The
Coronavirus
pandemic
has
changed
the
dynamics
of
content
viewing
in
the
entertainment
industry,
with
OTT
platforms
being
the
safe
choice
for
audiences.
Theatre
owners
are
irked
by
many
films
opting
to
release
on
the
digital
media,
and
celebrities
are
split
in
their
opinions
on
OTT
versus
theatres.
While
some
hold
that
the
magic
of
community
viewing
in
theatres
can
never
be
replaced,
others
believe
that
the
digital
space
is
more
democratic,
and
that
it
ends
the
rat
race
of
films
vying
to
enter
Rs
100
crore
clubs.
Prominent
filmmaker
Shekhar
Kapur
tweeted
that
it
is
possible
that
theatres
will
not
open
for
the
foreseeable
future,
and
that
the
technology
will
put
an
end
to
the
'star
system'
that
theatres
sustain.
He
wrote,
"Theatres
are
not
going
to
open
for
atleast
a
year.
So
all
hype
around
first
weeks
business
of
100+
crores
is
dead.
So
the
theatrical
Star
System
is
dead." He
added,
"Stars
will
have
to
go
to
existing
OTT
platform
or
stream
films
themselves
through
their
own
apps.
Technology
is
quite
simple."
Gulabo
Sitabo,
starring
Amitabh
Bachchan
and
Ayushmann
Khurrana
became
the
first
film
to
go
for
a
digital
release
in
the
midst
of
the
pandemic.
Following
that,
films
such
as
Shakuntala
Devi,
Gunjan
Saxena:
The
Kargil
Girl,
Dil
Bechara,
Laxmmi
Bomb,
Sadak
2,
Lootcase
and
other
films
were
bought
by
digital
platforms
like
Amazon
Prime
Video,
Netflix
and
Disney+
Hotstar.
Films
like
the
Akshay
Kumar
and
Katrina
Kaif
starrer
Sooryavanshi,
the
Ranveer
Singh
starrer
'83,
and
Salman
Khan's
Radhe:
Your
Most
Wanted
Bhai,
are
holding
on
for
a
theatrical
release
as
they
feel
their
films
have
been
made
for
a
big
screen
experience.
Filmmaker
Anurag
Kashyap
believes
that
theatres
and
OTT
will
co-exist
in
the
future,
and
that
there
will
be
a
bottleneck
of
films
waiting
for
theatrical
release
when
the
pandemic
situation
abates.