Netflix, a global provider of streaming movies and TV series that now has over 75 million subscribers worldwide recently made its way to India, that too with a free one-month subscription. There has been a lot of excitement about Netflix, especially for the amazing content that is now at the disposal of its subscribers in India. Having said that, and this might tick some people off, a lot of content that is available on Netflix in the US is not available in India – at least not yet. But you know what the best part is? All the content is uncensored!
Rahul Rivoncar from Panjim was one of the early birds to subscribe to Netflix in Goa. Rahul says, “Netflix has been a great experience so far. I enjoyed the free subscription so much that I ended up subscribing for the Ultra HD package. I was a little disappointed with the video quality which they offered, probably that depends on the internet connection. We really don’t have great ISP providers in Goa, do we? But it’s a great quality to watch on your computer or smartphone. I’m currently watching the ‘Narcos’ series, which is based on the life story of Pablo Escobar. I stream movies almost every second day in the evenings when I’m at leisure. I’ve noticed that they added very limited streams to the free package while the paid subscription offers a lot more!” Another happy subscriber, Ankith Kedar from Margao, adds, “Netflix is superb! And the new updated app is the next level. I don’t have the fastest internet but I get good picture quality. There are a lot of options to watch. Also, I’ve linked it to Smartflix which gives me access to the world wide directory. Shows like ‘Love’, ‘Breaking Bad’ and ‘Vampire Diaries’ have got me hooked!”
According to a report that highlights the disparity between Netflix India and its US counterpart, 93 per cent of the titles available on Netflix in the US are not available in India. The US catalogue has 5,661 entries while the India catalogue stands at roughly 13 per cent of the US list. Quite a few popular movies available in Netflix USA are not available in India. Movies such as ‘Kill Bill Vol. 1’ and ‘…2’, ‘The Hurt Locker’, ‘Pirates of the Carribean: The Curse of the Black Pearl’, and classic blockbusters such as ‘The Terminator’ are all on Netflix USA but not in India. The list, surprisingly, includes some Bollywood hits such as ‘Singham’, which isn’t yet available on Netflix India but is on its US counterpart. But on the up side, we Indians can always can rely on optimism and hope that more shows and movies are added to the India collection and till then, enjoy what is available now.
