Industry watchers, trade insiders and digital audiences were taken by surprise recently when Eros Now announced their upcoming slate. For, included in the list of upcoming films on Eros Now were several movies that they had all but given up hopes of ever watching on the silver screen.
Vasan Bala’s debut feature Peddlers, for instance. The film had premiered at Cannes in 2012 and had languished without a release ever since. It will now see the light of day on Eros Now. Also getting a release, even if digital, is veteran filmmaker Buddhadev Dasgupta’s Sniffer, which had premiered at the 2013 London Film Festival. The film stars Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Pankaj Tripathi.
The news set us thinking about several other much-publicised films that have been stuck in the cans for a while; films that deserve a decent release, so that they can be watched the appreciated by discerning viewers.
And there are a few films that fans have been rooting for like forever. Here are a few –
1. Dibakar Banerjee’s much delayed Arjun Kapoor – Parineeti Chopra starrer, Sandeep Aur Pinky Faraar –
A Yashraj Films distribution, it was supposed to release in 2018, but has been delayed and delayed, and is still nowhere near releasing. It is a black comedy, stereotypically the Dibakar Banerjee kind. It was hoped that the film would be released by a streaming platform during the theatre shutdown, but it was not to be. Let’s hope an OTT platform picks it up and the film releases soon. It’s a Dibakar Banerjee film after all!
2. Tamil film Naragasooran, starring Arvind Swami and Shriya Saran, and directed by popular director Karthick Naren –
It is a thriller film, and is apparently a spin-off of the director’s neo noir crime thriller hit D16. That itself makes it a movie worth watching out for. It was supposed to release in theatres, but did not. Then Covid-19 happened, and theatres shut down indefinitely. News doing the rounds said that it had been picked up by a streaming platform for a digital release, but that hasn’t happened yet. Let’s hope an OTT platform picks up Naragasooran and we get to see it soon.
3. Shoojit Sircar’s Amitabh Bachchan starrer, Shoebite –
Shoebite is supposedly a seminal film, if reviews by Bollywood luminaries such as Anurag Kashyap and Ayushmann Khurrana are to be believed. It is touted to be Amitabh Bachchan’s best work ever.
The stalwart has time and again appealed to industry and studio honchos on social media, to release the film, so that cinema enthusiasts get to watch it. A tussle between UTV and Disney Studios has led to a release stalemate, with neither party agreeing to back down from their high horses.
Here’s hoping good sense prevails, and we get to watch Shoebite soon.
4. Dhanush starrer The Extraordinary Journey of the Fakir –
Director Ken Scott’s whimsical film features Dhanush as a simple Mumbai trickster, who sets off to reconnect with his estranged father in Paris. A simple visit to Paris to discover his father’s identity turns into a veritable odyssey, with tons of adventure happening along the way. Dhanush’s performance came in for much appreciation by critics.
Though the film released in theatres in India, it wasn’t publicised much, nor did it get too many viewers. It is a film ripe for OTT viewing, especially in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Extraordinary Journey of the Fakir should be grabbed right away by an OTT platform and streamed to a discerning audience. We’re sure it will receive a tremendous response on streaming.
5. Vishal starrer Chakra –
Vishal’s Chakra, which he has also produced, was supposed to be sold to Amazon Prime Video for a direct to digital release during the festive Diwali month. Unfortunately, it was caught in a tussle between Trident Arts and Vishal’s production company, and remains unsold even now.
The plot, relating to hacking and cyber crime, is very interesting. The movie is an apt watch when most entertainment is being consumed online.
Let’s hope Vishal gets all his issues sorted, and the movie releases on OTT soon.
6. Vaishnav Tej & Vijay Sethupathi starrer Uppena –
Telugu film Uppena stars Vijay Sethupathi as the primary antagonist. That is reason enough for the film to be highly anticipated by viewers.
Currently stuck without a release, there are good chances that the movie may release on OTT. Let’s hope an OTT platform buys the movie for a digital release.
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