Big B’s Gulabo Sitabo to premiere on Amazon
nNEW DELHI: Shoojit Sircar’s Amitabh Bachchan and Ayushmann Khurrana starrer Gulabo Sitabo would be the first mainstream Bollywood movie to be released globally across 200 countries on Amazon’s streaming service on June 12 due to the coronavirus lockdown, the US company announced on Thursday.
The comedy-drama was scheduled to open in theatres on 17 April. According to people familiar the developments, Anurag Basu’s next, Ludo, starring
Abhishek Bachchan and Rajkummar Rao, will be released in a similar manner.
Entertainment analyst Komal Nahta called it a logical step. “In the current situation, where no one knows when theatres will reopen, or how many people will actually go to the theatres in the short and medium term after they do, OTT is well poised to step in.” “How long will the producers hold on to a film? If a platform can pay, they will get the rights. This is logical,” he added.
Sircar, in a statement, described the move as the “dawn of a new era for Indian entertainment”. “At Amazon we’re listening to our customers, and working backwards from there,” said Vijay Subramaniam, director and head of content at Amazon Prime Video, India.
Even with the theatres open, digital rights were a booming revenue stream, and grew from ~13.5 billion in 2018 to ~19 billion in 2019, according to an EY-FICCI report on the media and entertainment industry released in March this year. Digital release windows shortened too, with some movies being released on OTT platforms at the same time, or days after release in cinemas.
As the Covid-19 outbreak engulfed the world, the Oscars have declared that a theatrical release will no longer be a prerequisite for qualifying for the awards. Film festivals have moved online or been postponed indefinitely. There is no Cannes. This will be a year (or two) unlike any other in the history of cinema, and the fallout could be massive — for producers, distributors, cinema halls, and of course audiences. How films are released will, as they always have, affect what stories get told, and how they are told.
nTHIRUVANANTHAPURAM:AFTER maintaining a tight rein for one-and-ahalf months, Kerala on Thursday reported a spurt in coronavirus disease (Covid-19) cases with 26 new infections, the highest since March-end. Out of the 26 new patients, seven returned from West Asia and eight from other Indian states, including Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu, chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan said.
The state, which has built a track record for the highest recovery rate and lowest fatality rate, is concerned about a further increase in the number of Covid-19
cases after the return of expats from West Asia and an influx from other Indian states. Among Gulf returnees, 22 have tested positive so far and more flights and trains are expected. Of the 560 cases in Kerala, 64 are being treated; 492 have been discharged. Four deaths have taken place, making for a state fatality rate that’s less than 1%. “The sudden spurt exposes a lurking threat. We have been insisting for a strict protocol due to this. Many questioned us when we insisted on passes for those coming from other states. It is not time to play politics,” said Vijayan, referring to three Congress MPS and two MLAS who were quarantined.