Mumbai: The Salman Khan-starrer ‘Radhe’, though berated for listless content, has offered a new ray of hope to the Indian film industry with the partial success of a multiple platform experiment at a time when Bollywood has suffered massive losses amid closure of cinema screens across the country due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

In a bold decision, Zee Studios had decided to release ‘Radhe’ simultaneously across multiple platforms, including theatres (wherever they are open) and via pay-per-view (PPV) model on over-the-top (OTT) platform ZEE5 and directto-home players like Tata Sky, Airtel Digital TV and Dish TV.

The hybrid model resulted in the film attracting 4.2 million views across online and DTH platforms on its opening day, according to the studio. In fact, the unprecedented traffic from fans across the country brought down ZEE5 servers temporarily.

While trade pundits are divided on collection figures — with various estimates putting the four-day collection between Rs. 45 crore and as high as Rs. 175 crore — many agree that the PPV as a model can be explored in the country.

“Even if ‘Radhe’ is being criticised for its content, the fact is that over 7 million people in the country have seen the film in the first four days of release,” said Shaaminder Malik, an independent film distributor and trade analyst. “It’s a very big number.”

As per Malik, going by the current condition, theatres may not be allowed to open till July-August and that too with limited capacity.

“Filmmakers will have to start releasing their films otherwise their movies will look stale and they will continue to incur losses due to cost of money,” he said.

Many experts feel that going by the views of ‘Radhe’ and other transactions on platforms like BookMyShow Stream and Shemaroo, the country seems to be ready for the move. “India is ready for the PPV model,” said Shariq Patel, chief business officer, Zee Studios. “We are at the forefront of that change. Viewers are happy to watch movies sitting at their homes.”

‘Radhe’ was available to rent for ₹249 on ZEE5 as well as for DTH subscribers. ZEE5 had also launched a combo-offer for annual subscription at Rs. 499, giving ‘Radhe’ complimentary.

ET has learned that DTH players alone have got bookings of over 700,000 for ‘Radhe’ in the first weekend — the numbers on ZEE5 could not be independently verified.

Some industry experts point out that the number of viewers has almost doubled due to online release.

A normal Salman Khan film, with an average ticket price of Rs. 180, usually sells close to 2 million tickets on the first day.

However, over 4.2 million came in to watch ‘Radhe’, which wouldn’t have been possible with just a theatrical release.