Entertainment: Producer's Guild of India hits back at multiplexes and theatre owners on the digital release of films.

Due to the Coronavirus pandemic, all malls, theatres and multiplexes were closed in lieu of social distancing. At first, everyone thought of it as a monthly break, but as the COVID-19 virus numbers surge, some filmmakers have decided to not wait anymore for a theatrical and have decided to release their films on Over the Top Media (OTT) platforms. It is evident that even after the end of lockdown, social distancing norms will have to be followed by the theatres and a question of the film earning and reaching to the large audience is justified. 

Confirming the speculations, Shoojit Sircar on Thursday announced that his film, Gulabo Sitabo - starring Amitabh Bachchan and Ayushmann Khurrana would straight away release on Amazon Prime Video on 12th June. Amazon Prime Video will also be the platform for the release of Vidya Balan's film, Shakuntala Devi, which was announced on Friday. 

Exhibitors, multiplexes have criticized those announcements and urged the makers to wait for the theatres to re-open. The Producer's Guild of India, on Friday, released an official statement regarding the controversy and defended the decision by calling it "the need of the hour". 

In the statement, it is explained how much money has been put on the films and waiting for the theatres to open might see the producers and distributors incur heavy losses. The statement says, "This is a time for the entire film industry to come together with empathy and support for the difficult predicament that each of our constituents finds themselves in. It is disappointing to see abrasive and nonconstructive messaging from some of our colleagues in the exhibition sector. Statements that call for "retributive measures" against producers who decide to take their movies direct to OTT platforms - especially at a time when cinemas are unfortunately closed for the foreseeable future - do not lend themselves to a constructive or a collaborative dialogue on the way forward for the industry." 

The Produce's Guild of India also pointed out how they will have to expect lesser revenues due to low occupancy in lieu with the social distancing guidelines.