There’s been a lot of global interest in Indian media lately, and Bollywood films and TV series are quite common to see these days in places like Netflix. The venerable BBC in England even created their own Bollywood live show a few years ago, and Indian reality shows are making massive waves all across the United States.
With that said, there are still a lot of gaps in media where India just doesn’t show up yet, and it wouldn’t even need a big fix to get it all going. Here are our three biggest picks for places where India just doesn’t show up enough, but really should do.
Video Gaming
Video game companies have certainly dabbled in Indian culture before, but very rarely has there been a game that actually focuses on India entirely, which is a shame because there is a wealth of history to draw upon. The only title of note was a minor game in the Assassin’s Creed franchise, 2016’s Assassin’s Creed Chronicles: India, but that wasn’t a mainline game and wasn’t particularly noteworthy.
Source: Pixabay
When it comes to adapting India into games, developers wouldn’t even be limited to the historical side. While it isn’t strictly Indian, the massively action-packed Asura’s Wrath showed how uniquely these themes could be adapted. An exploration of the culture in a God of War style, or even something more artistic like Journey could be a unique entry into a gaming world in need of diverse stories.
Casino Gaming
Given India’s long and storied love of gambling games, you would expect that it would be well-represented within casinos. While the traditional game of Andar Bahar is certainly becoming popular alongside slots, it certainly would be great to see more Indian entries in a Megaways slot guide or any run-down of the biggest live games out there.
It isn’t as though there isn’t enough material to work with in terms of inspiration. The kings and palaces of Indian history had enough wealth to rival the pharaohs of Ancient Egypt, who have more than enough representation. It would be an excellent place for developers to find that unique idea to work with.
Theatre
As mentioned previously, the BBC in the UK pulled off a successful live Bollywood-style production a few years ago, and given the general positive reviews of the show, it does indicate that Indian theatre has the potential to do well in the West.
Source: Pixabay
While it would be educational for sure, this wouldn’t need to be any of the traditional Indian theatre forms either. To appeal to Western audiences more, an Indian take on classic musicals like West Side Story would work incredibly well, or even plays like Death of a Salesman within an Indian setting.
So whether it’s digital or not, there is definitely a lot of space to see India out in the wider world, and with the popularity of Asian media growing every day in the West, now might be just the right time for it.