Hotstar's advertorial asks if India is 'Out Of Love'

'Is India Out of Love?' questioned the half page advertorial folded in the pages of a national daily circulated in the Bengaluru region over the weekend. Although it has the look and feel of a survey result, it aims to generate curiosity amongst readers about Hotstar's new Indian web series, Out of Love, that's based on the Mike Bartlett scripted BBC One drama series, Doctor Foster.

The series' five episode season one, based on the married life of Meera Kapoor (Rasika Dugal) and Akarsh Kapoor (Purab Kohli) premiered on the OTT streaming service on November 22, 2019.

Hotstar also released survey results for 'Hotstar Out of Love', which aims to decode the evolution of married relationships in India and the importance of trust and loyalty between partners. Conducted in partnership with Mindshare and Unomer, the survey was carried out among 1088 married respondents in the age-group of 18-64 years across metros and tier 1 towns with a 50:50 male-female ratio.

As per the survey, insecurity casts a long shadow in marriages, as half the respondents said they feel the need to pry; 45 per cent respondents wanting to check their partner’s phone without their knowledge and 55 per cent who have already done it. Interestingly, almost 62 per cent people in love marriages feel the need to check their partner's phone. The survey further reports that suspicion of infidelity is higher in the North and East of the country, with 32 per cent and 31 per cent, respectively, whereas the West and South reported a 22 per cent to 20 per cent suspicion rate. 52 per cent respondents from Mumbai and 56 per cent respondents from Delhi claimed to have checked their partner’s phone without their knowledge.

The survey also revealed that 78 per cent Indians will be bold about confronting infidelity. Having said that, almost 50 per cent of Indians are willing to forgive their partner’s infidelity, whereas 20 per cent are willing to forget and the rest claim they will fight it out. Reasons to forgive range from acceptance, citing it as a ‘one-time thing,’ to kids, the future or even societal or family shame. With 38 per cent, Delhi has one of the higher rates of people who would choose to fight, while 48 per cent from Mumbai said they would choose to forgive.