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Mimi Director Laxman Utekar On Film Getting Leaked Before Scheduled Release: Feel Hurt Because We Worked Hard
Kriti Sanon's surrogacy drama Mimi was scheduled to premiere on July 30, 2021 on Netflix and Jio Cinema. However, the makers were in for a rude shock when the film leaked on piracy platforms four days before its scheduled release. Reportedly, the film's bootlegged versions were making the rounds on illegal streaming platforms on Monday (July 26).
Within hours of the leak, having left with no other choice, the makers decided to prepone the film's release and made Mimi available for streaming on Netflix and Jio Cinema on the same day.
Recently in an interaction with a leading tabloid, the film's director Laxman Utekar reacted to his film leaking online four days before its release and said that he was hurt as he and his team had worked hard on Mimi.
Utekar told Mid-day, "I feel hurt because we worked hard on the film. It took us two years to make Mimi. We waited long for the theatres to open, but the situation compelled us to release it on OTT. We were satisfied with the fact that it will be watched by the audience, [no matter the medium]."
The filmmaker added that he was stunned when he came to know about the film's leak and wondered if they could have been more careful.
"After what happened on Monday, we were stunned. It makes us wonder if we could have been more careful," Utekar told the tabloid.
However, he also added that the leak didn't affect the film commercially and was quoted as saying, "We weren't impacted by piracy [commercially] because the film was released officially after all."
On Monday, Kriti Sanon had announced that Mimi would release early during an Instagram live while producer Dinesh Vijan had called the film's early gift for Kriti who turned a year older on July 27.
Directed by Laxman Utekar, Mimi is an official remake of the 2011 National Award winning film Mala Aai Vhaychay and stars Kriti Sanon, Pankaj Tripathi and Sai Tamhankar in pivotal roles. The film revolves around Mimi, a dancer and an aspiring actress who is approached to be an American couple's surrogate, only to be abandoned by them midway during her pregnancy.
