The release of Rajkummar Rao’s latest film Bhool Chuk Maaf has run into legal trouble. The Bombay High Court has stopped the film from coming out on Amazon Prime Video or any other platform, at least for now. The movie was supposed to hit theatres on May 9, but just a day before, the makers, Maddock Films cancelled the release and said it would go straight to OTT on May 16. Their reason? Heightened security drills across the country after recent terror incidents.
But the theatre chain PVR Inox wasn’t happy. They had already booked screens, promoted the film, and even sold some tickets. PVR said they had a clear deal with Maddock Films that the movie would first run in theatres for eight weeks before showing up online. This last-minute change, they argued, broke that promise and hurt their reputation.
The court agreed for now, saying PVR had done everything on their part and shouldn’t be left in the lurch. It said the film can’t release anywhere until that eight-week period is respected.
Due to this the film is stuck in limbo. There is no update whatsoever from either Maddock or PVR INOX or even Prime Video. This is a crazy situation and people deserve to know when the film is hitting on the big screens.
This isn’t the first time OTT platforms have caused a stir. In 2020, the makers of Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl faced similar backlash from theatre owners when they released it directly on Netflix during the pandemic. With the rise of OTT, movie releases are becoming tricky, especially when deals are already made for theatres.
As streaming grows, finding a balance between digital and traditional cinema is becoming a growing challenge, and one that won’t go away anytime soon.
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