As Aditi Rao Hydari-starrer Sufiyam Sujatayam opens to positive response online, producer Vijay Babu discusses how OTT platforms have given a boost to regional cinema.
Aditi Rao Hydari plays a speech-impaired dancer in Sufiyum Sujatayum
Vijay Babu's Sufiyum Sujatayum, featuring Jayasurya, Aditi Rao Hydari and debutant Dev Mohan, marked the first Malayalam movie to enjoy a digital premiere on Amazon Prime Video. Though it was originally slated for a theatrical release, the producer is glad that the film dropped online, thereby reaching out to a wider audience.
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"I don't [consider] it a compromised release at all. Amid the pandemic, Malayalis across the country can watch it in one go. What more could I have asked for? Regional cinema is finally getting its due through OTT. A middle-class homemaker in Mumbai or Kolkata is being exposed to the flavour and culture of regional cinema," marvels Babu, whose romantic drama about a Sufi and a speech-impaired dancer has opened to a positive response.
The producer shares a personal experience to highlight how the streaming giants have changed the country's entertainment consumption pattern. "Recently, I saw my mother watching a Korean movie. The audience is now consuming regional and international movies, which would have gone unnoticed otherwise. OTT has raised the bar for content creators like us."
Meanwhile, Babu's 2017 blockbuster, Angamaly Diaries, which was recently remade in Telugu, is set to be adapted in Hindi by Abundantia Entertainment. "When the project was ready to go on floors, the lockdown was announced. I am sure it will roll once the restrictions are lifted," he adds.
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