Ajay Devgn’s Raid 2 has done what many sequels struggle to achieve it became a certified box office success, grossing over INR 243 crores and giving Devgn’s career a renewed boost. But as the blockbuster transitioned from theatres to streaming, an unexpected controversy began to simmer. While Raid 2 is now available on Netflix, its OTT release has sparked concern among Indian viewers, not for its storyline or performance, but for something far more basic its lack of regional inclusivity.
The film is streaming on Netflix in Hindi, which is expected for a Bollywood production. What has raised eyebrows, however, is that it also includes dubbed versions in Brazilian Portuguese and Spanish, clearly aimed at expanding the film’s global reach. But curiously, Raid 2 is missing dubbed audio or even subtitle support in most Indian regional languages. Viewers who speak Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, or Kannada have been left with only Hindi or English as options both of which may not be their preferred or comfortable language for content consumption.
This might seem like a minor oversight, but in a country as linguistically diverse as India, it is far more than that. Regional viewers form a massive part of the Indian OTT audience, especially in South India where local language content dominates platform viewership. Tamil and Telugu cinema have been making global headlines, and the demand for Hindi films dubbed in these languages has consistently remained strong. Platforms like Amazon Prime Video and Disney+ Hotstar have been actively investing in regional dubbing and subtitling for precisely this reason. Netflix’s move to bypass this for Raid 2 feels not only tone deaf but surprisingly out of touch with current viewer expectations.
The situation becomes even more ironic when we look at how many foreign language subtitles the film does offer. Arabic, Dutch, French, Italian, Indonesian, German, and several others make the list catering to Netflix’s global expansion strategy. But in the rush to go international, it seems the platform has overlooked its most immediate and loyal user base. This is not just a strategic misfire but also a missed opportunity to widen the film’s footprint within its own country.
Some industry insiders believe that this could be due to rushed release planning or delayed dubbing timelines. But with the kind of anticipation Raid 2 carried and the budget Netflix would have allocated to secure its rights, there was more than enough time and justification to prepare regional versions. Fans in cities like Chennai, Hyderabad, and Kochi are already voicing their frustration online, pointing out that while the film may be technically available on Netflix India, it feels functionally out of reach for them.
At a time when OTT platforms are fighting for subscriber loyalty, especially in India’s tier 2 and tier 3 cities, these choices matter. Accessibility and inclusion are no longer optional they are essential. And with competition from homegrown platforms like Aha, Sun NXT, and even YouTube channels offering regional content, Netflix cannot afford to skip these details.
It is clear that Raid 2 was meant to be a mass entertainer with a broad reach. But by limiting its accessibility to just a few languages, Netflix has essentially put up an invisible wall around a large portion of its Indian audience. Unless course corrected soon, this could impact not just the film’s long term OTT viewership but also Netflix’s reputation in the regional Indian content space.
Let’s hope Netflix takes note. Because in trying to go global, forgetting the home crowd may prove costlier than expected.
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