India has been under lockdown for over two months as a result of the prolonged quarantine imposed to stop the new coronavirus from spreading. Public spaces including movie theaters, malls, and retail centers have been closed throughout this period. As a result, films aren't receiving any type of theatrical release. According to reports, Prime Video has now acquired the rights to debut seven Indian films exclusively on its platform, forgoing any kind of theatrical distribution.
The following are some of the films that Prime Video will be releasing:
- Gulabo Sitabo
- Shakuntala Devi
- Ponmagal Vandhal
- Penguin
- Law
- French Biryani
- Sufiyum Sujatayum
Two of the biggest movie theater chains in India released statements as soon as this information became public, indicating how deeply offended they were by the choice made by the producing companies. INOX said in a statement, Even if they are rare incidents, such behaviors poison the environment of reciprocal cooperation and portray these content creators as temperamental pals rather than committed lifelong partners. It goes without saying that INOX will be forced to consider its choices and maintains all rights, including the ability to take retaliatory action, when dealing with such amiable partners.
It's unknown what INOX and PVR want to do, but it's probable that the movie theater chains may follow the US theater chain AMC, which forbade the distribution of any Universal Studios films after releasing Trolls World Tour exclusively on streaming platforms.
Conversely, Ronnie Lahiri, Gulabo Sitabo's co-producer, said We're dealing with a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence that hasn't happened since World War 2. This is the period of time when things shift. People are nervous at first, but you have to adjust. Human civilizations have flourished in this way. We are done as soon as we cease adjusting. You take other measures to address the problem rather than waiting for it to become better.
The premieres of the aforementioned films will take place over the course of the next three months, with the movies becoming live on Prime Video this month.