Growth of Non-Mainstream Events in India: Azhar Morani, Division Head, Dome Corporate
The definition of entertainment in India has seen drastic evolution in the last few years. The scope of entertainment has moved from the traditional song and dance in movies and music concerts of hit movie songs to a diverse platter. Patrons today are looking at non-mainstream events like offbeat music festivals, high octane sports events in the form of professional leagues and stand-up comedy acts. These were unheard of a few years ago though these non-mainstream events were pretty regular and common in the Western world.
Sports Events
In a country where cricket is religion and football fighting a tough second spot, a lot of rustic and rugged sports are gaining national prominence through the professional leagues that have come up in the last few years like Kho Kho and Kabaddi. Originally, a rustic sport, Pro Kabbadi League was the second most watched sports event along with football after cricket. Thanks to Saina Nehwal and PV Sindhu, who are Commonwealth and Olympic stars in their own right, the Premier Badminton League has catapulted badminton into a widely accepted sport. An indoor format of football called Futsal is gaining huge popularity in the metros despite space constraints. With National Basketball Association’s (NBA) entry in 2017 and their first ever tournament this year, this non-mainstream sport is picking up momentum in the Indian consciousness. Once regarded as the means of commute of the lower income group, cycling today is the most elite adventure sport with tournaments such as the Hero MTB Himalaya. Non-mainstream sports require the endorsement of government policies and financial backing and sponsorships besides brand awareness to whet for talent.
Music Festivals
Other than Bollywood movies and movie music concerts, a lot of off-beat music festivals are picking up pace with patrons and music lovers across the country in every possible geographical terrain. The Hornbill Festival in Nagaland and the Ziro Festival in Arunachal Pradesh are tributes to the best rock and electronica in the country. Rajasthan has a bunch of interesting folk music festivals in Jodhpur, Jaisalmer and Shekhawati. Mumbai has an eclectic palette to offer from the annual Mahindra Blues with its impressive line-up of Blues musicians to IIT Mumbai’s annual Mood Indigo music fest and not very far away, there’s the Sula Fest in Nashik, with EDM, Reggae and Dubstep, and Enchanted Valley in Aamby Valley with groovy House, Techno, Trance, Drum and Base. Bangalore has its Fireflies, Purvankara, Storm and Sunny Storm promoting genres like indie, folk, Blues rock, Electronica and Ooty has its GoMAD promoting Hard Rock and Metal. Goa has its famous Sunburn and India Bike Week celebrating electronica. Up north, Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand have a lot of EDM fests in Gulmarg, Manali and Kasauli, Rishikesh and Naukachiatal respectively. Delhi has her annual EDM fests around the festival of Holi.
Stand-up Comedy
Earlier one thought of comics as pure sheer talent that is very difficult to monetise as a career. Today, the comic scene in India is very different. With TV as a medium promotes comics on respective platforms and comics getting their due through paid gigs in the neighbourhood clubs and pubs, stand-up comedy has come a long way. Russel Peters, Vir Das and Papa CJ were our earliest benchmark of successful comedians who made it big. Today, the success of Kapil Sharma, Sorabh Pant, Rohan Joshi, Kanan Gill, Biswa Kalyan Rath, Abish Mathew and Kenan Sebastian has paved the way for a new form of entertainment altogether. Today, people are willing to stand in a queue, buy tickets and laugh all the way.
Non-mainstream events like music, sports and stand-up comedy picking up big time is indicative of the fact that people are willing to move away from traditional forms of entertainment and willing to experiment and expand horizons. There is no lack of endorsement and sponsorship though.
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