Video showcase inspiring stories, in collaboration with Netflix
Long term partnership, Netflix will produce 25 two-minute videos on various themes: Anurag Thakur
AMN / WEB DESK
Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur Tuesday launched ‘Azadi Ki Amrit Kahaniyan’, a short video collection in collaboration with Netflix India. It is a series of inspiring short stories about seven Indian women who did something unthinkable, extraordinary, and out of the box for India.
Speaking on the occasion in New Delhi, Mr. Thakur said the initiative is to celebrate the achievement of women and others who inspire people across the country.
The Minister felicitated the inspiring Indian women who got featured in Netflix India’s ‘Azadi Ki Amrit Kahaniyan’ series. In the video an environmentalist and Padma Awardee, Basanti Devi has been featured. She is credited for raising awareness campaigns and saving the Kosi river from drying up in Uttarakhand. Another woman featured in the short videos is Anshu Jamsenpa. She is a mountaineer and the first woman in the world to scale the summit of Mount Everest twice in a season and the fastest double summitter to do so within five days.
Featured in the short videos, Harshini Kanhekar is the first woman firefighter in India to join the list of women being recognized and honored under the ‘Bharat Ki Lakshmi’ campaign by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting, Dr. L. Murugan, I&B Secretary Apurva Chandra, and others were present on the occasion.
Speaking on the collaboration Shri Thakur said “this initiative aims to bring out inspiring stories of Indians and these stories shall motivate and empower more people to achieve their goals”.
He added that this was a long term partnership where different themes and diverse stories will be highlighted. “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”, Shri Thakur elaborated.
Shri Thakur elaborated on the multiple dimensions of this partnership and said Netflix and Ministry will continue to organize 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 ministry will partner to develop a creative ecosystem by organizing training programs for post-production, VFX, animation, music production among others and will be organized on ground and virtually”, he announced.
The Minister lauded the remarkable achievements of the three women on the dais and said their stories will inspire people across the country. He also expressed hope that after this collaboration film makers from across the world will come to India to make films and documentaries for not just the Indian audience but to showcase it to the entire world. The Minister stated that the partnership between the Ministry and Netflix was only a beginning and will not be limited to Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav.
Earlier, Secretary Shri Apurva Chandra in his opening remarks highlighted the convergence between the Ministry of I&B and Netflix and said that the two entities signed a collaboration agreement and these three videos released today are the first set produced under this 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.
Speaking on the occasion Ms Bela Bajaria, Head of Global TV, Netflix, 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”, she said.
Commenting on the partnership with Ministry of I&B, Ms Bajaria said that “Netflix is proud to partner with MIB to celebrate and acknowledge the evolution of India over 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”.
Speaking about the first set of videos in the series, Ms Bajaria said that 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 teh globe, she remarked.