The entertainment industry is facing one of its biggest crises yet in the midst of the complete lockdown amid the coronavirus pandemic. With theatres unable to screen films, major releases have been postponed indefinitely. A few days ago, Tamil Nadu Theatre Owners Association said they might ban actor Suriya’s films because of his production house’s decision to release Jyotika’s film Ponmagal Vandhal directly on an OTT platform.
The film was set for a March 27 release, but was pushed due to the pandemic. The team has announced that the movie will now directly be released on Amazon Prime Video. In Bollywood, too, there were discussions of Akshay Kumar’s Laxxmi Bomb aiming for a direct OTT release. The pandemic has raised questions of what the future of cinema and theatres are and whether direct release on OTT platforms is the way forward for many films.
Responding to the controversy on Kollywood, over 30 Tamil producers have released a statement pushing for their right to release films directly on OTT. “With the development of OTT (Over the Top) technology, many new films started coming out worldwide directly on this platform. Post the lockdown due to corona in the country, many OTT platforms have started acquiring small and medium budget films for direct OTT premiere, which we all have to welcome wholeheartedly,” the Indian Express quoted them as saying in the statement.
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They also added that even Hindi and other language films are also considering releasing directly on OTT platforms to recover their investments. They added that for the smooth functioning of the film industry distributors and theatre owners must cooperate with them. “For the film industry to operate smoothly, the three key stakeholders (producers, distributors and theatre owners) must work together in unison and take decisions in the best interest of the industry. We strongly request that no individual film trade association should take any decision and announce it unilaterally, which may hurt the interest of a film producer, who is trying to protect his business.”
In Bollywood, Reliance Entertainment on Saturday dismissed reports of digital premiere for it much-awaited film 83, starring Ranveer Singh, and said the team is aiming for a theatrical release.
The makers had on March 20 announced that the release of the Ranveer Singh-starrer sports drama has been indefinitely postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic. The film, directed by Kabir Khan, was set to be released April 10.