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Vijay's Master to Suriya’s Soorarai Pottru; will ditching theatres for OTT release be a smart move? COMMENT
Pon Magal Vandhal, produced by Suriya and starring his wife Jyothika, will be released directly on Amazon Prime, thus ditching the traditional theatrical release. However, the decision has not been brought into effect yet.
Many filmmakers are giving a thought to ditch theatres and are looking at straight digital release as an opportunity amid lockdown due to Coronavirus outbreak. Multiple production houses and OTT platforms are already up for this idea. Even though if lockdown opens, it will take weeks for the things to get back to normal. Also, with the financial crisis, pay cuts, freelancers without work and layoffs that have got affected due to COVID-19 outbreak, will people think of buying tickets to watch movies in cinema halls? Bollywood film Angrezi Medium and Tamil film Dharalu Prabhu, unfortunately, became an immediate casualty of the theatre shut down in March. Both the films were released on OTT platforms amid lockdown.
According to latest reports, Pon Magal Vandhal, produced by Suriya and starring his wife Jyothika, will be released directly on Amazon Prime, thus ditching the traditional theatrical release. However, the decision has not been brought into effect yet. Shockingly, the Tamil Nadu Theatre And Multiplex Owners’ Association have threatened to ban films starring Suriya if Pon Magal Vandhal gets OTT release. Suriya’s ‘Soorarai Pottru’ could be banned due to this. As we all know box office numbers are important for the film's success but on the other hand, digital space is growing rapidly and is currently being consumed the most due to the lockdown.
Telugu star Nani's 'V' was supposed to release this March but could not hit screens due to unfortunate situation. Numerous rumours have surfaced online, stating that 'V' will be directly released on OTT platforms. However, there is no official word regarding the same set by the makers of the film. Many filmmakers including of Akshay Kumar starrer Laxmmi Bomb, are currently in talks with OTT platforms for their film's release. South Indian films like Thalapathy Vijay's Master, Anushka Shetty and R Madhavan starrer Nishabdham among others which were scheduled to release in April might take digital route and Industry-watchers are eyeing on it.
To sum it up, there is no hope of cinema halls re-opening anytime soon and further delay might only affect the business of films.
The question is will audience start going to theatres to watch films the day lockdown ends? Wouldn't ditching theatres for OTT release be a smart move? COMMENT NOW
