Anushka Sharma's Clean Slate Filmz working on women-centric OTT platform
Clean Slate Filmz, owned by actor Anushka Sharma and her brother Karnesh Ssharma, are expanding their content creation branch. The production house announced on Tuesday that they are currently working on digital platform, Clean OTT. It has been billed as "world's only female-oriented original content streaming platform." This comes five weeks after Clean Slate signed a Rs. 4B deal with Amazon Inc. and Netflix.
Since its inception, Clean Slate Filmz has backed women-led projects like NH10, Phillauri, Pari, and Bulbbul. So, this does not come as a surprise. To be launched in the first quarter of next year, Clean OTT will have regional and international films, web series, and docu-series in its content slate. It will showcase works of producers belonging to India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Nepal.
"I'm conscious of the responsibility that entertainment platforms have in producing and promoting stories that don't endorse bias. For centuries patriarchy has governed storytelling, and I've always felt men play an equal part in shifting the narrative," said Ssharma of the venture. "When the voices of women are heard, it teaches us new perspectives which, as an audience and filmmaker, are just as compelling."
"It's stereotypical when I hear people say women's stories are just about oppression or fall into the romcom genre. Female first content is in fact extremely exciting and eclectic," Ssharma added. He noted that "women make up 50% of viewership in India" and yet shows, series or/and films mostly represent females in "secondary fashion." This is where Clean OTT intends to bridge the gap.
Clean OTT will follow an annual subscription and SVOD (Subscription Video On Demand) model. It will initially be launched in India and later expanded to the UK, USA, Canada, and UAE. As far as Clean Slate Filmz's deals with Amazon and Netflix are concerned, they will be producing eight films and series for the OTT platforms and other sites in the next 18 months.
