Anushka Sharma deals worth of $54 Million with Amazon and Netflix

As the fight for content heats up in one of the world's major entertainment markets, Amazon.com Inc. and Netflix Inc. are among the platforms teaming with Indian production business Clean Slate Filmz Pvt. to push out movies and web series worth approximately 4 billion rupees ($54 million).

In the next 18 months, Clean Slate Filmz, situated in Mumbai's Bollywood heartland, will distribute eight films and series on these over-the-top streaming platforms, as well as some others, according to Karnesh Ssharma, the studio's 37-year-old co-founder. Before they were formally announced, Ssharma declined to offer a complete list.

Netflix confirmed that three planned productions with Clean Slate Filmz will be released, while Amazon did not immediately react to a request for comment.

The release schedule is the latest indicator that film production in the world's most prolific movie-making centre is recovering after being ravaged by the Covid-19 outbreak, which shut down cinemas and film shoots across the country and caused financial and logistical havoc. In recent months, movement restrictions have been loosened and movie theatres have reopened, boosting the chances of India's studios even further.

The epidemic, which compelled individuals to consume more entertainment online, exposed India's almost 1.4 billion people to a wide range of geographies and specialised genres on a never-before-seen scale.

Studios that are more edgy:

This has sparked a competition among streaming behemoths to get content, helping smaller but edgier studios like Clean Slate Filmz, which produced the 2015 motion picture "NH10," starring Ssharma's Bollywood actress-sister Anushka Sharma and tackling the practise of so-called honour killings in India.

Netflix dropped its India subscription prices by up to 60% last month in an attempt to reclaim market share from Amazon and Walt Disney Co., the country's two biggest online entertainment platforms. Netflix Co-Founder Reed Hastings expressed disappointment last week that the streaming behemoth had failed to establish traction in India, which is known for its price-conscious clientele.

According to Sharma, whose studio is behind the critically acclaimed crime series "Paatal Lok" on Amazon Prime Video, the competition between OTT giants has increased budgets and the willingness to experiment.

Clean Slate Filmz is currently preparing to premiere "Chakda 'Xpress," a biopic in which Anushka plays an Indian cricketer who is regarded as one of the world's greatest female fast bowlers, as well as the thriller series "Mai" and the drama picture "Qala" on Netflix.

"What has happened over a period of time is ambition is also going up within the studio systems," Ssharma said. "And that's great for people like us."