It
was
recently
announced
that
Shoojit
Sircar's
new
film
starring
Amitabh
Bachchan
and
Ayushmann
Khurrana,
titled
Gulabo
Sitabo,
would
be
releasing
on
an
over-the-top
(OTT)
platform,
considering
that
cinema
halls
have
been
shut
due
to
the
lockdown.
A
few
other
filmmakers
may
also
consider
this
option,
as
it
cannot
be
said
as
to
when
things
will
get
back
to
normal
and
cinemas
will
open
again.
However,
one
of
the
biggest
names
in
the
cinema
business
in
India,
INOX
Leisure
Limited,
has
released
a
statement
in
which
they
have
expressed
disappointment
in
producers
choosing
OTT
platforms
over
theatres
to
release
their
films.
The
statement
also
speaks
of
taking
'retributive
measures'
against
the
producers
of
Gulabo
Sitabo,
and
urges
other
filmmakers
to
not
break
the
longstanding
partnerships
with
theatres.
The
statement
starts
off
as"
"INOX
would
like
to
express
extreme
displeasure
and
disappointment
on
an
announcement
made
by
a
production
house
today,
to
release
their
movie
directly
on
an
OTT
platform
by
skipping
theatrical
window
run.
The
decision
of
the
production
house
to
deviate
from
the
globally
prevalent
content
windowing
practice
is
alarming
and
disconcerting."
It
continued,
"Cinemas
and
content
creators
have
always
been
into
mutually
beneficial
partnerships,
where
one's
action
provided
fillip
to
another's
revenues.
INOX
has
been
investing
profoundly
towards
adding
world
class
quality
screens,
across
the
country,
only
to
provide
more
eyeballs
to
the
great
content
being
produced.
This
partnership
has
endured
for
decades,
and
has
provided
succour
to
each
other.
In
these
troubled
times,
it
is
disturbing
to
see
one
of
the
partners
not
interested
in
continuing
the
mutually
beneficial
relationship,
especially
when
the
need
of
the
hour
is
to
stand
shoulder
to
shoulder
with
each
other,
and
bring
the
film
industry
back
to
its
vibrant
best."
Talking
about
how
they
plan
to
deal
with
the
broken
partnership,
it
said,
"Such
acts,
though
isolated,
vitiate
the
atmosphere
of
mutual
partnership
and
paint
these
content
producers
as
fair-weather
friends
rather
than
all-weather
life-long
partners.
Needless
to
say,
INOX
will
be
constrained
to
examine
its
options,
and
reserve
all
rights,
including
taking
retributive
measures,
in
dealing
with
fair-weather
friends."
"INOX
would
like
to
reiterate
that
as
the
backbone
of
the
cinematic
value
chain,
this
windowing
pattern
has
done
wonders
in
terms
of
revenues
for
the
content
creators
and
all
other
stakeholders,
as
if
offers
them
the
opportunity
to
extract
the
best
from
all
available
mediums,
which
include
cinemas,
OTT
platforms
as
well
as
satellite," it
concluded,
adding,
"INOX
would
like
to
urge
all
content
creators
not
to
skip
the
theatrical
run,
and
stay
with
the
age
old
and
established
windowing
pattern,
which
is
in
the
best
interests
of
all
stakeholders
in
the
value
chain."
Gulabo
Sitabo
stars
Ayushmann
Khurrana
and
Amitabh
Bachchan
in
the
lead.
The
film
was
scheduled
for
release
on
April
17,
but
could
not
because
of
the
COVID-19
lockdown
in
India.
Producers
of
the
film
have
now
chosen
to
go
ahead
with
a
digital
release.
Gulabo
Sitabo
will
release
on
Amazon
Prime
Video
on
12
June,
2020.
Watch
this
space
for
a
review
of
the
film.