Films like Ayushmann Khurrana and Amitabh Bachchan starrer Gulabo Sitabo and Vidya Balan starrer Shakuntala Devi releasing on OTT platforms have created a stir amongst the theatre exhibitors. Due to the Coronavirus pandemic which has led to a nationwide lockdown including the shutting of theatres, many filmmakers have turned their back to theatres and have opted for the OTT platforms to release their films. After this news broke in, the theatre owners like INOX and PVR expressed their disappointment over this. Speaking about the same, even Carnival Cinemas has a similar take on this situation.
A statement was issued by Carnival Cinemas CEO Mohan Umrotkar as reported by IANS and the statement reads: “Though we are disappointed with the move of filmmakers to go straight to digital, we understand the financial burden/compulsion that one may have in these times. Even in the past, there have been a few cases of filmmakers facing failure when they opted for digital release, skipping the theatrical run. The ones who have decided to go ahead with the digital release were possibly in a difficult situation due to the coronavirus pandemic. There is money invested, there may be interest (on it), someone wants to minimise the loss and if they are in a position to monetize it, we can’t stop them. The situation is such that you cannot blame anyone. In this time of uncertainty, some producers have decided to release their content directly on OTT. It is within their rights to decide but we will not release those movies in our theatres.”
The statement also says that the theatres are expected to open without any restrictions very soon and “there will be a huge number of films awaiting release with the big-ticket.” His statement further read, “Films releasing on OTT is the loss of opportunity. It is not an absolute loss however. We hope filmmakers stick to theatre format. We were expecting them to stand by us because we are family.”
Umrotkar feels that the trend of releasing films on OTT platforms directly is a temporary phenomenon and he also thinks that once people are able to go back to theatres, there would be demand and all of them will be able to resume their business like before. ALSO READ: Gulabo Sitabo, Shakuntala Devi Digital Release: After INOX, PVR Expresses Disappointment Over Producers Turning To OTT Platforms
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