released in the Indian Theatre in 2025.

“I did it Missy For OTT space. I never thought of a dramatic release,” Bart said. “We can’t imagine it. Such movies have audiences, but may not be dramatic audiences. But here's the task now: you have to do a dramatic run to make OTT even consider your movie. This is just for consideration. They have no guarantees to buy it. But you still have to spend on marketing and distribution - sometimes as much as your production budget. ”

Filmmakers now face a paradox: They are forced into a system that has rejected them only to access a platform that once existed, which once bypassed.

Filmmaker Rohan Kanawade Patience BondaIt's a tender, alternative queer drama that became history earlier this year, becoming the first Marathi film to premiere at Sundance. The film goes on to win the World Film Grand Jury Award: A Dramatic Event.

But Kanawade is worried even if it is a victory. "Making this movie is five years of our life. The main producer has to mortgage his house," he said. "I really want to enjoy the journey of making the first movie, but I can't. What if it's not a dramatic release? Or what if the streaming doesn't accept it?"

Even if the movie clears the first obstacle - survive in the theater and get the streamers to it - there is still no promise of safety. “There are few buyers about Marathi or other regional movies.” Starr Director Somalkar. “Zee and Sony operate on revenue share. Amazon and Netflix rarely acquire them. Even Jiohotstar follows a revenue sharing model.”

In the revenue sharing model, the streamer hosts the movie and pays a small amount based on the audience's consumption (usually 9 cents per view or 9 cents per hour or 9 cents per hour for viewing).

If all of this isn't enough to fill India's independent filmmakers with pain, then there's a new twist: sources of film marketing tell India Some streaming platforms require film producers to pay to host their movies.

“It’s absolutely ridiculous,” Nalaward said. "Stream charging? Cloud storage?" He smiled in disbelief. “It’s just a large hard drive.”

India Netflix, Zee5, Jiohotstar and Sonyliv extend out of streaming platform Amazon Prime Video, asking what steps are being taken, if any, to support and even acknowledge India’s independent film crisis. All platforms declined to comment.