Back in May of this year, Amazon Prime Video had shaken and stirred the world of OTT entertainment by announcing the premiere of seven direct to digital big ticket movies on its platform. It is now October, and Amazon Prime Video has done it again. This week, it has announced a new slate of nine direct to digital releases that will premiere on the platform in the last three months of the year.
Only, this time around, the buzz around the direct to digital movies seems to be extremely muted – almost non-existent, we would say. What is so different, this time around? And which movies, of the nine announced recently, have the most buzz? Let’s find out!
The entire Indian social media, as well as traditional online media had erupted in wonder and excitement in May, when Amazon Prime Video had announced its first trench of direct OTT releases, which included Gulabo Sitabo, Shakuntala Devi, Ponmagal Vandhal, Penguin, French Biryani, Sufiyum Sujatayum and Law. The buzz around and before each release was tremendous, even though none of the seven releases received much appreciation from the audiences.
This time around, the slate includes Varun Dhawan and Sara Ali Khan’s comedy Coolie No.1, Rajkummar Rao’s Chhalaang, Bhumi Pednekar’s Akshay Kumar produced Durgavati, Suriya’s Tamil movie, Soorarai Pottru, R Madhavan’s Tamil film Maara, Kannada movies Bheema Sena Nalamaharaja and Maane Number 13, Telugu movie Middle Class Melodies and Malayalam comedy drama, Halal Love Story. Interestingly enough, the slate includes movies from all the top five popular film industries in the country – Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam. Talk about getting the formula right to win audiences over!
Coming to the buzz around these movies, Soorarai Pottru is the only film in the lot that is generating a reasonable amount of interest and excitement among digital viewers. Okay, let’s be generous here – Soorarai Pottru has certainly got viewers all excited and eager for its release. Everyday, Amazon Prime Video’s social media handles are inundated with requests for the trailer of Soorarai Pottru to be launched. Fans are desperately waiting for the movie to release, and just can’t keep calm. After all, it stars fan favourite Tamil superstar Suriya in the lead. Yes, Soorarai Pottru is buzzing, all right!
But about the rest – well, what can we say. The proof is there for all to see. There’s hardly any social media chatter around any of the movies – not for Coolie No 1, or Durgavati, or Maara. In fact, there’s no buzz even for Chhalaang, directed by skilled director Hansal Mehta, who is currently the flavour of social media, given his recent hit for SonyLIV, Scam 1992. Save for a cursory mention of Amazon Prime Video’s upcoming releases and their respective premiere dates, no one, and believe us when we say it, *no one* is talking about these movies.
Why is that, you may ask. Several factors are responsible for the lack of buzz about these direct to digital releases. A feeling of sameness and ennui is prime among these. After seven months of staying at home, with only digital content for entertainment, people have reached the end of their tether. Even big ticket releases fail to impress any more. People are primed to return to watching movies in cinema halls as soon as it is safe enough for them to do so. There, we’ve said it!
Secondly, the ongoing IPL tournament may have something to do with waning interest in films, at present. After all, digital viewers have full-bodied, masala-laden, explosive entertainment available in the form of nail-biting cricket. Who wants boring old movies then? What say?
To conclude, as of now, Soorarai Pottru is the only film from the current crop of Amazon Prime Video’s direct to digital releases.
Soorarai Pottru releases on Amazon Prime Video on 30th October. Stay tuned to Binged.com for more such news and updates on the world of OTT entertainment.