Amazon Prime Originals: A Boon for Content Creators In India
*By Bridgette Webb*
Since its founding in 1951, the Film Censor Board in India has kept Bollywood light and non-threatening.
Enter Amazon, which is partnering with Excel Entertainment to produce "Mirzapur," a new, darker variety of Indian entertainment.
"Amazon ($AMZN) has provided us a platform where we are able to circumnavigate a lot of restrictions that we had in the mainstream media platforms, like television,” series creator Karan Anshuman said Monday in an interview on Cheddar.
According to Anshuman, the series, an action-packed mafia drama, represents a first for Indian television.
"This is the first time we have a mafia gangster drama, that's got a lot of blood and gore that's in your face. That's what really sets it apart from what we have seen so far," he said.
Anshuman his producer, Ritesh Sidhwani, and Amazon veered darker in their first collaboration, the inaugural Indian Prime original series, "Inside Edge," which earned a nomination for Best Drama series at this year's international Emmy awards.
For Amazon, India and its population of 1.3 billion represents a massive new market for the streaming service.
To Anshuman, his partnership with Amazon also presents a rich opportunity ー one he acknowledged is less possible in his home country.
"We have the talent, they are just shackled in many ways ー they're are just too many hurdles to get past. It's only platforms like Amazon that has given us the opportunity to really shine in terms of writing and producing good content."
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/amazons-latest-bet-on-indian-content-hits-the-masses).
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