What: The Hindi film industry, or Bollywood, is facing challenges in terms of consistent growth and financial health. Factors such as high ticket prices, overpriced food and beverage offerings, lack of government support, and the dominance of a few top actors are contributing to the industry’s struggles. For instance, Pravin Chalikwar refused to restart his single screen theatre, in Maharashtra’s Parbani district, between different lockdowns—in 2020 and 2021. Theatrical releases of films were rare and he decided to wait.
Furthermore: His theatre, called Priti Cinema, reopened to the public only in early 2022. However, things didn’t move like they did before the pandemic. Star vehicles like Bachchhan Paandey, Heropanti 2, Samrat Prithviraj, Laal Singh Chaddha and Vikram Vedha tumbled one after the other at the box office. On the other hand, Chalikwar’s expenses mounted. Earlier this year, he decided to shut the theatre for good.
We say: It’s not just glamour and gloss when you talk about Bollywood. There are too many woes that range from viewers losing interest in watching films in theatres because of astronomical ticket rates and so much more. So has the OTT killed watching films in theatres?Will theatre owners survive the OTT on-slaughter?