A Platform For Global Cinema From The Indian State Of Odisha

When India’s Kaushik Das launched yet another OTT in – AAONXT – in 2020, he was sure of the kind of films he wanted to showcase on his platform. The digital platform i not just the s first Independent OTT platform from the Indian state of Odisha, it also is one of the rare ones that push for regional cinema with global art and craft.

While he agrees that global platforms such as Amazon Prime Video and ZEE5 have woken up to the strength of regional content across various languages in India, Das is confident that there is a lot that can be done about the cinematic standard of the regional films being produced in India.

Filmmaker Abhishek Swain joined the platform as his vision of filmmaking matched with those of the founders of AAONXT. “Right in the first meeting, I felt great as I got to know that they want to make world cinema.I knew the collaboration would be great. In fact, Kaushik sir’s creative inputs match a lot with mine and his ideas lift my content.”

Swain then goes on to explain how he began working on their latest award-winning film, Four. “I pick ideas that have a scope for cinematic and visual experimentation. For example, we used the locations differently for different stories. One (of the four stories in the anthology Four) is shot in the jungle, in natural light, while another one is shot completely inside a room with just artificial light. The lighting, location and even camera movements create unique mood for each story.” The film eventually bagged awards at Indian Television Streaming Awards 2022, for Best Direction and Screenplay Writing.

He adds, “When we first released the film, people could not accept it for what it is. They questioned the camera work and locations of Four. But, I will make a film – with the kind of camera work, lighting and dialogues that the story demands. Sometimes, such experiments do not find fandom immediately but they gain popularity later, especially when made ahead of time.”

Das and Swain also confirm that the second instalment of Four is already in the works The director adds, “The filmmaking process will be an innovative one. It is actually my innovation. It will be my personal visual language and will not match with anything that we have seen. It willl be beautiful, artistic and commercial, and it will also justify then film.”

Interestingly, Das plans on casting people from Bengali and Hindi film industry in the new film. Doesn’t that clash with the entire plan of promoting Odia content? Das says, “I know, but we also need to understand that perhaps not many people outside Odisha will watch. The people and Odisha and Odiya natives staying outside the state may watch it, but what about the rest? I would love to expand my audience and let the world discover how Odias (people from Odisha) are making great content.”

“The market of content business in Odisha is somewhere near $60 million but right now, only 5% of that is being produced. The voice of Odisha must reach a wider audience and this market needs to be explored,” he adds.

AAONXTXT
released its first commercial in March 2021, and within a span of two years, the platform has managed to acquire 700 short films from across the globe, including 400 Telugu and Tamil films. As the user base expands, AAONXT expects to touch 50,000 subscriber base.