MUMBAI: Will blockbuster film releases make a comeback to the cinema halls away from OTT platform premieres?

The jury is out. First the government has to allow theatres and multiplexes to pull down the padlocks they have put on them. Of course the multiplex association, Ficci and CII have all been making a push with the government on how the opening up can happen. 

Now another push has come from Tamil Nadu, which has seen some  films coming out on OTT platforms first, skipping  theatre releases. Tamil Nadu’s state minister of information and publicity Kadambur Raju today stated that the their unfettered release would end up as a revenue loss for the state government.

Speaking at a local function in Tuticorin in southern Tamil Nadu  he said it was okay that films such as Ponmagal Vandhal were released on OTT platforms during the lockdown phase but now that Unlock 1.0 has started, the government is not in favour of filmmakers taking such a route. He had a simple reason for this: the government is losing GST as well as entertainment tax in Tamil Nadu.

Hence, he has urged the various stakeholders – producers, distributors and exhibitors -  to come together to find solutions to reverse this trend, according to a report in The Hans India.

Meanwhile, the union minister of information and broadcaster Prakash Javadekar had last week told  a delegation of film producers and distributors via video-conference that he would look into the opening up of cinema halls by end June. He also told them he would inform the various ministries to provide succor as far salary subsidies, interest free loans for three years, exemption on taxes and duties, waiver of minimum demand charges on electricity and power at industrial rates.