The biggest reason for star heroes to not enter the digital world is the fear of damaging their established market. This is why many heroes waited for the theatres to reopen no matter how long it took. But Salman Khan showed that it is very much possible to take the OTT route and still come out with a good result. His ‘Radhe’ which released on Eid got a disaster talk but managed to get huge collections. The film was released in theatres as well as on a pay-per-view basis on Zee Plex and other DTH platforms.
But the question is, will it work out for the regional stars? There is news that the makers of Akhil’s new film ‘Agent’ which is being directed by Surender Reddy is going for the same mode of release like ‘Radhe’. Though the film is yet to go onto the floors, it is an action thriller that will be made on a budget higher than Akhil’s market. In order to enter the safe zone, the team is reportedly thinking of making a big OTT platform as its partner and release it on a pay-per-view basis. While this is just an idea for now, there are diverse views on this.
While some say that it is a very good idea, there are still doubts in the minds of people. While the audience will watch it by paying out of curiosity on the first day but if the talk is bad, they may not be interested in paying the money from the second day. Also, the OTT platform will make it available for free after one week of its release. So, there is a high chance of the subscribers waiting for another week and watching it for zero cost. On top of everything, there is the piracy issue where OTT releases are coming out within a couple of hours. Let us see how the filmmakers tackle all these issues.