Karan Johar says no to direct-to-digital premiere of Brahmastra on Disney+ Hotstar?

By: Mohnish Singh

Starring Amitabh Bachchan, Ranbir Kapoor, Alia Bhatt, and Mouni Roy in lead roles, Dharma Productions’ ambitious project Brahmastra may have faced an inordinate delay in production, but it still remains one of the most-awaited films from the banner.

We hear that leading streaming media platform Disney+ Hotstar was keen on acquiring the film for a direct-to-digital premiere, but producer Karan Johar did not show any interest as he wants it to release theatrically.

The Ayan Mukerji directorial was set to hit the marquee on 4^th December 2020 but has been postponed indefinitely due to the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic. It is reported that Disney+ Hotstar had offered a huge amount to Dharma Productions for the release of the film but to no avail.

“Disney+ Hotstar has now asked Fox Star Studios if they can hand over Brahmastra for their streaming platform. What it means is, Disney+ Hotstar wants Brahmastra to bypass theatrical release and arrive on its platform directly. They feel Brahmastra is a keenly awaited biggie and if it gets premiered on their platform, it will fetch them record streams,” a source close to the development informs a publication.

The source goes on to add, “Producer Karan Johar, however, has not shown interest. He believes that the VFX heavy, grand film would be best enjoyed in cinemas.”

Brahmastra was announced as a franchise with three installments, but things seem to have changed drastically over a period of time. “As of now, there are no talks on the Brahmastra sequels. All the efforts of Dharma Productions and Fox Star Studios are on completing the first part. The shoot of the film is to get over this month after which the team will fully concentrate on the post-production,” adds the source.

“Though Fox Star Studios is exiting the business, the upcoming parts might still be made. Karan Johar is looking forward to the response to the first part. If it emerges a success, he will go ahead with the trilogy as planned but maybe with some other studio,” concludes the source.

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