This Ganesh Chaturthi weekend is looking at some hugely anticipated, star-studded releases, both digitally as well as in theatres. Due to the uncertainty surrounding the theatrical medium though, most filmmakers were not willing to risk the fate of their films and have instead opted for a digital release. Consequently, all streaming platforms are vying for the top spot by announcing their line up of movies and shows for the big festive weekend. However, it has suddenly caught our attention that Disney+Hotstar is now lagging behind its competitors in this segment. Read on to know why!
The past week saw some confusion within the Telugu film industry regarding the release of some of its hugely anticipated movies. Luckily, they managed to work out the release dates of some massive films, so as to avert a clash. Two big Telugu releases, Nithiin‘s ‘Maestro‘ and the Naga Chaitanya-Sai Pallavi starrer ‘Love Story‘, rescheduled their release dates to make way for Nani’s ‘Tuck Jagadish‘ releasing on Amazon Prime Video on the 10th of September. This was a clever move since these days, digital clashes are as big a deal as theatrical ones. In the bargain, by letting go of ‘Maestro’, Disney+Hotstar is left with no release for the festive weekend, much unlike its competitors.
Streaming giant Netflix has Vijay Sethupathi’s ‘Tughlaq Durbar’ and the much-awaited final season of international show ‘Lucifer’. On the other hand, Amazon Prime Video has ‘Tuck Jagadish’ and the new web show, ‘Mumbai Diaries 26/11’, headlined by Mohit Raina and Konkona Sen Sharma. Zee5 seems to be at the top of their game and has an impressive lineup of 3 releases for the weekend. Besides the Telugu suspense thriller ‘NET’, the streaming platform also has Santhanam’s Tamil movie ‘Dikkiloona’ and the Jassie Gill-Surbhi Jyoti rom-com ‘Kya Meri Sonam Gupta Bewafa Hai’.
In view of this, will the release of ‘Maestro’ really be rescheduled or will Disney+Hotstar quickly come up with a plan to salvage the precious festive weekend. In this digital era, competition is fierce and none of the OTT platforms want to let go of opportune moments, that will in turn affect their viewership. It is quite possible that the streaming platform is rescheduling dates of their other projects to come up with a release for the Vinayaka Chaturthi weekend. Only time will tell.