Telugu film ‘Hero’ streams on Disney+ Hotstar
Premium- The action comedy thriller has been written and directed by Sriram Adittya and stars Ashok Galla, Niddhi Agerwal, Jagapathi Babu, Naresh and Vennela Kishore in lead roles
NEW DELHI : Telugu film Hero that had released in cinemas in January has started streaming on Disney+ Hotstar this weekend, less than a month after its theatrical release. The action comedy thriller has been written and directed by Sriram Adittya and stars Ashok Galla, Niddhi Agerwal, Jagapathi Babu, Naresh and Vennela Kishore in lead roles.
To be sure, impressive box office collections of Diwali releases last year and the dip in covid-19 cases had given theatre owners hope of smooth theatrical operations with film-makers returning to the original six to eight-week window they used to follow for OTT (over-the-top) launch of their films before the pandemic, by March or April. Given the Omicron wave and the third shutdown of cinemas, the shorter window is likely to continue for now.
The covid-19 pandemic saw several films bypass the theatrical medium to release directly on streaming platforms as cinemas remained shut indefinitely. The period immediately after reopening, too, has been fraught with worry and uncertainty with most producers insisting on premiering their films digitally within four weeks so as to strike better deals with OTT platforms that would help them offset the losses or reduced profits from theatres, which in many states are still operating with capped occupancies and curfews.
Last September, PVR Cinemas and INOX Leisure Ltd, had refused to screen the Hindi version of Kangana Ranaut’s Thalaivii, given the small window before the digital premiere on Netflix. The Hindi version of Thalaivii on Netflix was slated for a premiere within 14 days of release in theatres. The Tamil and Telugu versions, on the other hand, had been acquired by Amazon Prime Video, which premiered after a month and were screened by multiplexes, too.
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Tinkering with the traditionally acceptable window is bound to upset exhibitors who feel that consumers may be in two minds about going to cinemas if the movie starts streaming within a couple of weeks of its release in theatres.
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