In a recent post on X, (formerly Twitter) filmmaker Onir expressed concerns over the unequal treatment meted out to small-budget indie films around the release of major Bollywood projects. The race for more screens often leaves small-budget films with limited or no space. He argues that big-budget makers should be “conscious that small-budget films also need to survive”. 

The 54-year-old shares his observations from his visit to the Kerala Film Festival, where he saw several indie films that won many international awards but struggled to find takers. “These festival films had to be released on YouTube to reach the audience,” he shares, adding, ”If you don’t get right screens and shows, you don’t get viewers. And if there’s zero business, then even the OTT platforms don’t want to take you.” 

Drawing inspiration from certain theatres in Maharashtra that reserve shows for Marathi films, the I Am (2010) director proposes regulation of ticket prices and reserving some shows for independent or local cinema, to “level the playing field.”