PremiumSapta Sagaradaache Ello Side A out on OTT: Too soon? Wonder netizens
A 4-week OTT deal could discourage audiences from going to theatres, reckon some, while others say that Sapta Sagaradaache Ello is capitalizing on the long-weekend and dropped on OTT at the right time
Last Updated: 01.28 PM, Sep 29, 2023
Hours after actor-filmmaker Rakshit Shetty announced on Thursday (September 28) that Sapta Sagaradaache Ello Side B was being pushed ahead to October 27 from its earlier October 20 date, Side A, which is still in theatres in Karnataka and had its Telugu version out only a week ago, dropped on OTT out of the blue. As of September 29, Sapta Sagaradaache Ello Side A is available to stream on Amazon Prime Video in Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Hindi. It was known that the film had been sold to the streamer, but a 30-day deal was not expected. Since the film dropped, audiences have been debating it, with many opining that the OTT release was way too soon.
In the past, audiences in Karnataka, especially, had urged Rakshit to bring Side A to OTT in time for Side B’s release and the hope was that he would do so with, say, two weeks to go. Right now, the fact that Side A has come in less than a month tells audiences that Side B will follow a similar release pattern, which, netizens reckon is a bad example for audiences who support good films in theatres. Citing that 30-day deals demotivate audiences from going to theatres, cinephile Varun Amogh tweeted, “This is a bad example for audiences who invest their money and time to support good films in theatres. These decisions will support audiences who think such movies are for OTT.” Another user, Lokesh V, added, “Idea date would have been second week of October, since the Telugu release was only a week ago. Imagine the plight of the guys who watched the movie in theatres in the last few days.”
However, several others responded saying that it was not only a brilliant move by the team in capitalizing on the long weekend, but also in driving more audiences to get invested in the film in time for Side B. Vihan Shetty wrote, “Side A is running only a few shows in Kannada and in its Telugu version. To increase the hype for Side B, the OTT release was much needed, especially since Side A was being replaced by some below average movies in Karnataka.” The OTT deal, according to industry insiders was done way back when Pushkar Mallikarjunaiah was to produce Sapta Sagaradaache Ello and he had apparently sold it for 4-week from theatrical release.