Sushant Singh Rajput's last movie Dil Bechaara to release on Disney+Hotstar

Sushant Singh's last movie, Dil Bechaara, which is based on the novel The Fault in Our Stars, will directly release on Disney+Hotstar on July 24.

The movie will be available to both subscribers and non-subscribers, said Uday Shankar, President – The Walt Disney Company APAC and Chairman, Star & Disney India.

On the announcing the release of the film, Mukesh Chhabra, Director of Dil Bechara said: "Sushant was not just the hero of my debut film as a director, but he was a dear friend who stood by me through thick and thin. We had been close right from Kai Po Che to Dil Bechara. He had promised me that he would be in my first film. So many plans were made together, so many dreams were dreamt together but never once did I ever imagine that I would be left alone to release this film. He always showered immense love on me while I was making it and his love will guide us as we release it."

Moneycontrol had earlier reported that along with Dil Bechaara, Disney+Hotstar is planning around eight direct to digital releases including films like Lootcase and big ventures like Ajay Devgn-starrer Bhuj.

While Sushant's fans were rallying for a theatrical release of Dil Bechaara, the film has taken the OTT route like many other ventures in the recent times.

The latest movie to take the OTT route is Janhvi Kapoor's Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl, scheduled to stream on Netflix.

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With theatres showing no signs of restarting business soon, many films have opted for digital premieres.

From Ayushmann Khurrana and Amitabh Bachchan's Gulabo Sitabo, Ponmagal Vandhal, Vidya Balan's Shakuntala Devi, Nawazuddin Siddiqui's Ghoomketu, many have skipped theatrical release and have opted for digital premieres.

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Last month, Amazon Prime Video had shared their content lineup which had many direct-to-digital releases.

After Amazon Prime Video, looks like Disney+Hotstar will be offering more direct to digital releases considering their content pipeline.

With more films joining the list of direct OTT releases, the debate continues whether it is the right call by the producer.

There is no denying that theatres are the biggest contributor to a film's collection and digital is only a part of a film's overall business. But in times of COVID-19, producers are left with no choice with theatres remaining shut for over three months.

Also, film trade experts say that the content releasing directly on OTT would anyway not have seen big box office business.

Take the example of Gulabo Sitabo. Experts said even a release in cinema halls would not have given Gulabo Sitabo more than Rs 60 crore of business at the box office.

In that case, the film's deal with Amazon Prime is just right as the OTT platform has bought the premiere rights of the Amitabh Bachchan-starrer for Rs 60-65 crore.