Shakuntala Devi will stream on Amazon Prime Video.
A war of sorts has begun between filmmakers and the theater owners since the announcement of Shoojit Sircar’s Gulabo Sitabo directly releasing on Amazon Prime Video was made on Thursday.
Big players like PVR and INOX slammed the makers of the Amitabh Bachchan and Ayushmann Khurrana starrer for bypassing a theatrical release, and the tensions will probably be deepened as another production house, Abundantia Entertainment, today announced that it will be releasing its Vidya Balan-starrer Shakuntala Devi on Amazon Prime Video.
Last week, the Multiplex Association of India (MAI) appealed to studio partners, producers, artistes and content creators to support the cinema exhibition sector by holding their films and releasing them in theaters once they are open again.
“MAI would like to urge all studio partners, producers, artistes and content creators to support the cinema exhibition sector, a vital part of the value chain, by holding and releasing their films in the theatres, once they open again.”
Streaming giants, which are currently the only source of fresh content, are benefiting from mainstream producers’ newfound interest in them as this will not only make them the one-stop destination for movies, but will also make them more powerful, at least in the near future, until cinemas become the happy, safe place for the audience once again.
Actor Madhuri Dixit today treated her fans to a teaser of her upcoming maiden single, Candle, on the occasion of her 53rd birthday. The Kalank actor posted the preview on her Instagram page, writing, "Thanks for all the good wishes and birthday love! Wanted to give some love back to you! Sharing an exclusive preview of my first ever single. Will share the song soon. It's called Candle and it's about hope, something we need in large supply right now."
Abhay Deol is all geared up for his next project as a producer and actor - a feature film titled What are the Odds?, in collaboration with FilmKaravan Originals. Besides Deol, Megha Ramaswamy's directorial debut What are the Odds? stars Yashaswini Dayama (Phobia, Dear Zindagi, Made in Heaven, Delhi Crime), Karanvir Malhotra (The Forgotten Army and Selection Day), Monica Dogra, Priyanka Bose, Manurishi and Sulbha Arya.
The film is all set to have a worldwide digital release and will premiere soon on a leading OTT platform.
Many filmmakers believe that movies should be given the digital platform as we are in the middle of a crisis. Apart from Gulabo Sitabo, Shakuntala Devi, starring Vidya Balan, is also releasing on Amazon Prime Video. Filmmakers Sanjay Gupta, Kunal Kohli and writer-editor Apurva Asrani have supported this decision, and voiced their opinion on their social media platforms.
Director Sanjay Gupta, whose next film is John Abraham and Emraan Hashmi starrer Mumbai Saga, shared on Twitter, “A film is ready for release funded by the producer himself. He doesn’t have deep pockets like the studios. With absolutely no clarity on theatrical release he is left with no choice but to go straight to digital. It’s an exception & not the new norm."
Shah Rukh Khan's 19-year-old daughter, Suhana Khan, has shared more pictures on her social media account. Suhana, who dreams to be an actor some day, has been experimenting with new looks. And, she looks as fresh as dew.
Films releasing directly on an OTT platform has attracted criticism from exhibitors and theater owners, including big players PVR and INOX, who believe the makers should have waited for cinema halls to reopen. Responding to the criticism, the Producers Guild of India on Friday issued an official statement and called this move of releasing movies directly on OTT platforms the need of the hour, as there are too many people who depend on the film industry.
A part of the statement reads, “We are in unprecedented times, facing one of the greatest public health and economic emergencies of our lifetimes. This is a time for the entire film industry to come together with empathy and support for the difficult predicament that each of our constituents finds themselves in - from producers, distributors, exhibitors, daily wage earners and technicians, to the thousands of people whose lives and livelihoods are in some way dependent on our industry.”
Filmmaker Shoojit Sircar’s decision to release Amitabh Bachchan-Ayushmann Khurrana starrer Gulabo Sitabo on an OTT platform has attracted criticism from theater owners, including big players PVR and INOX, who believe the makers should have waited for cinema halls to reopen. Lashing out at Rising Sun Films in an apparent reference, INOX calls the move by the film’s team “alarming and disconcerting.”
A part of their statement reads, “INOX would like to express extreme displeasure and disappointment at an announcement made by a production house today, to release their movie directly on an OTT platform by skipping the theatrical window run. The decision of the production house to deviate from the globally prevalent content windowing practice is alarming and disconcerting.”
After Amitabh Bachchan and Ayushmann Khuranna's Gulabo Sitabo, now Vidya Balan's Shakuntala Devi will release on Amazon Prime Video. On Friday morning, the actor took to her social media platforms to announce the development.
Sharing the film's poster, Balan wrote, “Delighted to announce that you will get to see #ShakuntalaDevi very soon on @primevideoin with all your loved ones 🙂. Thrilled that we will be able to entertain you in these unprecedented times #WorldPremiereOnPrime #ShakuntalaDeviOnPrime.” The film's release date is not announced yet.