Kannada films caught in OTT woes: Dhananjaya

Daali Dhananjaya’s third production, ‘Tagaru Palya’ starring Nagabhushana and Amrutha Prem hit theatres on October 27. The film directed by debutant Nagesh K Krupa is a social satire set in rural Mandya. 

The film opened to packed halls and also did good business at the box office. However, ‘Tagaru Palya’ has failed to secure digital rights. While the satellite rights were sold to Colors TV, the film will make its digital premiere on Amazon Prime Video on the basis of pay per view.  

In a conversation with DH, Dhananjaya spoke about the dire situation in the industry when it comes to OTT acquisitions. He believes that the OTT platforms have definitely come as a boon for filmmakers. “From a business perspective, for a producer, both theatrical and non-theatrical rights are important. There is a good audience everywhere and good business at the same time,” he said.

Speaking about a possible prejudice against the Kannada film industry, Dhananjaya said that the industry cannot be blamed for their decisions. “They may have had bad experiences with some films but that is on them. For example, if I choose to make a film, and suppose it fails, I take the blame completely because I chose to make it. Similarly, OTT buyers cannot have a prejudice against the whole industry because a handful of them failed,” he said. 

He suggested streaming platforms watch the film first and then take a decision.

A filmmaker who requested anonymity said that one can easily find out if the film has been watched and how much of the film is viewed through the analytics on the video submitted. He found that none of the OTT guys had seen the film fully. “When I had sent it to the Kerala festival, I saw that four people had watched my film fully — whether it was selected or not is secondary, but they had done their job as programmers. 

“There is a situation, a model by the streaming platforms — films will be considered only based on its performance at the theatres. We will be able to crack the model by continuously making good films,” Dhananjaya opined, also adding that filmmakers should ultimately make films for the big screen.