Better late than never. Sandalwood filmmakers have decided to follow in the footsteps of their fellow South Indian filmmakers (from Tollywood, Kollywood and Mollywood) and release star films on OTT platforms. Of course, this is still a long way to go before Sandalwood filmmakers actually start collaborating with digital streaming platforms to create their own original content, but this is definitely a “good first step”.
This decision has been made by Kannada filmmakers after many considerations. The 50 percent occupancy rule in theaters due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, new demands being made by theater owners, among other problems, have pushed prominent producers and production houses to take the OTT route. Sandalwood producers such as Vijay Kiragandur, KP Srikanth, Jayanna, Surappa Babu, BK Gangadhar, Manjunath Gowda, Umapathy S and Karthik Gowda are said to have met at a private hotel last Wednesday and are looking into SVOD platforms as an alternative option to release their big films.
One of the “unreasonable” requests made by theater owners, according to one of the attending producers, is that they are demanding theater rentals be abolished and they be paid in profit shares. With the pandemic already stopping huge turnouts at the theaters, this request from the Karnataka Theater Association is expected to create a huge dent in the profit collection made by production houses. This has hence become one of the major causes for producers to turn towards OTTs.
Currently, Darshan’s Roberrt, produced by Umapathy; Puneeth Rajkumar’s Yuvarathnaa; and Yash-starrer, KGF Chapter 2, produced by Vijay Kiragandur, are expected to drop in theaters this year. Sudeep’s Kotigobba 3 – produced by Surappa Babu; Dhruva Sarja’s Pogaru – produced by BK Gangadhar; Bhajarangi 2 by Jayanna Films; Rakshit Shetty’s 777 Charlie; and KP Srikanth’s Salaga are all expected to release in theaters in 2021 as well.
Or rather, they were expected to drop in theaters this year.
With all the aforementioned issues faced by producers, Puneeth Rajkumar and Rakshit Shetty are rumored to be in talks with prominent digital streaming platforms for their films Yuvarathnaa and 777 Charlie respectively. Only time will tell, how this will pan out.
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