It’s high time that the content acquisition team over at Disney Plus Hotstar took a reality check, and heads rolled at the platform. From the time the trend of direct to digital releases gained traction, the platform has been releasing dud after dud after colossal dud of direct digital releases. There’s something seriously wrong with the due diligence Disney Plus Hotstar does when it picks Indian films – Hindi, Tamil or any other language – for a direct to digital release. It is totally, absolutely faulty, and needs to be set right, pronto.
If you think we’re being unduly harsh on Disney Plus Hotstar and the choice of movies they make, here’s proof.
Let’s begin with the films Disney Plus Hotstar picked up last year, at the start of the pandemic, for direct to digital releases on its platform. Of the seven odd films it picked, Khuda Hafiz got panned by critics and audiences. Sadak 2 was a massive disaster. Akshay Kumar-starrer Laxmmi was a colossal failure, and was showered with brickbats, left, right and centre. Reportedly, Disney Plus Hotstar folks had paid a bomb for the direct to OTT rights of the film.
The Big Bull suffered due to the release first of its far-better doppelganger, SonyLIV’s Scam 1992. Dil Bechara, a mediocre film at the most, got eyeballs only because of its star Sushant Singh Rajput’s tragic passing away. Lootcase was the one redeeming film from that lot.
Disney Plus Hotstar picked another set of buzzy films after its first lot of acquisitions. Let’s take a look at their fate. First the Tamil slate of films – Bhoomi received bashing from audiences and critics, for its clichéd subject, performances, script—basically everything. Mookuthi Amman, another Tamil film, was still better received. Teddy’s script and illogical goings-on were roundly criticised. And this week’s Netrikann has received very poor ratings too. Not a single credible critic or publication has praised anything about the film; save for Nayanthara’s performance, maybe.
The next batch of Hindi films didn’t do too well either. Collar Bomb bombed; Hungama 2 was a disaster; hardly anyone saw or remembers the travesty called Hum Bhi Akele Tum Bhi Akele.
And now Bhuj: The Pride Of India, the last one from the first clutch of films, has suffered an even worse fate. It has been criticised heavily for its amateurish handling of a poignant, sensitive and intriguing slice of India’s war history. It is a huge flop, no doubt about that.
So now do you still think we’re being harsh on Disney Plus Hotstar and the choice of films it has spent big moolah on, this last year? We rest our case.
In our opinion, Disney Plus Hotstar should learn a thing or two from the content strategy of its competitor, Amazon Prime Video. It is the one OTT platform that has consistently hit bullseye with its choice of Indian films. Prime Video has shrewdly picked up a clever mix of films from the entire gamut of film industries in India—Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and Hindi. Amazon Prime Video has got a sharp ear to the ground, an eagle eye on what’s buzzing and it moves in for the kill before its competitors even get wind of what’s cooking. Shershaah, Toofaan, Sherni, Soorarai Pottru, Malik, Kuruthi, The Great Indian Kitchen, Master, Vakeel Saab, Hero, Sarpatta Parambarai, Narappa, Ek Mini Katha — the list of direct digital releases at Amazon Prime Video is long and illustrious.
So dear Disney Plus Hotstar, now that you know what needs to be done, you better get down to doing it! Competition is tough and times are tougher. Rather than let monies go down the drain, how about you pick up some worthy films to release directly on OTT, and regain your past glory!