Team Thalaivii and exhibitors are making an ‘appeal’ and ‘sincere requests’ to each other to negotiate the period between the film’s release in cinemas and its release on other platforms. Exhibitors believe that reducing the theatrical window further to two weeks (as opposed to the existing four weeks) means that cinegoers will not watch the film in cinemas, and would rather wait for the release on a digital platform. Whether this gap should further be reduced to two weeks or not is the core discussion around the release of Thalaivii.

For now, Thalaivii is scheduled to be released in Hindi on an OTT platform two weeks after its release in cinemas, while its Tamil and Telugu versions are scheduled to be released on another OTT platform four weeks after its theatrical release. Multiplexes, such as PVR and INOX, are firm that if the four-week theatrical release window is not kept uniform across all languages then they will not release the film in Hindi. They will, however, release the film in Tamil and Telugu versions as the theatrical window for them is four weeks.

On Saturday, Kangana Ranaut released a video, saying, “We are theatre-made people, so our (Thalaivii) producers Vishnu Vardhan Induri and Shaailesh R Singh decided to support theatres. My producers have rejected several exclusive streaming offers, but we didn’t know that we will not get support from theatres... If multiplexes don’t screen our movie, watch it on single screens, and later on streaming platforms.”

On Saturday evening, PVR issued a statement that read, “We are thankful to the Thalaivii team for offering a four-week theatrical window for its Tamil and Telugu language versions. We are delighted to be able to play Thalaivii in Tamil and Telugu language at our cinemas, however, we are disappointed that for the Hindi language version, the Thalaivii team has decided to offer only a twoweek window. We would like to appeal to Kangana Ranaut, Vishnu Induri and Shailesh Singh to keep a uniform window of four weeks across all language versions, and therefore, allow all cinemas across the country to showcase the film on the big screen.”

Kamal Gianchandani, CEO, PVR Pictures Ltd Chief of Strategy, PVR Limited, says, “Considering the severe impact of the ongoing pandemic on our business, we have already agreed to reduce the eight-week theatrical window to four weeks, for all films releasing in the near future.”

Following PVR’s official statement, Kangana posted on Instagram, “I hope with talks, and a passion for the theatrical experience, we can come together to find a solution so that the Hindi version can also find love and appreciation on the big screen.”

An industry insider says, “The audience still doesn’t have full confidence in visiting a cinema hall. If we will reduce the window to two weeks, then they’ll not go to cinemas and would rather wait for two weeks. It will not just affect exhibitors, but also producers who are making films keeping the big screen in mind.” Another concern that exhibitors have raised is that if four weeks window is reduced to two weeks for one film, then cinemas will have to do it for other films, too, which means losing audience and revenue.

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It is the period between a film’s release in cinemas and its release on other platforms. While before the pandemic, the gap between releasing a film in a cinema hall and on a streaming platform was eight weeks (two months), this has been temporarily reduced to four weeks (one month).

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In the last 15 months, multiple big star-led films from Gulabo Sitabo to Coolie No.1, were released directly on OTT platforms. However, films like Roohi and Suraj Pe Mangal Bhari that opted to release on OTT and cinemas both maintained four weeks window. However, this discussion on reducing the theatrical window to two weeks from four didn’t surface before. Some sources point out that it happened with Radhe: Your Most Wanted Bhai, however, it was not in the public domain.

Now, in Hollywood, some studios are opting for simultaneous releases on OTT platforms and cinemas. Last year, Warner Bros issued a statement saying it is abandoning the windowing system and will release the film the same day in cinemas and on its streaming platform. If in Hollywood, films can be released simultaneously in cinemas and on the streaming platforms, then why not in India?

Girish Johar, producer and film business analyst, says, “The pandemic has accelerated the growth of OTT in India. The growth that would have been in five years happened in the last 14-15 months in terms of reach, content and direct release on OTT platforms. But if cinemas reduce the theatrical window, viewers will not come. The reason why OTTs are focussing on a shorter theatrical window is so that they can encash film promotions. If word of mouth of a film is bad, it affects the film’s long-term prospects. OTTs want to make all possible revenues, and that’s the reason why Hollywood is now practising simultaneous releases. But Hollywood is a mature market. In India, we are at a nascent stage. There have to be a lot of technological advancements for us to come to a par where we can have simultaneous releases.”