A few weeks back, the Telangana Film Chamber urged the film industry producers not to release their films on over-the-top platforms. It was stated that “Keeping the larger interest of the entire Telugu film industry, all the producers are requested to consider our appeal, or else all the exhibitors of Telangana will plan our future course of action.”
Subsequently, a couple of weeks later, the Telangana government gave a much-needed breather to theatres owners of the state as the pandemic-related restrictions were relaxed.
However, amidst the fear of rising COVID-19 cases, there seemed to be a reasonable apprehension amongst movie-goers. Consequently, a big-ticket Telugu film like ‘Narappa’ starring veteran actor Venkatesh went for a direct-to-OTT release on the streaming platform Amazon Prime Video. The news came as a disappointment for theatre owners.
And recently, the Telangana Film Chamber had written to the Telugu Film Producers Council regarding a proposed percentage system for screening of movies in Telangana theatres. The said letter mentioned slab-wise revenue share to be divided between film distributors/producers and exhibitors.
One important point that was mentioned in the said letter was that after a film is released in theatres, the minimum time gap for streaming a small or medium budget movie on OTT platforms was proposed to be 4 weeks. Similarly, the minimum time gap with respect to OTT screening of big-budget movies was proposed to be 7 weeks.
It was further mentioned that in case any movie goes for OTT screening before the proposed time frame, the Telangana based film exhibitors have decided to not screen those movies in movie theatres.
Although the proposed strategy seems to be a measure of last resort and is taken with an honest intention keeping in mind the welfare of the suffering theatre owners in the state of Telangana, however, it should also be observed that for how long filmmakers can wait for movie theatres in Telangana to practically operate in full capacity. That would depend on the rising or declining number of COVID-19 cases and the state of mind of prospective movie watchers.
Furthermore, we are of the opinion that film producers and distributors may be morally compelled to first screen their movies in theatres for a specified period before taking the route. But they may not perhaps be legally bound whether to screen their films in cinema halls or go for a direct-to-OTT release. The financial stakes of the filmmakers and related stakeholders within the industry should also be considered in this regard. Because an OTT release might be a more lucrative proposition despite the filmmakers’ probable unwillingness to do so.