Now that Netflix has finally released the teaser for Dhanush’s ‘Jagame Thandhiram‘ all clouds over the film’s release format have cleared. Helmed by Karthik Subbaraj, ‘Jagame Thandhiram’ is coming soon to Netflix but there’s still a lot that’s left unanswered.
For the past few days we have seen back to back theatrical release announcements pouring in heavily from all quarters. From Yash Raj Films unveiling it’s 2021 slate, to Pushpa, RRR, Maidaan, Bell Bottom, Atrangi Re, 83, Karnan, Mumbai Saga and many more have unveiled their release dates.
These announcements were inevitable on two counts, firstly the government allowed the theatres to run with 100% occupancy after a long time and secondly, the wait had been too long for both, the people involved in the filmmaking and the audiences.
But contrastingly, the producers of ‘Jagame Thandhiram’ took the OTT route even when there was another more sought after option of cinemas available. Do they have a solid enough reason to back such a decision of theirs? After all, why go against the hopes of the film’s lead star and the wishes of the fans who had long been waiting to catch the film on big screen?
We can think of three reasons as to why the people bank rolling ‘Jagame Thandhiram’ could have done so. One, the deal with Netflix had been processed long back and there was no option to back out now. Two, the producers want returns and they are still wary of whether people would be willing to take the risk of going to the theatres and watch a film, as coronavirus still exists out there. And three, they lack confidence in the film and think it would do better on OTT.
While it could very well be a mix of any two or all three of the above mentioned points, it could also be much more than just this. It goes without saying that it’s not as easy as it looks and such decisions are taken after a lot of mulling over by experienced people of the business.
Against the current of theatrical release date announcements, ‘Jagame Thandhiram’ is going for an OTT release. Will it prove to be the right decision or will it leave people thinking that the Dhanush-led film was denied what it rightfully deserved? To answer that, let’s wait for ‘Jagame Thandhiram’ to launch soon on Netflix.