2021: Year that saw Bollywood stars, from Salman Khan to Ajay Devgn, on OTT

Apart from the fact that they are among the most bankable stars in Bollywood currently, what's the common factor about Salman Khan, Ajay Devgn and Vicky Kaushal? The fact that if you wanted to see their films this year, you didn’t have to queue up outside a cinema ticket counter but simply subscribe to an OTT service. For all three actors, their biggest films of the year - Radhe, Bhuj: The Pride of India, and Sardar Udham - were directly released on different streaming platforms.

The year 2021 was expected to herald the revival of cinemas in India after a disastrous 2020. But it did not pan out as expected. The second wave of Covid-19 in April-May and the arrival of the new Omicron variant towards the end of the year meant that theatres were shut or operating at limited capacity in almost all of India throughout the year. This led to even the biggest of films opting to not delay releases and taking the digital route on streaming platforms. This resulted in many of the big stars in Bollywood making their OTT debuts, something that was unthinkable before the pandemic.

With big stars going directly to OTT, exhibitors suffered losses

In 2020, due to theatres shutting down for a large part of the year, trade experts estimated the loss to be anywhere between ₹5000-8000 crore for the exhibitors. In 2021, the number may be lower but theatre owners and distributors have still faced massive losses. Many had hoped Radhe would be the film to revive theatres out of the slump since Salman-starrers have almost always minted money at the box office. But Salman and the film’s makers stunned everyone by opting for a straight OTT release.

Theatre owners threatened to boycott big stars whenever they went ahead with direct OTT release for their films. In the south, Tamil star Suriya and Malayalam superstar Mohanlal both faced boycott threats after rumours emerged of their films taking the direct OTT route. In the north, exhibitors pleaded with Salman Khan to have a theatrical release for Radhe, which eventually released directly on Zee5 and ZeePlex.

Not just megastars, others heading to OTT too

Beyond the megastars, other A-listers also opted for direct OTT releases in 2021. Kajol made her OTT debut with Tribhanga (Netflix), while Vidya Balan featured in Amazon Prime Video's Sherni. One can argue that these were niche films that may not have done big business in theatres anyway. But then, Saif Ali Khan and Arjun Kapoor's Bhoot Police - a commercial entertainer through and through - released directly on Disney+ Hotstar.

And this shift from theatres to OTT only is a trend not limited just to the senior actors of the industry. Even younger actors, who have spent a few years in the industry establishing themselves, saw many of their films release on the digital platforms directly. And these are mainstream films, many of which were made for theatres. So, Sidharth Malhotra saw Shershaah arrive on Amazon Prime Video while Kartik Aaryan's Dhamaka streams on Netflix, as is Parineeti Chopra's The Girl on The Train remake. Taapsee Pannu, in fact, had multiple releases on different platforms, with Haseen Dillruba on Netflix and Rashmi Rocket on Zee5.

Perception that cinemas are unsafe led to stars opting for OTT

Trade experts agree that not releasing films in theatres does tend to hurt the star power of the megastars in Bollywood, most of whom are on the other side of 50. Then why did names like Salman (Radhe), Ajay (Bhuj) and Akshay (Atrangi Re) agree to it? The answer lies in public’s perception of safety of cinemas. “The stars’ job is to draw the audience to the theatres. That’s their star power, their hold,” argues trade analyst Atul Mohan, adding, “If they can’t do that, then they aren’t stars, right? But you can’t blame them here. The circumstances were such. In Covid times, cinemas have often been the first to be shut and the last to be reopened. When the authorities take that route, the audience perception becomes that cinemas may be unsafe. That’s why nobody wants to risk releasing a film in theatres at such a time.”

‘Audience still willing to come to the theatres but only for good films’

Theatrical releases of big Hindi films began in the last quarter of 2021. But apart from Sooryavanshi, which touched ₹300 crore, others disappointed. Salman Khan’s Antim failed to cross ₹50 crore while Ranveer Singh’s much-anticipated 83 had a lukewarm time, earning only ₹54 crore in four days. While some fear that this may scare many other filmmakers into taking the direct OTT route, trade experts believe that the audience are willing to return to the theatre but only if they have a good enough film. Atul Mohan says, “Let’s look at the positives too. Films like Spider-Man: No Way Home, Sooryavanshi, and Pushpa: The Rise did do well at the box office. That shows the audience is willing to go to the theatres. But only if they get their value for money. They need to be entertained and get the cinema experience.”

The big question: Will stars return to theatres in 2022?

Film producers and studio heads are wary of the changing landscape as they can easily make money through digital streaming but do not want to throw their long-standing partners - the exhibitors - under the bus. “For content creators, producers it has been an interesting time as we have had streamers to be able to take our films and bring them to life. For the exhibition sector, it has been a tough time. As content creators, we need to be mindful about what content is suited for which platform and take decisions accordingly,” producer Siddharth Roy Kapur told PTI earlier this year.

Also read: HTLS 2021: Anil Kapoor says OTT is the future; Janhvi Kapoor feels digital spaces 'evolved' audiences' sensibilities

Whether a change will take place or not depends on a lot of things, including pressures from exhibitors and distributors. However, the current model seems to be suiting the actors, at least. Speaking at Film Companion’s 2021 Producers Adda earlier this week, filmmaker Karan Johar revealed, “Despite the pandemic, all actors have increased their fees, and the increase is not just 10-20%. It’s 100%. And it’s all because of digital.” So, if the audience are watching them -albeit on the small screen - and they are getting paid handsomely, do the stars really care about returning to the theatres? That’s a question only the stars (and time) can answer.

Major films to take OTT only route in 2021:

Radhe (Zee5)

Atrangi Re (Disney+ Hotstar)

Bhuj: The Pride of India (Disney+ Hotstar)

Sardar Udham (Amazon Prime Video)

Toofan (Amazon Prime Video)

Bhoot Police (Disney+ Hotstar)

Shershaah (Amazon Prime Video)

Dhamaka (Netflix)

Tribhanga (Netflix)

The Big Bull (Disney+ Hotstar)

Sherni (Amazon Prime Video)

The Girl on the Train (Netflix)

Rashmi Rocket (Zee5)