Learn From Thalapathy Vijay: Kerala Fans Theatres Mohanlal

Mohanlal's Drishyam 2 is releasing on OTT platform Amazon Prime Video. However, Malayalam movie fans who have been waiting for bated breath to watch the sequel on the big screen are a tad disappointed. As if that was not enough, theatre owners and distributors in Kerala are miffed with the maker's decision to skip theatrical release.

It is a known fact that theatres had been shut down across the country owing to the coronavirus pandemic. While some states have thrown open public access to the big screens, the occupancy in theatres has been strictly restricted to 50% capacity which has resulted in huge losses not only to theatre owners but also to the filmmakers. Hence the makers of Drishyam 2 starring Mohanlal have decided not to wait for theatres to open up and instead sell it to OTT platform. They are said to have sold the digital rights of the movie to Amazon Prime Video for a whopping amount.

However, the theatre owners association which was banking on this movie to make some profits and make up for the losses caused by the pandemic are upset a  great deal. In fact they are citing Kollywood Thalapathy Vijay as an example saying he waited months to release his upcoming movie Master in theatres. It is known that not only did Vijay and makers of Master wait for theatres to reopen, the actor even went and met Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Palanisami recently to request for him to allow 100% occupancy of seats in theatres.

The Kerala theatre owners have dubbed Mohanlal as being selfish. Liberty Basheer, Kerala Theatre owners association spokesperson has expressed his disappointment over the decision of the makers to skip theatrical release and go for digital platform.

However, director Jithu Joseph has justified the decision to go for digital release of Drishyam 2 saying they have patiently waited eternally before they took this decision and waiting any longer could result in piracy.

Meanwhile, the Kerala government has ordered for theatres to open across the state on January 5.