By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, July 22: Meghalaya has unveiled its first Over-The-Top (OTT) platform called Hello Meghalaya, dedicated to showcasing the state’s creative and informative content. This initiative has sparked optimism among local filmmakers, content creators, and musicians, providing a new avenue for their work to reach wider audiences and generate income.
Hello Meghalaya offers substantial financial support to creators. Filmmakers can receive up to Rs 5 lakh per film, with additional funding for nationally or internationally acclaimed works. Content creators are eligible for Rs 18,000 per month for maximum uploads, with more funds allocated based on viewership. The platform also supports short video and short filmmakers.
Views and constructive suggestions poured in from various filmmakers and content creators of the state on this development.
Meghalaya’s renowned filmmaker Pradip Kurbah said, “I would love to see the OTT grow with good content. They should give some importance to web series as well. What works for most of the OTT platforms is web series and we come from such a place that there are so many stories to tell (through the medium of web series)”. “In this (web series) format, you get more time and space to tell your stories. I think they should look into that aspect. I hope the OTT comes out with the original content from their side too. At the same time, by giving an opportunity to filmmakers and content creators, they are on the right track but the worrying factor is that the growth of the OTT depends on the audience”.
“People, in spite of ‘Hello Meghalaya’ providing the content to watch, are pirating it. When the content is already available on OTT platforms, why screen-record and share? If you like the film, just register and watch it on the platform. This helps the OTT platform to grow. It may otherwise lose revenue if people don’t subscribe and instead share the screen recordings,” he remarked.
‘Another YouTube’
National award winning filmmaker from Meghalaya, Dominic Megam Sangma said, “…OTT platforms are generally for series, documentaries. It is a filmmakers’ platform where you get to see generally what you do not get to see on a place like YouTube”.
He cautioned that allowing content creators to put up content on Hello Meghalaya is almost equivalent to “creating another YouTube”. “You might as well create a YouTube channel and put all the content there in the name of Meghalaya,” he quipped.
Making it substantially clear that he is not against content creators, he added, “The government can still support them (content creators). But by bringing an OTT platform and showcasing the content creators while they already exist on YouTube, you are undermining the filmmakers”.
“Pradip (Kurbah) has done a lot of films, some of them rare. These require more effort and funds, and we are also not getting a platform. The fact is that creating an OTT platform and mixing it up with content creators shows they have no clue what they are doing,” he remarked.
Emphasising that the initiative needs more thought, Sangma added, “Who are you really trying to help and support? You can support content creators but I don’t think they are really looking for a platform as the platform is already there, such as YouTube, Instagram and Facebook”.
OTT over cinema hall
Celebrating the launch of the OTT platform, filmmaker Simi Khongthiang praised the initiative stating that people these days do not go to cinema halls anymore. “Since lockdown (due to COVID), people are used to watch everything on the phone,” she rued.
She, however, pointed out “some minor errors”, which she expects will be fixed. “A lot more refining needs to be done with the OTT app in terms of categorising the movies based on their reach. It will be beneficial if all errors are corrected and the app is made more refined,” she added.
Famous content creator and social media favourite, Ferdinand Rani, said, “It’s an opportunity for content creators to take this up as a career option. It was agreed upon that Rs 3,000 will be paid for every content that is uploaded and an additional Rs 1,000 for every 10,000 views, which is promising, especially for beginners.”
Rani believes the platform will encourage creators to put up meaningful and quality content along with a local touch — all in one platform.
Talking about apprehensions, he said, “Since it’s a new initiative, there will be hurdles that we should expect but not at the cost of the creators’ livelihood. Since it’s a government programme, we hope that there will be consistency and won’t discontinue only with this current dispensation”.
He emphasised on regularity in payments greatly, stating that this aspect is crucial.
Another filmmaker, Kiki Garod, said that he will wait and watch as this initiative progresses as it is too early to say anything.
He, however, said there is a lot of hope that this platform will do really well and take things to a different level.