Nandita Das’s slice-of-life drama movie ‘Zwigato’ made its world premiere last year at the Toronto International Film Festival and later released in theatres in March 2023. In a proud moment for Indian cinema, the film has earned a spot in the permanent core collection of the library of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Despite all the widespread critical acclaim from the film fraternity and cinephiles, it is quite sad and rather surprising that such a well-intentioned and honest film like ‘Zwigato’ is still not streaming anywhere on an Indian OTT platform. In most cases, Hindi films start streaming on OTT two months after their theatrical release. But obviously that’s not the case here. Even the film’s director Nandita Das invited the attention of OTT platforms about the latest development on her Instagram post yesterday.
Earlier, we had got a hunch that ‘Zwigato’ might be released on the SonyLIV OTT platform. Kapil Sharma’s longstanding and immensely popular stand-up comedy talk show ‘The Kapil Sharma Show’ airs on Sony’s television channel and also streams on the SonyLIV OTT platform. Earlier this year, the Zwigato team were also called as guests on the show. So, Kapil Sharma’s long association with Sony was also thought to be a reason for SonyLIV becoming the streaming home for ‘Zwigato’. But almost four months have gone by, but there is still no word from SonyLIV about the film’s OTT release. So, perhaps it’s not happening.
Well made films not getting prompt OTT releases, or sometimes even no OTT release at all, has happened before in Indian cinema. For instance, Manish Mundra’s hard-hitting movie ‘Siya’, which received praises from several critics, saw its OTT release ten months after its theatrical release. Another critically admired movie – Rajat Kapoor’s ‘RK/RKay’ is still missing on Indian OTT, although it didn’t even get a theatrical release in India.
Having said that, a good film like ‘Zwigato’ with a big name like Kapil Sharma should be made available for Indian OTT viewers. The real reason behind ‘Zwigato’ still not being available on Indian OTT can only be speculated. And like Nandita Das said: “OTT platforms – Are you reading this?” The ball is in your court now!
Written and directed by actor-filmmaker Nandita Das and set in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, the movie narrates a bittersweet tale of a married couple (played by Kapil Sharma and Shahana Goswami) and their persistent struggles to make a living in the post-pandemic era. In the film, Kapil Sharma has essayed the role of a food delivery rider who has lost his factory manager job in the pandemic and how his homemaker wife tries to support his income by starting to work herself. You can watch the ‘Zwigato’ trailer below.
Zwigato Trailer –