‘Suraj Pe Mangal Bhari’ director says ‘OTT is death of cinema’

Abhishek Sharma said the films that had been released on streaming during the pandemic had suffered

Diljit Dosanjh and Fatima Sana Shaikh in a still from “Suraj Pe Mangal Bhari”.

Tribune Web Desk

Chandigarh, November 9

Zee Studios will release “Suraj Pe Mangal Bhari” theatrically on November 15, making it one of the first major films to open in theatres since “Angrezi Medium” in March, after which cinemas across the country were closed down due to the coronavirus pandemic. Over the last few weeks, restrictions have been eased in many states, allowing production houses to explore theatrical exhibition once again.

The film will arrive at the end of a packed holiday season, which will see films such as “Laxmii”, “Ludo” and “Chhalaang” debuting on streaming platforms.

Director Abhishek Sharma had said in an interview that he had always been pushing for a theatrical release for the film.

Also read: ‘Suraj Pe Mangal Bhari’ to hit theatres on Nov 15

“I’ve never been okay with a digital release, my thoughts on this are well known. For me, the cinema belongs to the theatre. I’m really thankful to the production house for giving me that push for theatre, even in these times and Inshallah we’ll be the first film to come out in theatres,” he told Times Now.

He said the films that had been released on streaming during the pandemic had suffered.

Wondering why the makers couldn’t have waited longer, he added: “I am sorry to use the word, but those films are dying, it’s death. I wouldn’t take names but there are so many films which are on OTT right now and I can see some coming as well, which are promising, I don’t know why they couldn’t wait. For me, cinema belongs to theatres. I’m a theatre guy, I feel cinema belongs to movie theatres and not to OTT. I think that’s the death of the cinema...”

In the last few months, several high-profile films such as Dil Bechara, Sadak 2, Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl and Gulabo Sitabo have been released online, with many more releases lined up.

Suraj Pe Mangal Bhari stars Diljit Dosanjh, Fatima Sana Shaikh and Manoj Bajpayee. The film has been described as a light-hearted, Hrishikesh Mukherjee-style comedy.