Web series: New found flavor of youth

There was actually a time when people of India, especially the women, would discuss about the Saas - Bahu melodrama series of Ekta Kapoor as if it was an integral part of their lives. Television was dominated by such content and besides films there was little variety available for the viewers. But today things are different where we are exposed to web series which have fast replaced television and movie theatres. Now we hear the young generation narrating stories of web series which has become the staple for the new generation. Web series are now gaining popularity in India as the young generation could relate to the content unlike the homogeneous stereotypical melodrama of 90’s. Today's youth talk about the content like- horror series, stand-up comedies, love stories, sci-fi thrillers, crime thrillers, modern relationships among others. Emergence of fast telecom and wire services put an end to the internet crisis in India to a certain extent and for these internet web series platforms like- Netflix, Amazon Prime, ALT Balaji, Hotstar have given a big push among the audience of India, especially the youth. Now a day’s people find it comfortable to sit in their respective places and watch things that are available online. The percentage of people going to the cinema hall for movies has drastically dropped during Covid 19 period and also the price of the tickets are so high that people could easily take subscription on web series platforms for a month with the same amount. The flexibility of viewing the available content as well as the wide variety of content in pocket friendly prices has led its popularity. As the nature of the content of the web series is bold and it does not try to hide the real image of the society and this idea somewhere working in attracting the young generation towards web series. Game of Thrones, Breaking Bad, The Crown, Money Heist, Dark among othres are some of the most popular English web series in the world. People watch episode after episode on one go. Indian content creators are also doing great in the field of web series. There are so many Indian web series (Hindi) popular among the audience. Sacred Games, Panchayat, Mirzapur, Kota factory, Special Ops, Patal lok, The family man among others are so creatively drafted that it feels like consuming a slice of life. Nepotism and favouritism are now very common in the film industry and for this fresh and new talents are being neglected. So many talented actors have been shifting to web series that we could easily find out many versatile actors from web series. As an audience I am also fond of web series. I have been watching web series since long and during this lockdown due to corona I could really get the time to watch many English and Hindi web series. I always try to find motivation through the character and I was positively influenced by some characters of a web series. There are also ways people could negatively influence. Web series have adult content –so keeping it child safe is very essential. Biki Sarmah 1st Smester