Reportedly, Ponmagal Vandhal, a tamil film with Jyotika in the lead and accomplished actors like parthiban and bhagyaraj in the cast, wad premiered on amazon Prime Video.  And soon Gulabo Sitabo, a hindi film directed by shoojit sircar and featuring big names like amitabh bachchan and ayushman khurana will also take the OTT route first, skipping the conventional theatrical release. These two announcements were enough to spook the exhibitors and trigger a larger debate on Theatres Vs OTT in recent times. Not that these are the first instances of films being premiered on OTT platforms. The big difference is, these are the first instances featuring really big names in the indian industry.  When small budget films and films made by rookie makers featuring newcomers made their way to OTT platforms earlier, skipping the theatrical route, there was hardly a whimper.

But then, those were normal times. Before a global disruptor called COVID-19 entered the scene. The virus and the resultant lockdown have affected many businesses and activities. Film exhibition is also one among them. And it may be a while before theatres are thrown open for the public. Opening up of theatres may be the last in the government’s priorities for return to pre-COVID-19 BAU, considering the threat it poses to the concept called physical distancing. Locked down at home 24X7, people have found different ways to engage, entertain and amuse themselves. For OTT platforms, COVID-19 has been like what demonetisation was to payment wallets. Many of streaming platforms have found their calling during this lockdown period and many of the shows have managed to garner excellent traction.

Under the circumstances, it is not surprising that films meant for theatrical release also wanted to board the OTT bandwagon now. In normal times, they would have had wide theatrical releases and after a few weeks, would have released on streaming platforms. Not waiting for the theatres to open and going ahead with the OTT channel has predictably enraged the exhibitor community. And predictably, they would like to seek retribution from the producers when normalcy returns whenever. The exhibitor fraternity is a part of the film industry ecosystem. But, their argument seems to be that when their business is down due to lockdown, producers should also suffer equally and not try to carry out business through alternative channels. This argument doesn’t hold much water.As of today, there is no evidence that OTT as a platform will finish off theatres once and for all. There is certainly empirical evidences though, that OTT will increasingly eat into the share of the theatres.