22-05-2025
Rajkummar Rao's Bhool Chuk Maaf may hit theatres amid OTT row—what it means for small-budget movies
Comedy drama Bhool Chuk Maaf starring Rajkummar Rao and Wamiqa Gabbi may finally hit the theatres this week ahead of debuting on video streaming or over-the-top (OTT) platforms. But the public spat between the low-budget movie's production house and India's largest multiplex chain may have dealt a blow to Indian small-scale films, fear industry experts.
Maddock Films, which co-produced the movie along with Amazon MGM Studios, decided to pull it off from theatres a day before its scheduled release earlier this month. The production house said it would launch the movie on Amazon Prime Video instead because of 'heightened security drills across the nation" as India began retaliatory attacks on Pakistan under 'Operation Sindoor'.
While this resulted in a legal spat with PVR Inox, industry experts fear Maddock's flipflop could deal a setback for similar small-budget movies, a category that has been struggling to draw audiences to the theatres.
The standoff between Maddock and PVR Inox also coincides with an ongoing debate over the window between theatrical and OTT release of films.
'A situation like this is extremely detrimental to the theatrical business and sends a signal that the product is easily available on another medium and that the two platforms are interchangeable," said Rahul Puri, managing director at production house Mukta Arts and theatre chain Mukta A2 Cinemas.
Puri also said that theatrical and OTT releases 'need to be seen as distinct in order to maximise revenue for cinemas. Even though (Bhool Chuk Maaf) isn't a film with a huge star cast, strong content will do well in theatres. More importantly, we need to ensure better consistency of people coming to cinemas".
Also read | Back to basics: PVR Inox to tap into underserved regions of India with low-cost cinemas for growth
Why small-budget films matter
The trend of small-budget films being released directly on OTT platforms began during the covid years, when a clutch of titles such as Gulabo Sitabo and Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl streamed directly online.
Theatres have been struggling with low footfalls, particularly for non-star, small-budget films since.
Ashutosh Agarwal, owner of Star World Cinemas in Uttar Pradesh, said a film that doesn't boast of a high-profile cast or isn't part of an established franchise like Maddock's 2024 blockbuster Stree 2 may not usually manage great advance bookings at theatres. However, if filmmakers begin 'deciding whether to release a film in theatres based on advances, 50% of the movies may not arrive in cinemas", Agarwal said.
The film industry is controlled by a close-knit group of distributors and exhibitors and operates on trust, and has seen enough instances of films doing well with positive word-of-mouth in the second or third week of release, he added. Sunny Deol-starrer Jaat and Akshay Kumar's Kesari Chapter 2 sailed through despite poor advance bookings, he said.
Also read | Why star-powered movies have OTT handprints all over them
Post the covid years, audiences have been flocking to theatres mostly for large spectacles such as Pathaan, RRR, and Kalki 2898 AD. Trade experts, however, said the content pipeline must keep flowing for theatres to survive and grow their business, especially since there can only be a few big-budget films in a year.
While low-scale or modestly budgeted breakout hits have been few and far between, some like Stree 2 and Gadar 2 have managed to make a mark.
'Small films have been working at the box office, such as 12th Fail or The Kashmir Files," independent exhibitor Vishek Chauhan said. 'They have all offered an emotion or experience not seen before."
