In Kerala, the government is planning to run an over-the-top (OTT) platform for screening new films, Minister for Cultural Affairs Saji Cherian said at a press meet on Friday, July 2. This will either be a new platform or a collaboration with an existing one, he said. The move is aimed at overcoming the crisis faced by the Malayalam film industry over the past one and a half years, after COVID-19 struck.
The government's OTT platform will be more focussed on smaller films and not big-budget movies, the Minister said. The big-budget films will be screened on the OTT after theatre release. "We will be starting a new platform or renting out an existing one, since the former would take time," the Minister said.
Government funds alone may not be enough to save the industry, so private capital investment may also be needed, Minister Saji said. As early as May 2020, only two months after the pandemic struck, the losses to the Malayalam film industry came up to more than Rs 600 crore.
Since COVID-19 had forced theatres to close for long stretches, several Malayalam films were released on OTT platforms. There has been an ongoing debate between producers and distributors’ associations on releasing films on OTT platforms, which would cause huge losses to theatre owners. At one point, there was an understanding that smaller films could have a release on OTT platforms, while major films that are expected to have a long run in theatres should wait. So when Drishyam 2, a highly anticipated thriller with Mohanlal in the lead, chose the OTT platform for a January release, it was not received well by many.
In January this year, there was a small respite when theatres in Kerala had finally opened after a 10-month lull. But within a few months, the second wave of COVID-19 struck and films pending release had to be shelved again. This included big releases such as Marakkar: Arabikadalinte Simham which has been awaiting release for over a year. Other big films such as Fahadh Faasil’s Malik, which was supposed to release in May for Eid, too went the OTT way, unable to bear with a further delay. The last Malayalam film to release on OTT was Prithviraj's Cold Case.