After much discussion, actor Manoj Bajpayee’s recent OTT release, Sirf Ek Bandaa Kaafi Hai, has finally opened on the big screen. Calling it a “symbolic release”, the actor says it is the “first step to wiping away the perception that streaming platforms are a threat to theatres”.

While the movie has been released in select cinemas in 20 locations across Mumbai, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Rajasthan, it will continue to be available for streaming.

“There was a massive demand from audiences for a theatrical release,” the 54-year-old tells us.

The actor adds that this move indicates that both the mediums — OTT and theatres — “can coexist”. Bajpayee explains, “So far, the trend has been that theatrical releases come out on OTT platforms [a few days after a film hits the big screen]. I hope this move (of his film running in both the mediums simultaneously) changes how people think about these two mediums. I feel theatre and OTT should complement each other rather than being looked at as competition.”

“If someone tells me, ‘You have done complete justice to the character’, I would accept that. But, when they say it was ‘good, better or best’, then I don’t take such compliments seriously.”

“Nobody was talking about numbers when the film was released on OTT. Even now, when it’s available in theatres, people will only talk about the craft, creativity, performances and camerawork. Numbers only matter to producers, distributors and exhibitors. They shouldn’t affect audiences.”