- Saturday, April 27, 2024
By: Mohnish Singh
The ongoing Coronavirus pandemic has crippled all businesses, and showbusiness is no exception. With shooting activities coming to a standstill, all the leading film producing industries across the world are in a stage of deep crisis.
Since nobody knows when cinemas will open their doors for cinegoers, several filmmakers are heading to leading OTT platforms to release their upcoming films in order to avert further losses.
And If latest reports are anything to go by, upcoming Bollywood films Mimi and Shiddat will see no theatrical release. They are instead gearing up for digital premieres. Mimi stars Kriti Sanon in the lead role, while Shiddat is headlined by Sunny Kaushal, Mohit Raina, Radhika Madan and Diana Penty. Both films are produced by Dinesh Vijan under Maddock Films.
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“But it all depends on the financial viability. He would let go off the theatrical release only if he gets the amount that ensures ample of table profit for him. Money aside, there are constant discussions going on with his actors and directors about the digital release, since this is an extraordinary scenario,” a source in the know informs an entertainment portal.
The source goes on to add that the talks are at very nascent stage. “It is all early talks being initiated and depends on how things pan out in the future. They are just exploring a probable option at the moment.”
A trade expert opines, “It is the right call to get the smaller films to premiere either digitally or on the television, as even after the lockdown eases down, audience wouldn’t step out to watch the smaller ones. There will be a sense of fear to visit the cinema and it would only be the bigger ones to get some sort of audience. I wouldn’t be surprised if a lot of small films from different producers release direct on several OTT platforms. This will be a game changer and also change the consumption pattern of cinema in Bollywood.”
