Are Bollywood filmmakers eyeing OTT over theatre again?

In wake of Sooryavanshi getting postponed, audiences are left to wonder if Bollywood will move to OTT platforms. The reason behind an unanticipated delay in the release of this Akshay Kumar and Katrina Kaif starrer yet again, is the COVID-19 pandemic, which seems to be worsening. Scheduled for release on April 30, Sooryavanshi will now release later on an unannounced date.

Director Rohit Shetty’s project Sooryavanshi has major production houses like Reliance Entertainment, Dharma Productions, Rohit Shetty Picturez and Cape of Good Films backing it. Thus, the filmmakers are desirous of a theatrical release and not a direct-to-OTT release. This decision is now being rethought by them and a formal announcement is expected to be made around April 10.

A statement issued by the filmmakers on April 5 confirmed the postponement.

"Team Sooryavanshi postpones the release of the film. The Honorable Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Mr. Uddhav Thackeray had a discussion with director Rohit Shetty yesterday. In the meeting, Mr. Uddhav Thackeray appreciated Rohit Shetty as he took the brave and difficult decision of postponing Sooryavanshi owing to the current COVID situation in the state," the statement read.

The fate of Sooryavanshi will decide if big Bollywood releases will shift to OTT platforms, since the pandemic has made releases extremely uncertain. If Sooryavanshi is moved to an OTT platform, it is sure to influence other filmmakers to turn to the idea of digital releases. 

With cinemas opening for a brief period of time in the nation, Bollywood jumped at the opportunity and announced a star-studded line-up of films that spanned across the 2021 calendar. Unaffected by Mumbai Saga’s poor performance in theatres, big banners plowed on, insisting on theatrical releases. The drab attention given to Mumbai Saga was rooted in the fact that audiences are still weary of visiting theatres.

Bollywood’s lineup for 2021 included movies that were met with extreme hype and excitement- Ranveer Singh starrer 83, Salman Khan’s Radhe, Akshay Kumar’s Bell Bottom and Prithviraj, Ayushman Khurrana’s Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui, and Ranbir Kapoor-Sanjay Dutt starrer Shamshera. 

Though no updates are available for the mentioned movies, others have not fared so well in their schedules - Amitabh Bachchah and Emraan Hashmi starrer Chehre, Rani Mukerji and Saif Ali Khan starrer Bunty Aur Babli 2 and Rana Daggubatti’s Haathi Mera Saathi have already been postponed for release. The reason behind this is the Maharashtra government notice which officially shut all halls to contain the spread of the virus. 

The latest rumour in B-town is that filmmakers are now seriously considering direct-to-OTT release in order to prevent further delays of their projects.

Experts of the Hindi film industry are guiding filmmakers to wait and put their decisions on hold.