Prashant Singh (HINDUSTAN TIMES; July 16, 2020)

With movie theatres being shut for nearly four months now and an increasing of Bollywood filmmakers moving towards OTT platforms for their films’ release, the future of cinema halls in the age of digital streaming is in limbo. Filmmaker Aanand L Rai, however, isn’t worried, and says cinema theatres “aren’t going anywhere”.

“I don’t think theatres will face any kind of existential crisis or hit a dead-end, especially in a country like ours... For us, cinema means entertainment and a community viewing experience, and that’s not going anywhere,” says Rai.

The Tanu Weds Manu (2011) director believes that big screen is always going to have a huge fan following. He says, “There are still a number of people who are craving for the big-screen experience. Also, regardless of the platform, there are certain films that are meant to be watched only in a cinema hall. My question is: why can’t both (theatres and OTT platforms) coexist in the long run? And I guess, eventually, they’ll have to.”

The filmmaker, who has Akshay Kumar-Sara Ali Khan starrer Atrangi Re, also featuring Dhanush, as his next, feels the OTT culture has brought in a “fantastic” change. “For me, the best thing about OTTs has been the kind of excellent quality, top-class content they have brought along, and all of it has reached to every nook and corner of India, which never happened before,” he says.

According to Rai, no storyteller will ever rue the fact that there is another platform now. “As a storyteller, I love the fact that now we have another platform to bring our stories alive on. And if I get the correct story, I will also make content for OTT platforms,” he concludes.