S Durga, the film, has been in the news ever since the title was announced with Hindutva groups up in arms against the name (it was initially called Sexy Durga). The film, after fighting many controversies, is now releasing on YouTube and director Sanal Kumar Sasidharan tells us why, in a Facebook post.
“YouTube is becoming a strong platform with better interface and connectivity, which enables the film to reach more people. We think that independent films and filmmakers need a platform of their own. YouTube is a better platform, which enable us to make our own brand on a decent revenue sharing model,” he writes.
Releasing the film through online streaming channels like Netflix and Amazon Prime too had not worked out. Netflix was not ready to accept the film for some ‘unknown’ reasons, Sanal writes. “We came to know from some reliable sources that Netflix is not ready to acquire the film because of the ‘controversy’.”
Amazon Prime wanted to add the film for free and offered a share of the revenue as per their standard rate, but this was not acceptable to team S Durga.
The film is about the effect of the religious divisions in Kerala society in the background of an inter-caste marriage.
Sanal writes that uploading the film on YouTube does not mean it has failed. “Never... We feel that this is better as we can make a platform of our own so that we can use it for our future indie projects as well,” he says.
The channel is called Indie Movie Hub.
Sanal has earlier directed critically acclaimed movies like Oraalppokkam and Ozhivudi