Heartbroken by Films Releasing on OTT; PVR Theater's CEO's Heartfelt Appeal to Filmmaker

Please find appended the official statement by Mr. Kamal Gianchandani, CEO, PVR Pictures on behalf of PVR Ltd. on the direct digital release of movies during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. 

“As PVR we believe that the theatrical release is the best way for audiences to experience the labor and creative genius of our filmmakers. This has been so for decades and not just in India but globally. The ongoing COVID-19 crisis has caused an unfortunate shutdown of cinemas.

We are confident, once we get to the other side of this crisis, there would be enough and more pent up demand from cine-goers who have been cooped up at homes for the last many weeks. We are likely to see demand by force on a sustained basis, once we reopen.

While Amitabh Bachchan and Ayushmann Khurrana starrer Gulabo Sitabo is releasing on OTT platform, maker of Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone starrer '83 have decided to wait for the lock down to end and theaters to start functioning to release their film.

In the wake of this, Mr. Kamal added, Needless to say, we are disappointed with some of our Producers deciding to go straight to the streaming platform/s. We were hoping that the Producers would accede to our request to hold back their film’s release till cinemas reopen.

That said, this is not the first time films are being premiered on a streaming platform/s. Cinema exhibition has regularly faced competition from new emerging distribution platforms over the last many years, and it has continued to enjoy cine-goers patronage and affinity.

I would also like to use this opportunity to express our appreciation for all the producers who have publicly voiced their support for the theatrical platform and have decided to reschedule their releases to accommodate the reopening of cinemas”, - Mr. Kamal Gianchandani, CEO, PVR Pictures.