B-TOWN TAKES TO STREAMING STRAIGHT AWAY

BIG B, AYUSHMANN KHURRANA STARRER TO BE RELEASED ONLINE ON JUNE 12

NEW 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 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 history of cinema. The fallout could be massive.