Action film ‘Sanak’ to premiere directly on Disney+ Hotstar
Disney had recently announced the direct-to-digital release of romantic film ‘Shiddat’ on 1 October
NEW DELHI : Action thriller Sanak will skip the wait to make it to theatres as they reopen and premiere directly on Disney+ Hotstar. Directed by Kanishk Varma and co-produced by Zee Studios and Sunshine Pictures, the film features Vidyut Jammwal, Rukmini Maitra, Neha Dhupia and Chandan Roy Sanyal in lead roles.
Disney had recently announced the direct-to-digital release of romantic film Shiddat on 1 October.
As theatres reopen in Maharashtra next month, a number of filmmakers are looking at locking dates for theatrical releases. However, the backlog over the past year-and-a-half may result in inadequate showcasing for several ready projects.
Trade experts say the resumption of big-screen releases will gradually mean an end to the aggressive turn video streaming platforms had taken to acquire films for direct digital premieres. However, some producers are likely to take the OTT route for projects that may not find viable showcasing in cinemas.
Netflix which will soon stream Kartik Aaryan’s Dhamaka, has already premiered titles such as Taapsee Pannu’s Haseen Dilruba and Parineeti Chopra-starrer The Girl On The Train earlier this year. Amazon Prime Video had Farhan Akhtar’s Toofan and Dharma Productions’ Shershaah streaming recently.
Trade analysts and entertainment industry experts said digital has emerged stronger than ever before during the pandemic and is unlikely to go away any time soon, despite theatre owners urging filmmakers to release films for big screens to help in the recovery of the industry.
The economics also make sense. For second-rung stars, producers may not see sense in spending an additional ₹8-10 crore for publicity and advertising on a film made on a budget of ₹15 crore when a streaming platform is ready to cough up around ₹20 crore with no distribution or marketing costs. It helps to keep the business cycle going when a production house has bigger films in the pipeline that it has to fund, trade experts say.
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