South Producers Against 8 Weeks OTT, What Is Happening?

The Producers of all the industries in the South have met in Hyderabad the other day and started ‘South Indian Producers Association‘. The first agenda of their meeting is to ask the Producers not to commit anything about the OTT Windows without the agreement in the Association.

They condemned the Exhibitors Associations coming together to armtwist the Producers to agree for 8 Weeks OTT Window. 

The Active Telugu Film Producers Guild (ATFPG) were also saying the same thing – the Exhibitors should not have gone ahead without prior consultations. The South Indian Producers Association also said the same.

But then, the term ‘Prior Consultations‘ is a farce as far as issues like these are concerned. In March last year, Exhibitors across the Telugu States demanded Percentage System in Theaters. 

Back then, Pawan Kalyan got serious after some one misled him that his Hari Hara Veeramallu is being targeted. They had to drop the Theaters Strike Plan and a committee was appointed by the Film Chamber with Producers, Distributors, and Exhibitors to look into the issue.

We do not know even if a Single Meeting happened. Even if happened, nothing came out of it. In India, be it politics or in Cinema, if someone says Consultations and Committees, it is nothing but a way to push the issue into backburner. 

So, Producers want the Exhibitors to consult them first so that they could push the issue into backburner. 

Incidentally, Exhibitors Associations of all the South languages came together in Bengaluru and demanded the 8 Weeks OTT Window. So, the Producers of all languages have come together to give them a counter. 

In Hindi, PVR Inox was able to achieve the 8 Weeks OTT Window saying that they would not screen films not adhering to the rule. PVR Inox did not hold any consultations before arriving at the rule. But then, the Single Screen Owners do not deserve the same previlege as the Corporates. 

The Producers are also under stress due to various issues but Theater owner is the smallest fish in the ecosystem. It is a Surprise how they try to silence them in every aspect without addressing a Single issue.

We will have to see how the Exhibitors Associations react to this.