Welcome to the Indian entertainment industry’s hot new revenue model of low risk, high profit and assured success! In short, it’s all about the money, Honey! Allow us to elaborate:
Most readers must be aware that two highly anticipated movies of recent times have opted to take the direct OTT release route. They are Mohanlal’s Drishyam 2, the sequel to his 2013 blockbuster hit Drishyam; and Kartik Aaryan‘s Dhamaka, the official Indian remake of the 2014 Korean thriller, The Terror Live.
In both cases, the respective producers of the two films voluntarily skipped theatrical release and decided to release their labours of love on the top OTT platforms in the country – Netflix in the case of Dhamaka, and Amazon Prime Video in the case of Drishyam 2. Both decisions were taken swiftly, and with minimum fuss. And significantly, with no melodrama about wanting to release their movies in the theatres, but being compelled by pandemic circumstances to release them on OTT – none, whatsoever.
Which begs the question – why? Why would these buzzy films, headlined by A-list actors and intriguing plots, want to release their films on OTT, instead of the much-glorified, haloed big screen, aka cinema halls?
Well, as we said before, it’s all about the money! Or rather, cash flow! Let’s see:
1. Both films completed their shoots amidst the lockdown, and in record times. Drishyam 2 completed shoot in 46 days flat, while Kartik Aaryan reportedly completed the shoot of Dhamaka in a record ten days!
2. The super-quick shoot completion meant that both films’ crews could get down to the post-production work of the films swiftly and efficiently. Post production of Drishyam 2 is now complete, while Dhamaka’s is on the verge of completion.
3. In the world of films and entertainment, fewer days spent making a film directly converts to less money spent in its making. The above two points combined together meant that the makers of both movies could complete the major work of the films in a highly cost-effective manner – minimum spending and maximum gains. Drishyam 2 has Jeethu Joseph on board as director and Antony Perumbavoor as the producer – the same pair that made Drishyam. Dhamaka is directed by Ram Madhvani, and produced jointly by Ronnie Screwvala’s RSVP Films and Ram Madhvani Films.
4. Theatres in India are still operating at less than satisfactory occupancy. Despite strict SOPs in place and full precautions in place in a post-Covid world, the common movie-goer is simply not coming back to the theatres in a hurry. Waiting for theatres to bounce back to normalcy — which no one knows when it will happen — and then release their films in the theatres would mean mounting interest on the loans taken by Drishyam 2 and Dhamaka producers. This would obviously lead to a vicious circle – the kind a lot of film financiers and builders are caught in – mounting interest on loans, with no revenue in sight.
4. Even before Drishyam 2 and Dhamaka could complete their post-production work, they had been sold to Amazon Prime Video and Netflix respectively. While the figure in the case of Drishyam 2 hasn’t been revealed, Dhamaka apparently sold to Netflix for a whopping 85 Crores!
5. Now, the most crucial part of the entire affair: selling early to streamers meant just one thing — but the most important thing — cash flow. The producers had the cash flow into their hands, they could quickly pay off their loans and pocket a cool profit too — most definitely, a substantial profit. How’s that for an awesome win-win!
Akshay Kumar‘s Bell Bottom – had it released directly on OTT as buzz suggested – would have had all the above points working in its favour. Plus it would have fetched an even better price in the OTT market. A pity that the producers and Akshay Kumar cancelled the direct OTT release plan.
In today’s world, when OTT has come to dominate our content-viewing habits, audiences are getting more and more comfortable with the idea of enjoying movies on OTT – even a fast-paced, edge-of-the-seat thriller such as Dhamaka. They are no longer adamant on watching a film only in the theatres. Hence, what Drishyam 2 and Dhamaka did in these times of uncertainty makes the best business sense.
Better to take a film from the drawing board to completion in record time and then rake in the moolah quickly; instead of lolling under the weight of piling interest on loans, stress and uncertainty. Make substantial profit – quickly and with minimum hassle – and then move on to the next storytelling venture. That’s business, and some great business sense!
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