To OTT or not to OTT: Aamir Khan says wait for six months, but other stakeholders differ

K Vijayakumar, the president of the Film Exhibitors United Organisation of Kerala (FEUOK), shares the sentiment of Aamir. “At present, 42 days is the time gap that the Kerala film chambers have agreed to before releasing a film on OTT. But, many are releasing their films on OTT platforms much before the agreed-upon time. And the film chambers are unable to respond to this situation. So we have decided if a film is released on OTT before the agreed-upon time, the FEUOK will take action against the stars and the directors of that film,” he said.

The FEUOK has announced the movies of the stars and directors who violate these terms will not be screened in theatres across Kerala in future. The association has also asked the film chambers to increase the OTT release window from 42 days to 56 days.

“We want to bring the audience back to theatres. And only when we can make sure that new films won’t come to streaming platforms before 56 days, people will make an effort to come to theatres,” Vijayakumar.

Naga Chaitanya and Aamir Khan in Laal Singh Chaddha. (Photo: IMDB)

Aamir has revealed that he won’t make Laal Singh Chaddha available for streaming for six months after its theatrical release. While the production houses that are backing films like Laal Singh Chaddha are built for such a challenge, could smaller production banners afford to turn their backs on the extra revenue from the sales of digital rights for so many months?

“The economics of filmmaking should also change in all aspects. The producers I worked with were used to the good chuck of money coming from the OTT players. It was a very comforting fund, which helped them during the production stage. If the producer is very clear that he doesn’t want the film to come in on OTT in a short period, then he should have the capacity for it. To say, ‘I’m not going to be tempted by that large sums of money and I’m going to use money from a different source and keep this film away from the OTT for six months’. And for that to happen, all technicians and actors should start working hand in hand. We should also start taking the profit shares. Start taking the salary slightly later to support this cause. We need to start to recalibrate how we deal with the finances. We all have to come together, otherwise, it won’t change,” Naga Chaitanya, who has played a key role in Laal Singh Chaddha, told indianexpress.com.

Naga Chaitanya is also among those who have been caught off-guard by the ongoing seismic shift in the field of cinema. His previous film Thank You crashed at the box office on its opening weekend. But, he believes that wouldn’t have been the case in the pre-pandemic market.

“A few years ago, I would get a good opening and decent weekend run, and maybe through the week, it will start fading out. Now it’s not like that. If the talk is not good, by Friday afternoon, you are seeing a slump in the collection. This is also because the audience is exposed to so many varieties of content through OTT,” Chaitanya reasoned.

The affordable internet services and pocket-friendly OTT subscriptions have changed the behaviour of the movie-going audience for good. They now have plenty of options unlike before with the streaming services offering a treasure trove of hundreds of hours of high-quality entertainment at their disposal. And in this situation, they are now making rather an informed choice when it comes to picking a movie at the cinemas.

And it’s not like the patrons have en masse decided to abandon the cinemas in favour of streaming. The recent blockbusters like Vikram, RRR and KGF: Chapter 2, have shown that people still love the shared experience of watching movies in cinemas with strangers as long as they are convinced that a film is worthy of their time, money and effort.

A still from RRR pre-release event in Kerala. (Photo: Twitter/RRRMovie)

“Bimbsara, and Sita Ramam have brought in good revenues in the Telugu states. When films are good people will watch them. They have enough options now. If there is no OTT, they can spend time watching Instagram reels and YouTube videos. Not for nothing that we have so many YouTube stars now,” said S.R. Prabhu of Dream Warrior Pictures.

Unlike many, Prabhu is not shocked or rattled by the changing face of cinema. His business and creative decisions seem to be guided by the maxims – ‘adapt or die.’ Instead of fighting the change and making a villain out of the OTT platforms, Prabhu wants to innovate to maximise profits on all fronts.

“For example, Amazon (Prime Video) allowed people to rent and watch KGF 2 four weeks after its theatrical release and two weeks later they made it available for all subscribers. We have to adapt ourselves to the changes,” Prabhu added.

Prabhu is happy with a four-week gap between theatrical and OTT releases considering the fact that the total annual output has doubled over the years. “Earlier there used to be 50-60 movies annually. Now, we see about 150 releases,” Prabhu remarked.

And he believes that any further increase in the OTT release window will only strengthen the menace of online piracy. “A film needs at least a minimum of four weeks in theatres to recover its cost. 6 months gap is too long,” producer G. Dhananjayan opined.

Mumbai-based film exhibitor Akshaye Rathi, however, argues for a comprehensive policy to protect the interests of all stakeholders, including streaming services. And he believes stringent action to contain the menace of piracy will solve the majority of the industry’s problems.

A still picture from Raksha Bandhan.

“While there are good laws for piracy, they aren’t implemented well. For indulging in piracy as a consumer or seller, you need to pay a heavy fine or potentially go to jail. In my career of over a decade, I can’t remember a person going to jail for piracy. People haven’t given up on piracy. By allowing piracy, the governments are also losing out on money. If not for piracy, and people are consuming movies in legitimate ways, 12 to 18 per cent GST on every ticket sold goes to the government,” Akshaye said.

“If a movie comes to OTT six months later, there is a high chance that people will indulge in piracy and not even go to the theatre or watch it on OTT. You need to plug that leakage of piracy and ensure that theatres and OTT platforms get their dues,” he added.

Akshaye also advocates for a longer OTT window to maximise the gains for everyone in the business.

“The streaming platforms have already rationalised hugely in terms of the money they pay for films. For most films, they started saying first go to the theatres, and see how it does at the box office and on that basis, we will pay you. It’s not like a few years back when the movies were selling left, right and centre for obnoxious prices on the streaming platforms,” he explained.