A year and two months since its theatrical release, filmmaker Nandita Das’ critically acclaimed Zwigato, is struggling to find an OTT release. Disappointed that a digital release has eluded the film despite it travelling to film festivals across the world, lead actor Shahana Goswami says, “It’s very unfortunate, and I don’t know the reason. In fact, I keep checking with the makers about the when, how and why, but they don’t have answers either.”

The 38-year-old, who played actor-comic Kapil Sharma’s wife in the film, which is based on the life of a delivery executive for a food aggregator, and his struggles during the pandemic lockdown, adds, “I know that this film would be loved by people if they got a chance to watch it. It’s very sad.”

Having said that, Goswami would continue being an optimist. “I still have hopes. It’s never too late for something good to come out. Sometimes, maybe the larger buildup — of it not having shown up for so long on any OTT platform — actually makes it special and even more highly anticipated. No matter when it happens, it would be a prized possession that everyone would want to get their hands on,” says Goswami.

“The destiny of these things is very hard to tell. I like to believe that everything happens for the better, so I hope whenever Zwigato makes its way to OTT, is the right time for the film,” asserts the actor, refuting reports that she has been roped in for another film alongside Sharma. “I don’t have any idea of such conversations even remotely,” she ends.

Meanwhile, Goswami has something to celebrate. Her film Santosh, directed by Sandhya Suri, is set to be screened at the ongoing 77th Cannes Film Festival, on May 20, in the Un Certain Regard category. Goswami is looking forward to attending the screening with the team.

Goswami, who plays the titular role in the film — a police constable working on a rape and murder case — doesn’t distinguish between Indian and international audience. However, she reasons why some films get better response on global international platforms and not so much when they release in India.

“I think it has firstly got to do with India being a huge country that has all kinds of cinema, whereas these film festivals have a very niche kind of films that they select, which get appreciated. Also, somewhere, India has a sensibility that it’s very vast in its range, in terms of people who enjoy out-and-out Bollywood masala films, and who also enjoy comedy, realistic cinema, or a very grungy film,” the actor says.

Another problem that Goswami finds is with the way a film is marketed once it is released in the domestic market. “Often these films (shown at festivals) are not reaching the audience because producers are making it independently and there’s very little money in terms of marketing it later and pushing it in theatres. So, that’s probably why these films are not seen much, and not because people don’t like watching them,” she ends.