Manoj Bajpayee starrer ‘Sirf Ek Bandaa Kaafi Hai’ finally made its direct-to-OTT premiere on the Zee5 streaming platform yesterday. The movie is said to be inspired by true events and revolves around an honest and upright lawyer’s arduous legal battle against a godman who has been accused of assaulting a minor girl.
The direct-to-OTT release of ‘Sirf Ek Bandaa Kaafi Hai’ made us think about the prospects and viability of the movie regarding its potential theatrical release instead of a direct-to-OTT release.
There is no doubt about the fact that after Ram Gopal Varma’s cult crime film ‘Satya’, in which the stellar actor’s Bhikhu Matre character instantly became a household name, Manoj Bajpayee’s acting career has now achieved another high. Particularly after the release of Raj & DK’s superhit spy series ‘The Family Man’, and now Zee5’s ‘Bandaa’.
So, the point is: Manoj Bajpayee has found a new, loyal and a massive fan base amongst Indian OTT audiences. Considering his reinvented stardom and renewed popularity, the same OTT viewers possibly ‘had’ the potential of transforming themselves into a strong prospective theatrical audience base. Case in point: ‘Sirf Ek Bandaa Kaafi Hai’.
These streaming viewers might want to see their favorite actor on the big screen as well. After ‘Silence’, ‘Dial 100’, and ‘Gulmohar’, ‘Sirf Ek Bandaa Kaafi Hai’ is Manoj Bajpayee’s fourth film which has been directly released on an OTT platform. So, his fans might be looking forward to watching him in theatres.
‘Sirf Ek Bandaa Kaafi Hai’ seems to be a kind of movie which has the ability to attract audiences into theatres. So, a theatrical release could have been a possibility and a viable option. But obviously, that’s not the case here. Have the makers made a mistake by premiering their film directly on Zee5 instead of theatres? Especially taking into account the fact that the film has been getting rave reviews from critics and is even being hailed as one of the best courtroom dramas in Indian cinema with a terrific performance by Manoj Bajpayee.
Having said that, another school thought might be of the view that in the post-pandemic era, movie goers need not just want good content and fine performances but also visual spectacle. ‘Sirf Ek Bandaa Kaafi Hai’ is high on content but considering its premise, there wouldn’t be any spectacle as such. Despite Manoj Bajpayee’s popularity, we think it was prudent to release a film like ‘Sirf Ek Bandaa Kaafi Hai’ directly on OTT.
But previously, some recent content-oriented films like ‘Mrs. Chatterjee Vs. Norway’, ‘Zwigato’, and ‘Bheed’ failed to attract movie goers in big numbers. Perhaps it’s going to take more time for the theatrical viewing pattern to reach the pre-pandemic era. Let’s see how Manoj Bajpayee’s ‘Sirf Ek Bandaa Kaafi Hai’ turns out to be and how well it’s received by the OTT audience in the longer term. We have a feeling that it’s going to do quite well on OTT and bring in decent viewership on Zee5.