Netflix to bring Taapsee Pannu’s ‘Haseen Dilruba’ on 2 July
1 min read 07 Jun 2021, 10:44 AM ISTExperts 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
PremiumNew Delhi: US streaming platform Netflix will premiere Taapsee Pannu’s latest film Haseen Dilruba on 2 July. The mystery thriller has been directed by Vinil Mathew and produced by Aanand L. Rai and Himanshu Sharma under the banner of Colour Yellow Productions. It also features Vikrant Massey and Harshvardhan Rane.
While most Bollywood producers are waiting to see the future of the theatrical medium unfold, holding on to projects, titles like Haseen Dilruba and Parineeti Chopra’s The Girl On The Train had committed to the streaming route even before the second covid wave hit India.
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. Further, the economics make sense. 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 for the producer.
Netflix has also grabbed Kartik Aaryan’s Dhamaka, while Farhan Akhtar’s Toofan will be available on Amazon Prime Video.
Earlier this year, the Reed Hastings-owned platform had completed five years of launch in India and had announced 40 plus originals, saying it is looking at expanding its slate by nearly three times as compared to 2020 as it programmes across languages and genres. Upcoming films on the service include Sonakshi Sinha-starrer Bulbul Tarang, Karan Johar’s production Meenakshi Sundareshwar, a Tamil anthology titled Navarasa, Abbas Mustan directed Penthouse, among others. While Netflix does not disclose India-specific numbers, they are said to hover around the 4.6 million mark, according to Media Partners Asia, an independent provider of research, advisory and consulting services across media, telecom and technology industries in Asia Pacific.
