There are several reports claiming that Prabhas and Pooja Hegde starrer Radhe Shyam will not be releasing in theatres on the 14th of January. The makers have been affirming that the film will stick to its original release plan. But taking the deteriorating Covid situation into consideration, it is safe to assume that Radhe Shyam’s theatrical release on 14 January is not all that straightforward. There are several complications associated with the same.
Now, there are rumors that the makers of Radhe Shyam are considering a plausible alternative. The idea is to release Radhe Shyam in theatres on 14th January no matter what. And if the situation goes haywire and theatres are asked to seize operations in view of Covid outbreak, then immediately go for an early OTT release. The makers are apparently giving this prospect a serious thought. While a direct to OTT release looks unlikely, an early OTT release is very much on cards.
If Radhe Shyam does go for early OTT release, it could present ZEE5 with a golden opportunity to expand its market. If they plan the promotional campaign well, Radhe Shyam has a lot to offer.
A film of Radhe Shyam’s scale is a prized possession for any OTT platform. The presence of Prabhas gives the film nation-wide fame. ZEE5 who hold the Telugu language digital streaming rights of Radhe Shyam will finally have a premium offering to penetrate into the Telugu OTT space, something that they’ve been failing at for a long while now.
If ZEE5 can aggressively promote Radhe Shyam’s arrival on the platform and take up the curiosity, it could work workers for their branding. But for that to happen, they will have to come up with a winning promotional campaign. Using Prabhas’s star image for the promotions will hold the key here.
On a related note, Netflix own the Hindi language digital streaming rights of Radhe Shyam.