Shortly before the second wave of the pandemic hit the country hard, the film business down South had taken off in a big way. Rana Daggubati’s bilingual Haathi Mere Saathi, which was up for release at that time, had to be held back, yet again. It faced a similar situation in 2020, too. In a conversation with BT, Rana spoke about the impact of the pandemic, his understanding of the new normal and way he sees things moving, hereon. Excerpts:

The pandemic has affected every business, brought it to a stop, and moved it to a point of reinvention and innovation. Where there has been a big pause, there has also been extreme growth of different kinds, and that is not restricted to any one business in the country. In our line of work, movies started going to OTT platforms in big numbers, and writers and directors are developing way more content than they have done in the past because they have the time on hand to do that extensively and deeply. It’s a wait like it is for everyone for things to open up, but there will be a significant change in the way we create our content and the way people consume it.

The opening of theatres and the way the theatre ecosystem depends on their ownership and the kind of films that are being made. In South India — I can talk about Andhra Pradesh and Telangana — the filmmakers and the film studios run large theatre chains. It was in their best interest to open theatre chains and have them full with films quickly. That is not the case in other business territories. Also, in the South, we have a larger mainstream film narrative with stories that are larger than life, written for the big screen and they are the spectacle kind of movies. It was something that the audience had been waiting to watch on the big screen.

The audience has watched so much content across languages and cultures on different channels in the last 18 months that filmmaking across the board will now have to be upped and improved. On the other side, we will have to see what kind of content will work in which space. That bifurcation between what’s suited for the big screen and what’s better for the OTT space will become clearer. Cinema consumption everywhere will see a drastic shift. Something meant for a big screen and the wholesome experience will go to the big screen, and the rest will be consumed on other platforms.

This crossing over has always happened. More Hindi film actors have taken up work down South. In comparison, there are fewer Telugu stars in Hindi cinema. But now that everything else is merging even more, and everyone is watching everything, people have begun to show a liking for individual talents from different industries. In the future, it will be interesting to see the kind of cinema that will come out of this, how the industries will grow, and how newer artistes will emerge in different territories in the country.

Haathi Mere Saathi’s release had to be moved around. The impact of such a decision had to be kept at bay looking at what people around us were going through. It is a very difficult phase for people. Their lives have been impacted severely. Haathi Mere Saathi is a very special and poignant film for today’s times when we understand and value nature more than we ever did. It was a beautiful experience putting that film together in different languages with different cast members.

Yes, I do, I find the space very interesting. I am interested in taking up something in the long-format narrative. I think it’s very interesting how a story has a longer shelf life and also characters have a wider spectrum and actors have the scope to play out the arc. In comparison, there’s a definite start and finish to a story and a character’s journey in films. In the OTT show space, the connection and the duration one gets to play with is much longer. I would love to find something in the long-form that interests me.