Big Movies Are Going For A Digital Release. I Miss Going To The Cinema And Eating Soggy Popcorn
From then to now, the pre-covid to post-covid era or rather, during-covid era, my definition of spending the weekends has seen a considerable shift. From once utilising the weekends for self-pampering, shopping and catching up to the latest release on the theatres with a tub of caramel popcorn in hands, to having my weekends reduced to going for grocery runs, cleaning the house and spending hours on streaming websites to decide what to watch, seems like everything has changed. With the Bollywood fraternity, much like all others, even entertainment has shifted mediums, leaving us at the mercy of memes and latest releases on Netflix and Amazon.
Over two months that I’ve been locked in my house, more particularly in my room with my laptop, it feels like I may already have exhausted most of the good stuff on these streaming platforms. Which is perhaps why, even filmmakers find themselves in a fix of whether to wait out the release of their movies on the big screen after postponing it because no one knows when this lockdown will open, or working out the details and releasing it on channels like Prime video and Netflix. Which at this point, also means that they get a lot of eyeballs but not really ticket sales. Then again, it’s never been ticket sales, it’s always been the concession stand.
And the fact that many films like Angrezi Medium have already been released on Prime, or others like Vidya Balan-starrer Shakuntala Devi and Ayushmann and Amitabh Bachchan starrer Gulaabo Sitaabo which are getting scheduled to release online too, has us wondering if covid-19 will be the end of big screens and caramel popcorn tubs. Which is really upsetting because I love caramel popcorn.
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The Vidya Balan movie which is a biopic of the fabulous Shakuntala Devi will be looking at a digital release in contrast to the usual theatrical release in light of the coronavirus pandemic. Releasing the word on Instagram through a post, the announcement post had the caption, “Delighted to announce that you will get to see #ShakuntalaDevi very soon on @PrimeVideo with all your loved ones. Thrilled that we will be able to entertain you in these unprecedented times. #WorldPremiereOnPrime #ShakuntalaDeviOnPrime. ” The date is, however, yet to be disclosed.
Advance mein aapko book kar rahe hai!
Gulabo Sitabo premieres this June 12 only on @PrimeVideoIN aa jaana fir, first day, first stream karne#GiboSiboOnPrime #WorldPremiereOnPrime @SrBachchan @ShoojitSircar @ronnielahiri #SheelKumar #JuhiChaturvedi @filmsrisingsun @Kinoworksllp pic.twitter.com/OdkWRkCPsC— Ayushmann Khurrana (@ayushmannk) May 14, 2020
Meanwhile, a similar course of action will be seen taken for the Big B and Ayushamann starrer Gulaabo Sitaabo which is to be released on 12 June online. Guess, this makes it rather clear that digital movie releases might be the future of Indian cinema for a while now. At least until the virus is taken care of, we can forget the long cinema hall lines, nachos, flavored popcorn and random kids kicking our seats from behind. Because until further notice, home theatres are all we get to enjoy!
