Digitisation will help films struggling for release: Prasad

Digitisation will be a boon for hundreds of unreleased films struggling to find cinemas, feels Prasad, president of the Film Chamber of Commerce, South India.

"There are approximately 400 films still lying in labs without any takers and lack of cinemas. Digitisation will certainly help these unreleased films make some money," Prasad told IANS.

"Platforms such as Direct-To-Home (DTH) and Youtube need to be welcomed to help these films get released," he added.

Prasad also supported actor-filmmaker Kamal Haasan's decision to release "Vishwaroopam" via DTH. "Vishwaroopam" is a Tamil-Hindi bilingual film, written, directed and produced by Kamal. It will be released on DTH Jan 10, a day before its theatrical release Jan 11.

"I welcome the move by Kamal Haasan to release his film on DTH and we will extend our support in this endeavour," he said.

Asked if digitisation will replace cinemas, Prasad said: "In this digital era, both cinemas and digital platforms can mutually co-exist provided theatre owners don't stop protesting against the release of films."

"By protesting, theatre owners are in a way only persuading audiences to resort to using digital options," said Prasad.