The late Bishen Singh Bedi, the mesmerising leg-spinner of late seventies of the last century once remarked wistfully and with pain — in those days we were paid a princely Rs 250 per Test match but when we won the Test in four days, we were paid only Rs 200. Now not only has the match fee increased substantially but the bulk of the money comes from the Indian Premier League (IPL) whose trophy has an interesting inscription on it: Yatra Pratibha Avsara Prapnotihi, a Sanskrit aphorism that means “where talent meets opportunity”. Indeed, IPL is a classic example of democratisation of what till 2008 remained an esoteric pursuit for altruistic considerations. Boys from the Indian hinterland are in its wake striking it rich.
Almost every season, the IPL changes the lives of many an uncapped player (those who have not played international cricket). Their performances are duly acknowledged both on the playing ground as well as with money that is the stuff of many dreams. Some even end up playing international cricket for their respective countries after talent has been spotted by the IPL teams. Sameer Rizvi, the young Uttar Pradesh batsman who shot into limelight with his blistering performance in the UP T20 circuit was one of the most expensive uncapped players at the IPL 2024 auction — he was picked up by Chennai Super Kings (CSK) for a whopping Rs 8.4 crore. Likewise, Shahrukh Khan has earned the reputation of a ‘swashbuckling player’, though he is yet to completely dominate an IPL season. This year he will jump ship and play for a new franchise — Gujarat Titans — which lapped him up for Rs 7.4 crore. The team is known for grooming players like Khan, so it won’t be a surprise if we see the Tamil Nadu batter do wonders in IPL 2024. Money makes the mare go.
Small wonder Indian youngsters remain fixated on earning their spurs and keeps from cricket. Neeraj Chopra the javelin gold medalist at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and silver medalist in the recently concluded Paris 2024 Olympics, in contrast, remains relatively unsung and underpaid. That is of course another story but the undeniable fact is IPL has whetted the appetite of wannabe cricketers in India by taking forward their pipe dreams to fruition.
Netflix the OTT platform too is democratising what was earlier an esoteric pursuit — films. Nepotism was alleged to be running deep in the Indian film industry. Headquartered in Los Gatos California Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand Internet streaming service provider. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple languages. In a way it has accentuated the couch potato syndrome with its easy availability on multiple devices including TV, Laptop and cell phone so long as they are all connected to the internet. Many Indian films and serials distribution rights are now sold to Amazon Prime or Netflix.
One can submit movies directly to Netflix, but they do recommend using a third party with ties to the company. Distributor or aggregator costs vary, and can be over $1,000. If the idea of using an intermediary ie, a third-party aggregator or distributor, you can try submitting your film to a well-known film festival that Netflix might notice. Kartik Aaryan and Kiara Advani's Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 is already streaming on Netflix. The movie did reasonably well at the Indian and global box offices. According to the reports, Netflix sealed the deal with the makers of the movie for Rs 30 crores which is not bad assuming it was a low budget film.
The deep-pocketed Netflix and Amazon now provide the much-needed gravitas to wannabe film producers, actors, directors, cameramen and other technicians though for all one knows they don’t open their purse strings except to acknowledged talent bulk of whom normally prefer the cinema halls through the regular distributing mechanism to heighten their earnings. But even big stars are not averse to acting on OTT platforms so long as the payment is good. Reportedly, Ajay Devgan demanded Rs 18 crore per episode, establishing him as the highest-paid star in India. Manoj Bajpayee, another prominent actor in the OTT realm, commands a significant fee for his roles in web series and films. Nayantara and Vignesh though reportedly had the mortification of losing Rs 25 crore that was offered by Netflix in return for exclusive streaming rights of their marriage. It would have been the ultimate in voyeurism for star-struck Indians but for the reported indiscretion and restlessness of Vignesh in posting some celebrities being welcomed on his Instagram account. A livid Netflix reportedly threw the rule-book (the agreement) at the couple and reneged on the contract. Be that as it may, OTT indeed has been a godsend for both couch potatoes and aspirational film actors as well as stars and technicians.
The bottom line of the IPL and Netflix saga might be opening up of the game and films respectively to the wistful wannabes. But the medal drought in Olympics can be ended only by the government, armed forces and CSR. At every district there must be some sports facility or other. The Olympics medal drought is due to not catching them young and training them at Olympic class facilities. Not all aspirants can be Neeraj Chopra, who has adopted scientific training methods and self-motivating.
S Murlidharan is a freelance columnist and writes on economics, business, legal and taxation issues
