PVR Pictures, the largest theatre chain in India, on Friday said they are disappointed with producers directly releasing their movies on streaming services and bypassing the traditional theatrical route.
The theatre chain joins its industry counterpart INOX in voicing concern about films going straight to streaming platforms.
In an apparent reference to the decision of the makers of Gulabo Sitabo to release the film on Amazon Prime Video on June 12, INOX had released a statement on Thursday, expressing its “extreme displeasure and disappointment” over the move. On Friday, the makers of another film, Vidya Balan-starrer Shakuntala Devi, announced their decision to release their movie on Amazon Prime Video.
The ongoing COVID-19 crisis has caused an unfortunate shutdown of cinemas but they are confident when the situation returns to normalcy, people will definitely go to theatres to watch movies.
Kamal Gianchandani,CEO of PVR Pictures, said that the exhibitors have asked producers to “hold back their film’s release till cinemas reopened.He noted that cinema halls have faced competition from OTT platforms in the past as well.
Meanwhile, Amazon Prime Video has unveiled its direct-to-service line-up spanning five Indian languages, including Hindi films Gulabo Sitabo and Shakuntala Devi. The other projects are Tamil legal drama Ponmagal Vandhal, Tamil-Telugu bilingual movie Penguin, Sufiyum Sujatayum in Malayalam and Kannada features Law, French Biryani.
