Dil Bechara, Special Ops emerge most popular film and show

Dil Bechara had reportedly registered 95 million viewers in the first 24 hours of release

In a domino effect of sorts, the lockdown caused a shift in the entertainment consumption patterns of the Indian population. A country that has had more than its fill of dramas about shape-shifting serpents and family feuds turned to digital entertainment, thus discovering the grim journey of Hathoda Tyagi or rooting for Sushmita Sen as the unlikely queen of a drug cartel. As we enter the sixth month of lockdown, it is only fitting to determine which series and direct-to-web releases grabbed maximum eyeballs and dominated the mainstream consciousness.

Gulabo Sitabo

Refusing to divulge numbers, Shailesh Kapoor, CEO, Ormax Media, reveals that direct-to-web releases, though a recent phenomenon in the Hindi film industry, found an eager audience. "Dil Bechara has been the top film by a wide margin, followed by Gulabo Sitabo, Extraction, Shakuntala Devi and Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl, in that order. These are based on estimates," he says. The results are arrived at basis the social media buzz generated by each offering, its reach and appeal.

Extraction round off top three films

Even as Paatal Lok captured the imagination of the country post its May 15 release and Jitendra Kumar sealed his position as an Internet star with the endearing Panchayat, Kapoor reveals that it is, in fact, an espionage thriller that tops the list of the most-watched Indian web series. "Disney+Hotstar's Special Ops fared the best. Amazon Prime's Paatal Lok comes second, followed by Voot Select's Asur." Amazon Prime's Panchayat and Disney+Hotstar's Aarya round off the top five shows.

Special Ops dropped online a week before the nationwide lockdown was imposed;

He observes that TV consumption increased by 40 per cent during the lockdown, with viewers tuning in to news on a daily basis. The top five television offerings between April and June, when old shows were being rerun, were Ramayan (Doordarshan), Mahabharat (Doordarshan), Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah (Sony SAB), Mahabharat (Star Plus) and Shri Krishna (DD). "With fresh episodes being aired from July, Kundali Bhagya has become the most-watched show followed by Taarak Mehta..., Anupamaa, The Kapil Sharma Show and India's Best Dancer."

Stills from Paatal Lok

Asur

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