This Onam, there will be no confetti hurled up cheering ‘mass intros’ in movie halls. No larger-than-life cutouts of tinseltown stars to greet jubilant first-day-first-show fans. No sound and fury of mirthful chenda melam and paal abhishekham of silverscreen superstars. It’s all quiet on the box-office front because of the pandemic.
As Onam entertainment moves indoors, with television and OTT platforms taking centrestage, it is an unprecedented scenario for film lovers and movie personalities. Even as a couple of flicks have been lined up for direct release on the small screen, actors and filmmakers muse on an Onam without theatre releases.
“From the outside, life in tinseltown appears glam and flashy, but the truth is that it is also a matter of bread and butter for many working behind the scenes. These are hard times,” says Tovino Thomas. His Kilometres and Kilometres was set to hit the marquee in March when the pandemic forced closure of theatres in Kerala. However, on the bright side, the film is going for a direct TV premiere this Onam.
Jeo Baby
Jeo Baby, director of the film, says the makers are still in talks about finalising a date for the film’s OTT release around the same time. But he outlines the practical hurdles in making the change of plans. “Till now, films have been made keeping the theatre experience in mind, especially sound and visuals.These elements were painstakingly designed by a large crew for my film,” says Jeo.
The filmmaker adds that he is nonetheless not disheartened, now that the movie is finally seeing the light of the day. “I’m happy people will now get to see the film. It is an entertainer and will hopefully create two hours of good moments in these difficult times,” he says.
Show must go on (Clockwise from left) A still from Maniyarayile Ashokan ; Unni Mukundan; a still from Kilometres and Kilometres ; Anna Ben
Another Malayalam movie set for a direct OTT release is debutant director Shamzu Zayba’s Maniyarayile Ashokan, starring Jacob Gregory and Anupama Parameswaran. Produced by Dulquer Salmaan, it will be out on Netflix on August 31. “As the movie was initially shot for theatre release, some technical aspects had to be altered from beginning to end, predominantly the soundscape, since OTT platforms require a different audio format. Thankfully, the final mix was not done, which helped us save much work,” says Shamzu. Apart from changes in colour grading to suit small screens, the film’s duration was truncated, says the director.
After the acclaimed Sudani From Nigeria in 2018, filmmaker Zakariya Mohammed’s Halal Love Story with Indrajith Sukumaran in the lead was supposed to come out on Vishu (April) this year. It seems the film now has to pass up an Onam release as well. “The post-production was hit by the lockdown. We resumed it just now after some pandemic restrictions were relaxed as the crew are located in different places. The work is being managed online, but this process takes much longer as it is hard to coordinate on the fine aspects virtually,” says Zakariya about the delay in release.
Anne Ben
Others speak about how both the film industry and movie buffs will miss out on this festive season. One among them is actor Anna Ben, whose Kappela , which had received a positive response, had its theatrical run cut short by the pandemic. “I’m already looking forward to a time when the box-office is open again. Nevertheless, at a time like this, it is of course wiser to be cautious as health comes before entertainment any day,” she says.
But Anna, whose two projects have been on pause, is optimistic. “We now know how much we miss the movies. But on the plus side, once everything is back to normal, we will be so movie-hungry that we are going to enjoy cinemas more ravenously,” she adds with a chuckle.
Perhaps, one anodyne many need in these dire straits is some quality entertainment to take our minds off all the negativity, a sentiment also echoed by actor Unni Mukundan. “An irony is that even when the pandemic struck, what many people relied on were movies and series on online platforms. So entertainment has also been a source of solace or escapism. Hence the show must go on,” he says.
Unni Mukundan, whose upcoming film Meppadiyan is set to go on floors soon after the pandemic-induced delay, opines that perhaps it is the “fans” who would miss out the most due to absence of theatre releases this Onam. “The ‘mass’ films are tailor-made for them and thefanfare will be sorely missed this time.”
Unni Mukundan
A die-hard movie buff like filmmaker Midhun Manuel Thomas ( Anjaam Paathira ) concurs. After all, the director recollects the time during his younger days when he travelled from his hometown of Kambalakkad in Wayanad to Kozhikode to catch a film first day first show. “I still remember catching the bus at 5.30 am,” he says with a laugh. “The thrill of so-called binge-watching cooled off a few weeks after the lockdown for many who would have by now also exhausted their bucket list of things to watch. I feel OTT (platforms) will never be a complete substitute for theatres. Because it’s not just about the movie, it is also an occasion for an outing with family,” says Midhun.
