India's Clean Slate Filmz strikes $54m deal with Amazon, Netflix

AN Indian production house has made a $54 million deal with Amazon Prime and Netflix to push out movies and web series, Bloomberg reported. 

Karnesh Ssharma's Clean Slate Filmz will release eight films and series on these streaming sites as well as some others in the next 18 months, the report added.

However, Ssharma declined to provide a full list before they were officially announced.

A Netflix spokesperson confirmed to Bloomberg that they will be rolling out three upcoming productions with Clean Slate Filmz. But Amazon didn’t immediately respond.

Movement curbs due to Covid-19 have eased in India and movie theaters reopened in the past few months.

India on Wednesday (26) recorded 285,914 new coronavirus cases, 11.7 per cent higher than yesterday's total. The total infection tally in India - the second worst-hit country after the US - has crossed 40 million cases, according to health ministry data.

The pandemic has forced people to consume more entertainment online. Studios like Clean Slate Filmz have benefitted from this trend. It produced the 2015 motion feature “NH10”, which starred Ssharma’s actor-sister Anushka Sharma and tackled the practice of so-called honour killings in India. The production firm was also behind the crime series Paatal Lok on Amazon Prime.

Last month, Netflix slashed its India subscription costs by as much as 60 per cent. Currently, Amazon and Walt Disney Co., are the two dominant online entertainment platforms in the country.

According to Bloomberg, Netflix’s co-founder Reed Hastings recently voiced frustration that the streaming giant hadn’t gained momentum in India, known for its highly price-conscious consumers.

The competition between OTT giants has meant that budgets are rising, so is the will to experiment, Ssharma told Bloomberg.

Clean Slate Filmz is now gearing up to release on Netflix Chakda ‘Xpress, a biopic where Anushka will play an Indian cricketer who’s considered one of the world’s greatest female fast bowlers, as well as thriller series Mai and drama film Qala, the report added.