Sacred Games creator Vikramaditya Motwane, Lust Stories producer Ashi Dua discuss the growth of local OTT as India bags four nominations at the International Emmys
Sonil Dedhia (MID-DAY; September 21, 2019)

"It's a great feeling that we are being recognised at an international level," says an elated Vikramaditya Motwane when we connect with him over a call, hours after the announcement of the International Emmy Awards nominations on Thursday night. A mundane weekday had quickly turned exciting for ardent cinephiles as India bagged four nominations at the prestigious awards forum. While Sacred Games earned a nod in the Best Drama category and Amazon Prime Video's The Remix, in the Non-Scripted Entertainment category, Netflix's anthology Lust Stories walked away with a nomination in the TV Movie/Mini-Series category. Radhika Apte, who featured in Anurag Kashyap's chapter in Lust Stories, is vying for the Best Actress trophy.

Motwane, who was the co-director of the first season and showrunner of the second, says that this honour brings a sense of validation. As Netflix India's first original series, the Saif Ali Khan and Nawazuddin Siddiqui starrer could well be credited for creating inroads into the global digital scene. "I am happy that now, people across the globe are taking Indian content seriously. Anurag [Kashyap] is out of town, so the whole team will come together and celebrate this success soon." Interestingly, Siddiqui aka Ganesh Gaitonde is on a hot streak — the actor's British show, McMafia, shares space with the series in the Best Drama category.

Despite the country being a relatively new player in the digital space, the thumping four nominations prove that Indian entertainment is headed in the right direction. Proud as he is, Motwane adds that local content still has a long road ahead. "A lot of the content that is being created is at par with the international material, but we are still [lagging] behind in some aspects. We are still learning. We are getting used to the idea of coming out with quality content, season after season."

Ashi Dua, co-producer of Lust Stories, says that the team was surprised with the honour. "We never dreamt of being nominated at any Indian awards. So, initially, I didn't believe that we had secured a place at the Emmys. It is such a surreal moment. With Sacred Games and The Remix also being nominated, it puts India on the global map."