In a letter to the Kerala Film Exhibitors Federation, producer Anto Joseph has stated he is considering releasing two upcoming productions of his — Fahadh Faasil-starrer Malik and Prithviraj-starrer Cold Case — directly on OTT. Joseph, who co-produced the Netflix original Irul last year, is compelled to go the OTT route given the big budgets of both films.
Malik, which began filming in 2019, and Cold Case, which went on floors in October last year, have been in the cans for a while, awaiting an appropriate time for release. However, the surge in Covid cases has once again plunged the entire industry into a state of uncertainty.
“I’ve been trying to release both these films in theatres for some time now,” says Joseph, adding that the exhibitors, distributors’ association and the Film Chamber have been very cooperative with him in that regard.
“The original idea was to release Malik alongside Marakkar when the government permitted theatres to reopen. But unfortunately, on account of the Covid spread intensifying, the theatres had to be closed again. Besides, these films will recoup their production costs only if 100 per cent occupancy is allowed. Since there is no clarity on when the theatres will reopen and given the existing economic hurdles, I’m trying for an OTT release for these films,” said Joseph.