Filmfare OTT Awards 2023: A Brief Breakdown
Filmfare OTT Awards 2023: A Brief Breakdown
Did your favourite shows, OTT platforms, & actors win?
Hey Streamers 👋,
Welcome to the 16th edition of “Streaming in India”, your weekly news digest about streaming players, OTT trends and more in one of the fastest growing video markets. If you are not already a subscriber, please sign up and join several others who receive it directly in their inbox every Wednesday.
Today’s program:
The Winning OTT Platforms
My Views
And….Action!
Winners of the Filmfare OTT Awards 2023
The Filmfare OTT Awards are annual awards that honour artistic and technical excellence in the Hindi-language OTT space. Filmfare’s awards, events & ceremonies are some of the most famous film events in India (equivalent in many ways to the Oscars in Hollywood). The awards were introduced by the Filmfare magazine of The Times Group in 1954, the same year as the National Film Awards.
The Filmfare OTT Awards 2023 returned for a 4th edition to honour the finest artists, directors, storytellers, musicians and technicians from OTT series and web original films. The ceremony held on November 26 this year, saw some of the best names take home the coveted Black Lady.
The winners this year have been listed below along with the OTT platform and IMDB rating associated with the OTT series / Web Film so as to also analyze the platforms making the right choices of commissioning award winning content.
BEST SERIES
SCOOP [NETFLIX, IMDB: 7.6 / 10]
BEST SERIES, CRITICS'
TRIAL BY FIRE [NETFLIX, IMDB: 7.7]
BEST DIRECTOR SERIES
VIKRAMADITYA MOTWANE (JUBILEE) [AMAZON PRIME VIDEO, IMDB: 8.3]
BEST DIRECTOR, CRITICS'
RANDEEP JHA (KOHRRA) [NETFLIX, IMDB: 7.5]
BEST ACTOR, SERIES (MALE): DRAMA
SUVINDER VICKY (KOHRRA) [NETFLIX, IMDB: 7.5]
BEST ACTOR, SERIES (MALE), CRITICS': DRAMA
VIJAY VARMA (DAHAAD) [AMAZON PRIME VIDEO, IMDB: 7.6]
BEST ACTOR, SERIES (FEMALE): DRAMA
RAJSHRI DESHPANDE (TRIAL BY FIRE) [NETFLIX, IMDB: 7.7]
BEST ACTOR, SERIES (FEMALE), CRITICS': DRAMA
KARISHMA TANNA (SCOOP) [NETFLIX, IMDB: 7.6 / 10]
SONAKSHI SINHA (DAHAAD) [AMAZON PRIME VIDEO, IMDB: 7.6]
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR, SERIES (MALE): DRAMA
BARUN SOBTI (KOHRRA) [NETFLIX, IMDB: 7.5]
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR, SERIES (FEMALE): DRAMA
TILLOTAMA SHOME (DELHI CRIME SEASON 2) [NETFLIX, IMDB: 8.5]
BEST ACTOR, SERIES (MALE): COMEDY
ABHISHEK BANERJEE (THE GREAT WEDDINGS OF MUNNES) [JIOCINEMA, IMDB: 8.2]
BEST ACTOR, SERIES (FEMALE): COMEDY
MAANVI GAGROO (TVF TRIPLING) [ZEE5, IMDB: 8.5]
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR, SERIES (MALE): COMEDY
ARUNABH KUMAR (TVF PITCHERS S2) [ZEE5, IMDB: 9.1]
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR, SERIES (FEMALE): COMEDY
SHERNAZ PATEL (TVF TRIPLING S3) [ZEE5, IMDB: 8.5]
BEST COMEDY (SERIES/SPECIALS)
TVF PITCHERS S2 [ZEE5, IMDB: 9.1]
BEST NON-FICTION ORIGINAL, SERIES/SPECIAL
CINEMA MARTE DUM TAK [AMAZON PRIME VIDEO, IMDB: 7.6]
BEST FILM, WEB ORIGINAL
SIRF EK BANDAA KAAFI HAI [ZEE5, IMDB: 7.9]
BEST FILM CRITICS'
KONKONA SEN SHARMA (LUST STORIES 2) [NETFLIX, IMDB: 6.7]
VASAN BALA (MONICA O MY DARLING) [NETFLIX, IMDB: 7.4]
BEST DIRECTOR, WEB ORIGINAL FILM
APOORV SINGH KARKI (SIRF EK BANDAA KAAFI HAI) [ZEE5, IMDB: 7.9]
BEST ACTOR, WEB ORIGINAL FILM (MALE)
MANOJ BAJPAYEE (SIRF EK BANDAA KAAFI HAI) [ZEE5, IMDB: 7.9]
BEST ACTOR, CRITICS' (MALE): FILM
RAJKUMMAR RAO (MONICA O MY DARLING) [NETFLIX, IMDB: 7.4]
BEST ACTOR, WEB ORIGINAL FILM (FEMALE)
ALIA BHATT (DARLINGS) [NETFLIX, IMDB: 6.6]
BEST ACTOR, CRITICS' (FEMALE): FILM
SHARMILA TAGORE (GULMOHAR) [DISNEY+ HOTSTAR, IMDB: 7.6]
SANYA MALHOTRA (KATHAL) [NETFLIX, IMDB: 6.7]
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR, WEB ORIGINAL FILM (MALE)
SURAJ SHARMA (GULMOHAR) [DISNEY+ HOTSTAR, IMDB: 7.6]
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR, WEB ORIGINAL FILM (FEMALE)
AMRUTA SUBHASH (LUST STORIES 2) [NETFLIX, IMDB: 6.7]
SHEFALI SHAH (DARLINGS) [NETFLIX, IMDB: 6.6]
The Winning OTT Platforms
We analyzed the award winners and associated OTT platforms across all the major popular categories at this year’s Filmfare OTT Awards and found the following results (also showcased above) -
SonyLIV and MX Player, the other two leading and popular OTT platforms in Hindi are missing from the list which is surprising, however also goes to show the intense competition in the Indian OTT arena where global giants are competing with local platforms for eyeballs and subscribers.
Netflix and Zee5 together make up 76% of the awards, leaving the balance between Amazon Prime Video, Disney+ Hotstar and JioCinema.
My Views - Lens on 2024
Year of the Underdog
In 2023, the major OTT platforms like Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+ Hotstar, Zee5, & JioCinema received all the accolades and awards, however I believe that several lesser known / regional OTT platforms are poised for breakout growth in 2024 and will surprise us with quality original content.
The Filmfare OTT awards focus only on “Hindi” shows, however in the age of a cross cultural content renaissance, we are missing out on felicitating and encouraging shows and related platforms from across the country including the likes of aha (Telugu), Malayala Manorama (Malayalam), SunNXT (Tamil, Telugu, Kannada etc), Chaupal (Punjabi), DangalPlay (Bhojpuri), Stage OTT (Haryanvi), Hoichoi (Bengali), Kanccha Lannka (Odiya), Oho Gujarati, and many more.
Seasons Galore
Panchayat Season 3 (Prime Video), Aashram Season 4 (MX Player), Asur Season 3 (Jio Cinema), Farzi Season 2 (Prime Video), Family Man Season 3 (Prime Video), Flames Season 4 (Prime Video), Special Ops Season 2 (Disney+ Hotstar), Mirzapur Season 3 (Prime Video), Shark Tank India Season 3 (SonyLIV), Humorously Yours Season 3 (Zee5), and many more are to hit OTT screens in 2024 validating a loyal fan base who are thirsting to see their favourite characters and shows back in action / stories to continue.
Plus it’s great to see some of the more famous Bollywood actors take to OTT with a gusto - whether it’s Manoj Bajpayee in Family Man OR Bobby Deol (flavour of the nation after Animal), several A-listers come back with follow on seasons of their marquee shows.
National and Regional Integration
Content: Over the past several months, we have seen South Indian film stars & directors working in “Hindi” movies for a broader / national appeal and access to fans and subscribers from across the cultural divide. 2024 will hopefully kickstart a revolution across the “original content” space on OTT as well where there is cross polination of actors, directors and stories between the North and the South of the country. As an example, Farzi has already shown the way with National Award Winning Tamil actor and producer, Vijay Sethupathi playing a leading role ALONG with Shahid Kapoor.
Platforms: Beyond dubbing and sub-titling which have become table stakes for OTT platforms in India (great opportunity to use AI to dub quickly and therefore multiply access to users + 42 Indian languages, and therefore a tremendous opportunity), 2024 will see large OTT platforms double down on regional content. For example, SonyLIV, the video streaming platform owned by Sony Pictures Networks India, is betting on shows in Telugu, Tamil and Malayalam, spurred by rapid adoption of online content in the southern states. “We’re looking at an expansion of our content slate plan in the south and will start dropping shows in three languages—Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam, which should be followed by Marathi and Bengali," Saugata Mukherjee, head of content, SonyLIV, said in an interview.
“A lot of time this year was spent on getting the groundwork for the same in place and it should be interesting to see how they perform," he added.
That’s all for today folks. If you enjoyed this breakdown, please consider sharing it with your friends and colleagues.
I hope everyone has a great week, see you online in 2024. Wishing you a joyful Christmas and a prosperous New Year!
Until then enjoy the delightful slice of life comedy-drama Mast Mein Rehne Ka, starring Jackie Shroff and Neena Gupta with the backdrop of Bombay (will always remain Bombay for me!) playing a supporting role. Great chemistry between the lead actors, the quirks and histrionics of Bombay in all it’s glory and a North - South cultural dynamic all making for an awesome two hours streaming.
Story: Kamath, a retired widower trapped in a solitary and monotonous life, is determined to make friends. When he meets Mrs Handa, a bubbly woman, they begin a strong friendship through their adventures and moments spent together. Watch it with your loved ones this December on Prime Video.
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