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Black Warrant, Poacher, The Railway Men and more: How OTT is bringing untold real stories to Indian audiences
The OTT space is now increasingly populated by stories drawn from modern Indian history, particularly those that are not part of modern pop culture already.
As 2024 came to a close last month, many publications - this one included - came out with their lists of best Indian web series of the year. And while the lists differed slightly in their rankings, one thing was common - the inclusion of shows like Poacher. A story about a real incident from modern Indian history, the story lost in small columns of newspapers for years. Because, unlike biopics of PMs and cricket stars, these stories were unheard, untold, and forgotten until a few streaming platforms and creators brought them back.
2025 has begun on the same note with Vikramaditya Motwane's Black Warrant. From a jailer in Tihar to a station master in Bhopal during the gas leak and forest officers in Kerala, Indian web series are finding their heroes in places where Indian storytelling has seldom gone before. The makers credit the OTT boom in India for this.
OTT allows a sense of reality never seen before
Films based on real stories have been made in India before. But there used to be a caveat - the names would be changed, the stories would be twisted, and a few song and dance routines would be added. In addition, most of the real-life-based stories were about episodes from Indian history that people already knew about - be it the 26/11 attacks, the 1993 Bombay blasts, or the shootout at Lokhandwala. Very rarely did a Special 26 kind of story slip through the cracks, but again, it was heavily fictionalised. The OTT changed that by allowing more reality.
Hansal Mehta has told real stories in Netflix's Scoop and SonyLIV's Scam franchise. The filmmaker says, “There is a different skill set involved in plotting the story and character arcs on OTT. Each medium has its advantages and its own challenges. In Scam 1992, there was so much material that we had to let go and leave behind a lot. Eventually, you take the decision to follow a particular journey, a particular path.”
Blending reality with fiction makes for good entertainment
Creators say that these unheard stories allow them to be creative but without disturbing the reality of what happened. Since the tales are largely unheard of, minor tweaks are unnoticed. Tanuj Chopra directed the second season of Delhi Crime, narrating the manhunt behind copycat Kachha Baniyan dhaari robbers. He says, “The way you put together a true crime fiction, you merge real crime events. So, everything in this story has happened at some level. There is a version of this story that has happened. It’s not about telling one singular story but about being inspired by true crime events and fusing them together.”
However, filmmakers add that there is usually so much drama in these stories that the need to create additional drama is minimal. The OTT medium's demand for realism helps as well. Richie Mehta, the creator of Amazon Prime Video's Poacher, says, “I create shows in conjunction with the real people. I talk to them through everything, and I don’t proceed without their permission. I never extrapolate dramatic high points beyond reality. I won’t create a new dramatic high anywhere in the series that hasn’t actually occurred. The only thing I do is sometimes combine a few characters into one or take backstory from one character to another.”
Platforms on the lookout for fresh, real stories
Streaming platforms admit that they are now looking for such stories, provided they are fresh. "Every story we tell needs to be a fresh idea," says Tanya Bami, Series Head, Netflix India, adding, "We are always looking for that fresh take, innovative voice, or creator who tells a story with flair and clarity. But overall, it's about finding those stories that will spark something deeper in the audience’s imagination enough to make them curious and interested. Take Black Warrant, for example. It’s not your typical crime drama. It pulls us into the world of Indian prisons but through the eyes of Sunil Gupta, a sympathetic jailer who’s striving for reform."
But are the platforms choosing these slightly more unknown stories deliberately? "Why choose when there’s room for both on Netflix and for the audience? Both types of stories can shine, but it really depends on how they’re brought to life," responds Bami.
Some still move cautiously
Sirf Ek Bandaa Kaafi Hai, which streamed on Zee5 last year, focussed on the lawyer who prosecuted convicted rapist and self-proclaimed godman Asaram Bapu. The film kept the name of the lawyer - PC Solanki - the same but changed others. Suparn S Varma, the film's creative producer, says, “Legally, we are in a place where we can only do so much, so we say inspired by. We had the right to use Solanki's name, so we did. For others, we didn't have the right to.”
Yet, creators say that these stories need to be above moral policing and judgements. In Black Warrant, Vikramaditya Motwane dealt with the difficult task of depicting serial killer Charles Sobhraj and murderers Billa-Ranga. Some were rankled by the 'humane' depictions of the criminals. Motwane says, “I don't think it's our job to pass judgement as creators. That's something we leave to the audience, if at all.”That's how it is. The story and the character are the lead to everything." But the mere fact that storytellers can now tell these tales unhindered, unprotested, and uncurbed is a big step for Indian content.
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