The Coronavirus pandemic sent the country into a lockdown mode in mid-March. Two months later, people are still confined to their homes due to the nationwide lockdown. Currently in the fourth phase, plans to resume shoots are being worked on in full swing. However, there is no assurance regarding the reopening of theatres anytime soon. With several films taking the OTT route, Kabir Khan and Rohit Shetty are hopeful that the situation will return to normalcy soon and the audience will visit the theatres without fear. Rohit's Sooryavanshi with Akshay Kumar and Katrina Kaif and Kabir's sports drama '83 starring Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone were scheduled to release on March 24 and April 10 respectively. Talking about the opening of both the much-awaited projects, Kabir, during an interview with a leading daily, told that Rohit and he want their audience to enjoy their films in theatres. Informing that they won't release them immediately after the lockdown is lifted, Kabir said they will wait till everyone is comfortable visiting the theatre.
"We will be ready to release when the lockdown opens, but having said that, we will only come out with our movies when the comfort is palpable and when we feel that ‘Okay, the fear has gone away, and people might feel comfortable to put on masks and gloves and go watch a film'. There are a lot of efforts, resources, and energy that go into films and we would like people to enjoy our films. Both, Rohit and I, would want the audience to enjoy our films on the big screen and therefore we are ready to wait it out for things to get better. It’s not like the lockdown will open and we will throw our films to test the waters. No. We will wait till we’re comfortable," Kabir told.
Understanding the reason behind theatre owners' disappointment with films hitting the OTT platform, Kabir explained a producer's viewpoint for taking such decisions. "Everybody has invested a certain amount of money in their films and they may be seeing that in the near future, they’re not going to be able to recover the costs because there’s no clarity about when theatres will open, in what shape and form will they open, and will the audience go back to theatres," the filmmaker added.
Clearing that '83 will release only in the theatres, Kabir said he is willing to wait for the situation to improve. "I’m very clear that I will be releasing my film in the theatre. I’ve made my film for the big screens, and I will wait. But for those who are not ready to wait, I think it’s absolutely fair for them to then carry on," Kabir said.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
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