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When we read long Instagram captions by Netflix India...

In between memes and crisp captions, Netflix India has been sliding in some really long captions, we dig in to see patterns emerge.

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Jagruti Verma
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Netflix long captions

In between memes and crisp captions, Netflix India has been sliding in some really long captions, we dig in to see intriguing blog-like patterns emerge.

Instagram is a visual-first medium. No surprise there. Then why do brands, creators and even users share long-form caption in Posts (or even Stories)? An easy answer would be to explore and experiment with the blogging capabilities of the platform. In the last few weeks, Netflix has put up quite a few long captions on certain specific occasions. While scrolling through some of the recent ones, we saw two prominent themes emerge — nostalgia about old content, introducing a new season of a series, discussion on something that is topical or deserves a longer conversation.

Nostalgia Content

When you remember something fondly, you tend to go overboard with words to explain your emotions. There are several memories associated with the movie you watched, the numbers amplifying with every time you re-watch it. This sentiment is something Netflix India has used in their content strategy on Instagram.

Recently, they posted long captions about Jaane Tu... Ya Jaane Na, The LunchBox and Dil Chahta Hai. They are redirecting people to their content library, stressing on the variety they have on offer for subscribers, especially when it comes to familiar content.

Trivia: In a session with Social Samosa, JioSaavn's Virginia Sharma had said that they are seeing a trend of listeners streaming the familiar music of the 90s as nostalgia content is something that helps them tackle the challenges of the lockdown.

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Presenting: Rats & Meow. No, these aren’t their real names. They’re Imran Khan and Genelia D'Souza’s special nicknames for each other, that only they’re allowed to use. They’re absolutely adorable and the BESTEST of friends. They also happen to be a little closer to each other than the rest of the super tight friend circle (side note, this group is serious goals, tbh). Rats & Meow, however, are extreeeme opposites: she’s feisty, while he’s calm and composed. She looks for opportunities to pick a fight, while he looks for a chance to solve them. She’s restless, he’s extremely patient; catch our drift? They spend most of their time being busy looking for love everywhere else. The rest of the world, however, is convinced that they maaaay have already found it. This film features a sneak-peek into how crazy it must be in Ratna Pathak Shah & Naseeruddin Shah’s household (only difference is that he doesn’t have a bedroom, but just the confines of a painting, weirdly), Sohail Khan & Arbaaz Khan as cowboys that crash disco parties (don’t even ask), an extremely sassy Prateik Babbar who wears more paint than clothes, Paresh Rawal as a good-for-nothing cop, music by none other than legendary A.R. Rahman, the list juuuuust doesn’t end! ‘Jaane Tu… Ya Jaane Na’ will keep you at the edge of your seat, and make you feel every possible emotion: from the freedom you felt when the wind hit your hair during college gedis, to the tug at your heartstrings when you listened to the perfect love-story. This story has it all. No jokes. No wait, it has jokes. We were trying to prove a point. It’s a time capsule that’ll remind you of that one little note that you passed back in school. The final destination of which you had planned to be someone else’s smile. However, this film is here to tell you that the final destination maaaay just have been a little different. Maybe it was your own smile after seeing theirs. That maybe, just maybe, at the end of the day, it’s always been about being able to fall in love with someone who you can also call your best friend.

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Saajan and Ila are not remotely the kind of people you'd expect to put together in the same story. But, as the movie tell us, kabhi kabhi galat train bhi sahi jagah pahucha deti hai. Sometimes we don't see our lives till we're forced to look at it through someone else's eyes. As time passes and letters are exchanged, Saajan and Ila are reminded of their inherent dissatisfaction with just going through the motions. It is not enough. What does life look like for Saajan and Ila after they come to this realisation? Every single time you watch this movie, you're going to end up with more questions than answers. Unless you're Saajan and Ila. Whose answers we'll never know. That's a secret they haven't shared with us. What we do see is affection and a steady, growing respect for each other. The realisation that there's no harm in wanting to see beyond your own life. That sometimes your best comes when you least expect. Oh, and also that the secret ingredient in food is definitely love.

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We’d never experienced a story like this before, and we don’t think most of us had. A story featuring all of us, yet none of us. For a change, it wasn’t the tale of a lover whose supreme goal in life was pining for some female attention, no over-the-top melodrama, no larger-than-life set designs. Just a simple slice-of-life. A slice-of-life that probably gave birth to every single Goa plan, ever. Dil Chahta Hai is the story of three friends. Akash (Aamir Khan), who is also lovingly called AAAKAAASH, Sameer (Saif Ali Khan) who is a little bit of a hawaa ka jhoka, and Siddharth (Akshaye Khanna), also known as the love of our lives. Akash, Sameer & Sid are three friends who look at the world SO differently & their idea of priorities, success and love are absolutely unique. Also, Akash is a little tooo carefree. These differences don’t keep them apart, and we’re so excited for you to relive just how. ❤️ Rewatching Dil Chahta Hai feels like one of those moments, y’know? Those moments where you look back and it feels like so much time has passed. That everyone you promised you’d always be in touch with are now in different worlds. It almost feels like the entire world’s success & happiness means nothing, if we don’t have our very own special people to share it with. Rewatching Dil Chahta Hai feels like maybe it’s about stopping everytime we smile. Not to stop smiling, but to stop, blink hard to take a quick mental photograph. To stop every single time we’re a little extra happy.

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New Chapter Alert

When you are eagerly waiting to watch a new season of your favourite show, you are bound to be excited. It involves conversations around the plot of the earlier seasons, recalling memories of what you felt when you watched it before and even watching it again in preparation for the next chapter.

Around the time Dark's new season was made available on the platform, Netflix India promoted it using a long caption post, appreciating the beauty of the show.

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? SPOILER ALERT? Do you believe in destiny? That things happen for a reason? That there is someone who is absolutely perfect for you in every single way? That two people in this world are meant to be with each other? Or do we make up our own destiny? Remember the first kiss that future Jonas and Martha share at the lake? The kiss that started it all? Until then, Jonas hadn’t yet opened up about his feelings for Martha. And if future Jonas hadn’t kissed Martha, she probably wouldn’t have kissed Jonas at the party. And we would have never been able to witness their love. But before arriving at the lake, future Jonas is informed by Ulrich about Martha’s crush on Jonas, which motivates him to kiss Martha. So did he end up making his own destiny? Dark might be a show about time travel. But at the end of the day it is also a beautiful love story. Even if it means falling in love with your own aunt. Love is the biggest motivator. Love is the reason everyone in Winden is stuck in an endless loop. Love is the reason Jonas becomes Adam, to create a “new” world where his one true love, Martha, lives on. Love literally transcends space and time in Dark... so if you catch us watching this show again and again for the next 33 years and crying about it, don't be alarmed. We're just appreciating its beauty.

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Conversations that Matter

There are some conversations that need more space to unfold. Netflix India has used its social media presence on various occasions recently to discuss topics such as prejudices around food (with reference to Axone) and sexual & gender identities (with reference to The Matrix).

To celebrate Father's Day and discuss the less talked about aspects of being a dad, Netflix has posted a long post. They had also done a long caption post to pay tribute to Sushant Singh Rajput and his work.

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To director Nicholas Kharkongor, the link between food and home is the most basic thing. "For all of us who move out of our homes, one of the most important things is the food. When you eat the food of your home, you remember the place, your friends, the customs, the happiness. But those are not things you can carry with you. Food you can. And obviously, you need to eat!" Kharkongor's film Axone looks at the lives of a group of Northeastern migrants in Delhi who just want to cook axone, fermented soyabean, for their friend's wedding celebration. Unfortunately, they have to get around pesky neighbours, empty gas cylinders and constant discrimination just to give a special day a taste of home. Axone takes something as common as a home-cooked meal and shows us that to so many, even this is an uphill battle, fighting prejudice and ignorance every step of the way. This movie is worth every bite.

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The dictionary definition of a father is “a man in relation to his natural child or children.” And that’s a great definition if you’re a rock devoid of any emotion. Human relationships are so far beyond the boundaries these words form. Where’s the definition that explains how a simple “keep the door open three inches” means I will always protect you at all costs, and twice over when you don’t need it and “I’m learning from my brave son” is thank you for letting me see the world through your eyes. Every Father’s Day we celebrate our dads for being our heroes and idols, but here’s one thing we love the most about them--their softness. The ones whose laps we’ll sit in long after we’ve outgrown them, who get on the floor to play chug-chug-gaadi and always let us dip our biscuits in their tea. Protector, provider, pseudo-science expert, patient listener, impatient opinion-giver, love guru, stealer of snacks, keeper of secrets and giver of the greatest hugs. Happy father’s day to the dudes that do it all, and love every minute of it ❤️

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THIS IS NOT A GLITCH IN THE MATRIX but it’s something *infinitely* cooler. The Matrix — it's SciFi 101, a box office favourite with a cult following, the first film making over $463,517,383, and winning four Oscars. While the trilogy is loved by all fans everywhere, they hold a special place in the transgender community — the Wachowski sisters made them out of anger towards capitalism and trans oppression. The film follows characters who break free of the ‘simulation’ — which is a symbol for society — to live as their ‘true selves’ in a digital world. Since the times of chat rooms, trans and non-binary people who were unable to live as their true selves in public have experimented with their online identities. The Matrix is packed with references to the trans experience, like the characters always being called by their chosen names, and the famous red pill-blue pill question — an analogy for coming out or staying closeted. Remember the first time Neo meets Trinity? After the brief, one-sided exchange on his hacked computer, he says he assumed she was a man. “Most guys do,” she replies, calmly. You may also remember the villain, a robotic Agent Smith, addressing Neo by his dead-name throughout the film, alluding to his ‘double life’. Dead-naming is when someone refers to a trans-person by the name they used before they transitioned. The internet and media has made identifying oneself and coming out so much easier, but over the last two decades, the Wachowski sisters have been an inspiration to queer people of their generation struggling with their identities. The next time you watch the Matrix trilogy, watch it through the trans lens, and follow it up with a Sense8 binge-sesh just for good luck. #AllforloveLoveforall #Pride ?

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Sushant was the man they wrote stories about. The kind of guy who excelled in his education but pursued his passion. He symbolised a new wave in Hindi cinema, an outsider making it big in Bollywood is a story often shared only because it’s so rare. In him, we saw a guy who won against all odds and achieved success that was rightfully his, the underdog we rooted for because we saw a part of us in him. Sushant showed us no dream is too big and that perseverance is key. His loss feels personal because he was one of us. The charming Preet in Kis Desh Mein Hai Meraa Dil, the strong and silent Manav in Pavitra Rishta - we saw him grow from being a daily fixture on our television screens to a promising hero. He was refreshing, he was charming and he was so much more than what we saw on the big screen. He made us weep in Kai Po Che! Made us proud in M.S. Dhoni - The Untold Story, melted our hearts with Makhna and made us collectively crush on him in Shuddh Desi Romance. Sushant showed us what Dhoni went through before he hit that match-winning six at the 2011 World Cup final, he introduced millennials to Detective Byomkesh Bakshy! and he convinced us that love really sees no borders as Sarfaraz in PK. Celebrate him for his boundless talent, his knack of picking the most interesting roles and his enthusiasm for the bigger things in the universe. As Sushant quoted - “To be nobody-but-yourself — in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else — means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight." - E.E. Cummings. Shine on Sushant, you will always be loved. With this unfortunate news being a trigger for so many, we want you to know that we see you, we hear you and we love you. If you’re feeling overwhelmed and would like to reach out, please do so to the right people who have the resources to help you start healing: AASRA Helpline: +91 98204 66726 http://www.aasra.info

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Although it's obvious that Netflix India is using social media to promote their offerings, as they should, they are also putting in efforts and experimenting with content to do more with what they have. Long captions seem to be a key tool in their corner.

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