Though the OTT platforms were introduced to us a bit late, we got used to it quite quickly. With the theatres getting locked due to the pandemic, everyone were stuck in their homes which made them turn towards the OTT platforms. With these online streaming sites getting too popular, there is a fear that it may turn into a huge threat for the theatre industry.
Previously, films that came out in theatres used to arrive in OTTs after a long time. But some films had direct OTT releases during the pandemic. A few filmmakers started making deals with streaming sites that the films will be made available digitally within 4-6 weeks now.
It is no problem if the movie is out of theatres and gets streamed on online platforms but films like ‘Sarkaru Vaari Paata’ are made available on digital platforms even though they are still doing decent business in theatres. This is leading to a huge discussion among the industry people.
Recently, Amazon Prime Video has released ‘KGF – 2’ on a pay-per-view basis. It means that the people who want to watch this film should pay a certain amount and watch it within 48 hours. It is an old method that is used now by all the top OTT platforms for big films.
Even ZEE5 wanted to release ‘RRR’ in the same way but due to negativity from the audience, they released it directly. But with ‘Sarkaru Vaari Paata’ released on pay-per-view mode, this became a topic of discussion.
The theatrical run of ‘Sarkaru Vaari Paata’ is not complete yet and the makers have released the movie on the OTT platform. Already a section of the audience are ignoring the theatres as they believe that films are arriving on OTT platforms within a month of its theatrical release.
If people can watch a movie like ‘Sarkaru Vaari Paata’ for just Rs 199 with his entire family at home, why will they step into the theatre? This needs to be discussed deeply. If people get habituated to this, they will wait for three weeks and pay two hundred rupees thereby watching with their family comfortably at home. If this really happens, the effect will be huge on big films as per the experts.
Already, the producers are at a stage where they need to announce that the ticket rates are reduced through the posters. We need to wait and see how hazardous this pay-per-view method proves to be.