Nawazuddin Siddiqui became the pioneer for actors when it comes to jumping on the OTT bandwagon. He was seen in Netflix’s acclaimed web series, 'Sacred Games', way back in 2018 and it exploded in such a way that there was no looking back for the digital industry. In 2020, once films started releasing directly online due to the shutdown of cinemas, his slice-of-life 'Ghoomketu' was the first one to premiere on the internet, on Zee5. The same year also saw the release of his Netflix original films, 'Raat Akeli Hai' and 'Serious Men'. He had no release in 2021 and was directly seen in 2022 as the antagonist in Tiger Shroff’s 'Heropanti 2.' His fans have wondered that when he has completed nearly a dozen projects, why don’t we see his new releases frequently in cinemas or on OTT?
As per the latest developments, OTT platforms have stopped accepting films for direct premieres. They are insisting that producers release their films in cinemas first. For direct-to-digital films, the onus of marketing the film falls on streaming giants. In many cases, they were handed over mediocre products, which didn’t get the desired viewership, leading to losses for OTT platforms as they paid a bomb to buy the films. Hence, the change of policy.”
The source continued, “The small films have faced the maximum brunt of this new rule. And many films of Nawazuddin have got stuck like 'Jogira Sara Ra Ra', 'Noorani Chehra', 'Adbhut', 'Sangeen', 'Bole Chudiyan', 'Rome Roam Mein,' 'No Land’s Man' etc. The OTT giants asked the producers to release the film in cinemas first. But in cinemas, these films won’t get healthy box office returns, considering how the market is right now for small, indie films.”
The source continued, “In July, the producers of Jogira Sara Ra Ra made it clear that contrary to reports, their film will release in cinemas first. But the truth is that they are compelled to do so and they would have been more than happy to skip a theatrical release.”
Nawazuddin did make his displeasure clear with the streaming giants. In an interview, he said, “There are so many films that even OTT platforms are not ready to take. Film festivals mein unn filmon ke baare mein baat ki jaa rahi hai.”
