Non-offensive, non-questionable content not always good: Ekta

TV-film producer Ekta Kapoor is the queen of long-running family soap operas but with her digital foray, she is planning to come up with shows that are edgy as she believes "non-offensive, non-questionable" content is not always good.
The 41-year-old media mogul, who was in the capital to discuss her new foray into the online streaming service called ALT Balaji, says it is time individual preferences of a viewer are addressed.
"Hopefully, ALT has something for everyone. There is a big world between 'Narcos' and 'Naagin' and we hope to capture that. Overall non-offensive or non-questionable content is not always a good thing. We started with 'Love Sex aur Dhoka,' which was completely in contrast to whatever we have been doing before.

"Last year we did 'Udta Punjab' and 'Naagin' in the same stretch. These were two types of content that cannot be ever thought to made and promoted under the same banner. That's what we want ALT Balaji to stand for."
Ekta says it is a relief to do something that is limited to just 20 episodes after being a part of long-running soap operas.
"There are maximum 20 episodes in one web series. Most of the shows have ten episodes and this is my biggest source of relief and enjoyment. I'm getting a chance to do a 20 episode-show for the first time in my life. I used to feel tired doing 1,000 episodes per show," Ekta told reporters here.

The producer is not worried about the competition from international online streaming services like Netflix and Amazon, which are gaining popularity in the Indian market.

Ekta feels the digital space is the future as there are shows that people would prefer to watch alone rather than with their families.
"This medium is special as it has stories which are more relatable to us as people. Every person has individual tastes. They won't be comfortable watching the type of shows they like with their parents or family. They would prefer to watch some content alone. Even today, I get embarrassed if a kissing scene comes up if my father is sitting around," Ekta says.

ALT Balaji plans to bring out 35 shows in Hindi in its first year targeting the audience demographic of 19-30 years, while also launching 5-6 shows in regional languages like Tamil, Bengali and Gujarati.