Now,the E-Release

The film is available on a pay-per-view model and costs Rs 30 in India and $ 2.99 internationally. However,Abhyankar’s directorial debut was not the only film that released online that day. Sanjay Kak and Ashvin Kumar’s controversial documentaries,Jashn-e-Azadi and Inshallah,Kashmir : Living Terror respectively,also used the medium for an official release. More recently,debut director Abeed Rais chose to showcase his short film with Purab Kohli in the lead,Kuch Spice To Make It Meetha. The film premiered on February 29. Kannada filmmaker Pawan Kumar is aiming for an online release of Lifu Ishtene later this month.

While Abhyankar was merely testing the waters,Rais is hoping that his marketing strategy of publicising the film,will help him find audience in the urban youth across India. “The film is experimental in nature and is about a commitment-phobic man in an urban setting. The Indian youth that will be able to relate to the film is hooked to social networking and Youtube. This helped me opt for this medium,” explains Rais. Kumar,however,is using the medium to fight piracy since “there will be no available physical print to copy and it is easier to track pirates online”.

Kumar and Kak used the internet as a platform since it is not biased. Kumar — tired of his previous run-ins with the Central Board of Film Certification — didn’t bother with the formalities this time and instead went ahead with an online release. “Every filmmaker hopes that their work is seen,but documentaries have a limited platform in India. Censor issues only add to the problem. So the option to release the film online and marketing it accordingly felt viable,” explains Kumar,who is impressed with the viewership numbers that now exceed 50,000.

An online release may lack the impact of a theatrical release but it does offer reach. It helped the makers of Striker (2010),F.A.L.T.U. (2011),Dhobi Ghat (2011) and Jana Gana Mana,cater to the NRI audience. “We did average business in the UK,US and Gulf,” confesses Vashu Bhagnani,F.A.L.T.U.’s producer. That apart,unlike a theatrical release,an online model assures a much longer run and more revenue.

Despite having benefited from the medium,the filmmakers admit that India is yet to take to it wholeheartedly. “Indians are scared of using their credit cards online. Poor bandwidth and hardware too,spoil the online viewing experience,” points out Bhagnani,who did not release Faltu online in India. Abhyankar adds that Indians prefer to pay for a film only if they are watching it on the big screen. Filmmakers too have a mental block. “Every filmmaker dreams of a theatrical release. We are a country that does not even have the concept of release on home video. There’s still time before we can depend on online releases,” says Abhyankar.