Telugu Producer Exposes OTT Control On Film’s Release

Asian Suniel made headlines today as he resigned from the post of President at the Telangana State Film Chamber. He stated that he is stepping down from the position as he was forcefully associated with some public statements to which he has no connection. Meanwhile, his statements about how the industry today is dependent on OTT platforms are catching attention.

In an interview with Gulte Pro, Suniel Narang stated that he wanted to release his upcoming film Kubera in July, but the OTT platform officials did not agree to it. The team sold the film to Prime Video with a prior commitment that they would release the movie on June 20th. But, with the latest developments, Suniel wanted to take two more weeks’ time and release the film in July, but they did not get a positive nod.

Suniel stated that the streaming giant threatened to impose a pay cut of 10 Cr rupees from the overall agreed amount. As a result, the producers had to give in to the pressure and agreed to bring the film to theatres in June itself.

In this context, Suniel stated that the industry today is going through a bad phase with dependence on Qube Cinema, BookMyShow as well as OTT platforms. Not just Suniel, but many producers earlier opened up about how OTT platforms are deciding the release dates of the movies.