Image Credit: “Ludo the game of dice.” by Bindaas Madhavi is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
A vast majority of what was daily life has changed drastically due to COVID-19 including the way society finds entertainment. Though various streaming services have been an integral part of daily life for many prior to lockdown, the concept of releasing movies in theaters has always been and still was quite monumental until recent times, especially for the Bollywood Film Industry. Actor Ayushmann Khurrana even once claimed in an interview with Rajeev Masand that the feeling of a cinema hall could never be replicated or even entirely replaced by viewing films from a television screen.
For a vast majority of films that were scheduled to release after and even during March, dates were shifted and postponed. Much of the intense filming process had to be rescheduled in order to follow proper guidelines. Prior to the pandemic, much of the Bollywood movies would only reach Netflix, Amazon Prime, and other services due to the completion of running in theatres. However, new circumstances called for films to be released through the very same streaming services. Along with Netflix and Amazon Prime, the public is more inclined towards prescriptions with services such as Hotstar which is partnered with Disney Plus and has a yearly fee. Aside from streaming services heavily benefitting from such projects, the music portion of the industry has begun releasing much more content simultaneously, taking advantage of the increase in virtual activity. It is common to see more trailers and clips of films as well as e-promotions from film stars. The content for interviews has become much more generalized including conversations about the effects of COVID-19 on the process.
So will Khurrana’s ideas be restored after the pandemic? Keeping in mind that the actor said this well before the COVID-19 had manifested in any way shape or form, there remains the question of how the world has changed given the efficiency of direct online releases. No matter the circumstances, matters will never be the same and taken with more thought and precautions.
As for a list of Bollywood Movies from quarantine to catch up on:
Netflix: Gunjan Saxena –
August Dolly Kitty Aur Woh Chamakte Sitare
September- Ginny Weds Sunny
October-Ludo
November- Amazon Prime: Gulabo Sitabo –
June: Chhalaang
November
Hotstar: Dil Bechara –
July Sadak 2 – AugustAnd more!!
The Roar 