Mumbai: Minister of information and broadcasting (MIB) launched “Azadi Ki Amrit Kahaniya” - a short video series created in collaboration with OTT platform Netflix on Tuesday.
The ministry and Netflix have collaborated to produce the first set of videos featuring seven women changemakers from across the country who share their experiences in breaking the glass ceiling. Showcasing the unique diversity of India, these two-minute short films were shot in locations across the country and are narrated by acclaimed actor, Neena Gupta.
The seven changemakers include Poonam Nautiyal, a healthcare worker who walked miles across Bageshwar district in Uttarakhand to vaccinate everyone, Dr Tessy Thomas, the first woman scientist to head a missile project in India, Tanvi Jagadish, India's first competitive woman stand-up paddleboarder and Aarohi Pandit, the world's youngest and first woman pilot to cross the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean solo in a light-sport aircraft. Three of the videos and a trailer offering a sneak peek into the series, were released on Tuesday.
The announcement was made as part of the celebration of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav in the presence of ministry of state Dr L Murugan, ministry of information and broadcasting secretary Apurva Chandra and Netflix head of global TV Bela Bajaria.
The I&B minister indicated that this was a long-term partnership where different themes and diverse stories will be highlighted. He said, “Netflix will be producing twenty-five videos on themes including women empowerment, environment and sustainable development and other days of significance. Netflix will produce two-minute short films for the ministry which will be shared on social media platforms and telecast on Doordarshan network.”
Thakur elaborated that the ministry in partnership with Netflix will continue to organise training workshops and master classes to encourage film makers in India to create inspiring content on various topics under Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav.
"Netflix and the ministry will partner to develop a creative ecosystem by organizing training programs for post-production, VFX, animation, music production among others and will be organised on ground and virtually,” he announced.
In his opening remarks, I&B secretary Apurva Chandra highlighted that the I&B ministry and Netflix signed a collaboration agreement and that the three videos released on Tuesday are the first set produced under the partnership. He added that a deeper collaboration featuring a long running series on our freedom struggle and the stories that need to be told to the world is in the pipeline.
Netflix head of global TV Bela Bajaria said that India was one of the most vibrant entertainment industries in the world and India was remarkably well placed in times of internet entertainment. "Netflix is excited to be part of a time when stories from India are being exported to the world and the best Indian stories are being discovered and loved on a global stage,” said Bajaria.
Commenting on the partnership, she added, "Netflix is proud to partner with MIB to celebrate and acknowledge the evolution of India over the past 75 years by celebrating its beautiful art, culture and storytelling". She further added that it was "in pursuance of this partnership Netflix has created a series of short videos based on real life stories aimed to celebrate achievement of people from all corners of India.”
“These stories are of incredible women who have fought against the odds to achieve their dreams. Netflix’s commitment to India is strong and growing and Netflix will continue to find the country's finest stories and share them across the globe,” she remarked.
