Do not go for OTT release till Oct, Telangana Film Chamber urges producers

The Telangana State Film Chamber of Commerce has appealed to producers to wait till October for the theatrical release of their movies, and urged them not to consider releasing their films on OTT platforms till then. The statement comes as the reopening of theatres is still uncertain with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The chamber said that all members present in its general body meeting on July 3 have unanimously opined that producers are opting for OTT releases as theatres are not reopening. Producers were requested by the exhibitors to wait until October 2021. If theatres do not open by then, producers can go for an OTT release, a statement released by the TSFCC said.

With October being a festival season of Dasara, exhibitors are hopeful that the theatres would reopen by then and people would also be in a mood to come to theatres for the experience. In an official statement, the TSFCC said, “Keeping the larger interest of the entire Telugu film industry, all the producers are requested to consider our appeal, or else all the exhibitors of Telangana will plan our future course of action.”

In order to further take a decision regarding this issue, the TSFCC has decided to conduct a general body meeting on July 7, Wednesday, at the Telugu Producers Council office in the Ramanaidu building in Hyderabad. Meanwhile, the exhibitors in Andhra Pradesh have also requested the Andhra government to reconsider the ticket prices in cinema theatres and appealed for another reasonable and affordable price range. “Since the survival of exhibitors is at stake with such low rates and this will result in the closure of theatres and many people will lose employment, the producers are not able to release the movies, which is affecting the business,” they said.

Several small-budget and high-budget movies have been postponed due to the impact of the second wave of COVID-19. After a gap of three months, shootings are also being resumed slowly. Some of the postponed movies include Love Story, Virata Parvam, and Narappa among others. The News Minute