Last year, due to the pandemic, many theatrical releases of the films were skipped. They took to OTT platforms to release the films.
Amid the second wave of virus, the upcoming film, Bellbottom, starring Akshay Kumar, will premiere on digital on Disney+ Hotstar.
A source informed, “Bellbottom will premiere on Disney+ Hotstar. The makers have agreed to the financials being offered. They feel it’s a practical decision since the theatres would not open anytime soon. The makers and Hotstar team are now deciding when to release this film.”
The source added, “The producers then were toying with the idea of going on OTT directly, and also wanted to gauge the market price of the film. But as cinemas were allowed 100% occupancy in February and more and more producers announced the release dates of their films, Bellbottom makers decided to follow suit.”
If the country was not hit by the second wave, it would have released in cinemas on May 28.
The source further revealed, “Amazon Prime was still interested in buying the film. But it is being said that Disney+ Hotstar had a better offer and thus won the coveted deal.”
Akshay Kumar was seen in ‘Laxmi’ that released on OTT and ‘Bell Bottom’ will be the next.
A trade expert says, “It is possible that Disney+ Hotstar paid a bomb for Bellbottom. Akshay Kumar is a crowd-puller and Bellbottom looks like a slick thriller. It’s sure to generate a lot of craze upon its release.”
Bellbottom also stars Vaani Kapoor, Lara Dutta, Huma S Qureshi and Adil Hussain. The film is directed by Ranjit M Tewari.