It’s happening. Notwithstanding the threat of ‘retribution’ that Gulabo Sitabo received from a premium multiplex chain, it went ahead and saw a digital premiere on Amazon Prime. It may have been the first big one to do so but it won’t be the last as several biggies have now gone ahead and made their intentions quite clear around arriving straight on OTT. Let’s take a look.
Laxmmi Bomb – Disney+Hotstar
Will it, won’t it? For last couple of months, several rumors have been floating around Laxmmi Bomb arrival on OTT. Though an official statement is yet to come, it is now just a matter of time as the Akshay Kumar starrer would be practically the biggest film to see a digital arrival for itself. With the superstar working on multiple films, this would be for the small screen now.
Shakuntala Devi – Amazon Prime
Close on the heels of Gulabo Sitabo, producer Vikram Malhotra of Abundantia Entertainment went ahead and announced the release of Shakuntala Devi straight on Amazon Prime. The film is ready for release and with the kind of costs involved in the making of this Vidya Balan led affair, it turned out to be a win-win situation for all involved to see a digital release straight on.
Dil Bechara – Disney+Hotstar
In the cans for quite some time, Dil Bechara was always in news for its straight-to-OTT arrival even before lockdown announcement. In fact had Drive done well, Dil Bechara could well have released on Disney+Hotstar long before. With the demise of Sushant Singh Rajput, there is renewed interest in this love story and rest assured, it would fetch quite some eyeballs now.
Bulbbul – Netflix
Bulbbul has been made originally for Netflix. Anushka Sharma is turning out to be quite active on the OTT front, as evidenced by Paatal Lok that was just released. Now she is stepping into the horror space all over again after Pari with this film which features Tripti Dimri in the lead along with Rahul Bose, Avinash Tiwary, Paoli Dam and Parambrata Chattopadhyay.
Gunjan Saxena – The Kargil Girl – Netflix
After Dhadak, Karan Johar launched another film with Janhvi Kapoor, Gunjan Saxena – The Kargil Girl. In fact just before the lockdown was announced, the makers had also come up with a theatrical release date for the real life. However, after witnessing the scene for three months and realizing that theatrical release is a while away, the film would now arrive straight on OTT.
Sadak 2 – Disney+Hotstar
Though an official announcement is still awaited, there are good indications that Mahesh Bhatt’s comeback film Sadak 2 would be skipping the theatrical release. This one is in fact a biggie with Alia Bhatt and Aditya Roy Kapoor coming with Sadak pair of Sanjay Dutt and Pooja Bhatt. Some part of the film’s shooting is still left and now the makers are gearing up to finish it.
Virgin Bhanupriya – ZEE5
This one was a quickie that was announced not too long back and then also wrapped up in a jiffy. Starring Urvashi Rautela in the lead, this one is set as a smile through film with a bit of naughty element to it that would cater to the masses. It has just been announced that the film has been picked up by ZEE5 for an OTT release and its official promo would be out soon.
Bhosle – Sony LIV
Completed a couple of years back and then also seeing a round of festival circuits, Bhosle tells the story of a retired cop, played by Manoj Bajpayee. The actor, who is also one of the producers of the film, also won a few awards back then and is now excited to showcase it on the OTT medium.
Lootcase – Disney+Hotstar
Promo of Lootcase was unveiled last year itself and it had seemed that the Kunal Khemu, Rasika Duggal, Vijay Raaz and Ranvir Shorey starrer would see a theatrical release for itself. However, the plans were suddenly aborted and rumors started floating around its straight-to-OTT release. Later, theatrical release was planned again but now it is back to OTT for the film.