Any blockbuster film that does a grand collection in theatres is highly awaited on OTT but does it work the same way on both the mediums?
Frankly, no! And ‘Thandel’ is the latest example of this exact phenomenon. Chandoo Mondeti’s Telugu romantic action thriller starring Naga Chaitanya and Sai Pallavi grossed over ₹100 crores worldwide, even marking Chaitanya’s first entry into the ₹100 crore club, but it was its OTT debut on Netflix where it stumbled pretty bad.
Viewers did not find it as entertaining and infact many felt it was cringe and boring. The grand visuals of the sea and emotional weight of DSP’s score lose impact on smaller screens (TVs, laptops, phones) without that theatre-grade sound systems and it even start to get irritating at times.
This isn’t a standalone thing for ‘Thandel’ though and happens with many films and there’s quite a few reasons as to why this might happen. Let’s discuss a few.
Firstly, theatre viewing is a much different experience than watching something on OTT at your own convenience. With former you have made a commitment, paid a price, taken out time and thus you are more forgiving, but with latter there’s none of that and you have more of a free will to quit in between at any moment.
Secondly, what might feel epic in cinemas might feel very normal while watching on TV or phone. The grandeur factor generally goes for a toss on OTT most of the time and often it’s this very thing that makes a film work on the big screen rallying the theatre crowd along with it.
Lastly, certain themes like patriotism that does wonders in cinemas and plays well with a crowd’s energy can feel heavy-handed or clichéd on OTT, where viewers expect tighter, more personal storytelling.
So yes, not everything is meant for everything and ‘Thandel’ is a textbook example of how a film built for one medium can struggle to fully adapt to another.