Till a few days ago, the plan was to release Drishyam 2 in movie theatres. Antony Perumbavoor, the producer, already had another big film with him, unreleased for the past several months – Marakkar: Arabikkadalinte Simham. Both films starred Mohanlal, and both are expected to pull crowds. But when the uncertainty over opening of theatres in Kerala continued, Antony gave Drishyam 2 to Amazon Prime for an OTT release. Expectedly, this didn’t go well with those who made an income from theatres.
Liberty Basheer, president of Kerala Film Exhibitors Federations, has been speaking out against Mohanlal for letting the film go to an OTT platform. It is a film that could easily bring a huge audience to movie theatres, being the sequel to one of the most successful films in the last decade – Drishyam.
“All of us wanted to bring it out in movie theatres, but we should understand that Antony has already held the release of a much bigger film – Marakkar. And he wasn’t keen about releasing Drishyam 2 on an OTT platform. We had thought the situation (after COVID-19 lockdown) would be better by September or October, and began shooting films again. But even when other states had opened theatres, there was no clarity on when Kerala will. In December, you also heard of the outbreak of a new strain of coronavirus and that there might be newer lockdowns. So when a good offer came from Amazon Prime, Antony decided that he will hold on to Marakkar, and release Drishyam 2,” says Jeethu Joseph, director of both parts of Drishyam.
On New Year’s Day, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan announced that movie theatres in Kerala can open from the 5th of January, selling only 50% of the seats to avoid crowding in a small space during the pandemic.
Jeethu Joseph (right) with Drishyam family
Jeethu is not sure if the OTT release might not have happened had the government announced this sooner. He is also anxious about how the first film release in theatres will be accepted by people. The initial reluctance to go to theatres after a lockdown of so many months can be expected, he says. "But it may soon go away. As we can see, restaurants and buses are now full, a few months after the services resumed."
As a director who understands Antony's situation, he offers all his support, Jeethu adds. "This is not to hurt the theatre owners. Antony had taken an advance from theatre owners for Marakkar, and he is keeping his word. For Drishyam 2, he has not taken an advance."
Not all film bodies are against the decision of releasing Drishyam 2 online. Siyad Kokker, president of the Kerala Film Distributors Association, tells TNM that they have made it clear that the sale and distribution rights of a film belong to the producer. "Both the Distributors and the Producers Association are on the same page on this. It is the producer's discretion, on whether the release should be on OTT or on TV or theatre. The situation is such that there are films which have been waiting for release for many months. Marakkar, the other film Antony produced recently, has been such a huge investment. Even now the theatres are opening only with 50% occupancy. That needn't mean good business for the producer," Siyad says.
After Mohanlal posted the news on his Facebook page, minutes after midnight on January 1, many fans commented disappointedly, asking him to push the film for a theatre release. However, a few were supportive too.
Watch: Teaser of Drishyam 2
Eight years ago, when Tamil superstar Kamal Haasan, announced that his film Vishwaroopam will have a Direct-To-Home release, it was not taken well at all. He wanted to premiere it on DTH a day before the theatre release, but there was so much of opposition that he later said it will come in both platforms on the same day. However, even that didn't happen and only a theatre premiere happened in January 2013. But views have changed over the years and many now praise Kamal for his visionary thinking.
This year, another Tamil star Suriya faced similar backlash after his film Soorarai Pottru was offered to Amazon Prime. Angry theatre-owners had called for a boycott of his future films. Though it was later settled, Suriya was projected by many as a 'selfish' star while Vijay, another Tamil star, is lauded for waiting to release his film Master in theatres. The Vijay film is coming out on January 13 and Liberty Basheer cited his example while criticising Mohanlal for opting for OTT.
There were similar oppositions when Sufiyum Sujathayum, the first Malayalam film to have a direct OTT release, was announced to come out on Amazon Prime in July 2020. Fahadh Faasil’s C U Soon faced opposition when it began shooting at a time Malayalam films were yet to resume production after the government’s nod to proceed with restrictions in June. The film later released on Amazon Prime and reviewers had nice things to say about it.
While it can be upsetting to many, OTT might just be a big part of future movies, even with complete relaxation of lockdowns and theatre openings. Kamal Haasan had predicted in 2013 that watching films from the comforts of one’s home would be the future of cinema. However, that would bring another question - how stardom will play out when a film goes online, without the noise and celebration of a theatre crowd. It seems to be a place where content is valued more than star power. Hindi actor Swara Bhasker, in a column on The Week, asks if stardom will 'finally be accountable to talent and performance'.