‘We’ll wait till we are comfortable’
We will only come out with our movies when the comfort is palpable, and when people might feel comfortable to put on masks and watch a film.
KABIR KHAN, FILMMAKER
It’s not the time for blame game, believes Kabir Khan as multiplex chains have openly expressed dismay about films being released directly on OTT platforms as a result of the pandemic. But the filmmaker, whose big-ticket sports drama ’83 was waiting in the wings to release just weeks later, when the lockdown was announced, says that he is ready to wait — not just for theatres to open, but for a time when a sense of comfort prevails.
Speaking for his own film and even Rohit Shetty’s Sooryavanshi, two high-profile titles which were going to be released just weeks apart from each other, Khan tells us, “We will be ready (to release when the lockdown opens), but having said that, we will only come out with our movies when the comfort is palpable, and when we feel that ‘Okay, the fear has gone away, and
people might feel comfortable to put on masks and gloves, to watch a film. Both, Rohit and I, would want the audience to enjoy our films on the big screen. It’s not like the lockdown will open and we will throw our films to test the waters.” While he understands that theatres and multiplex owners have their reasons to feel disappointed, he also points out at the producers’ predicament. “Everybody has invested a certain amount of money in their films and they may be seeing that in the near future, they’re not going to be able to recover the costs because there’s no clarity about when theatres will open,” explains the 49-year-old filmmaker. In this scenario, he says, it’s not wise for producers to lose on “both counts” theatrical revenue and the chance to secure a bigger price from an OTT platform.