Telugu cinema is the only industry that reopened completely and some of the films raked massive money over these months. With the arrival of the second wave of coronavirus, the theatres are almost shut across the Telugu states and the digital platforms are holding talks with Tollywood filmmakers to ink OTT deals. The spread of the second wave for coronavirus is faster when compared to the first wave. It would take three more months for the things to turn normal as per the estimates. The makers of Nani’s Tuck Jagadish, Venkatesh’s Drishyam 2, Rana Daggubati’s Viraata Parvam, Nithiin’s Maestro and others are approached by top digital platforms.
A bunch of films will head for a digital release and will skip the theatrical release as there would be a mad rush in theatres once the normalcy returns. Most of the delayed films may not get a comfortable solo release date for sure. Considering the second wave and other factors, the digital platforms are offering decent deals for films as per the star cast and the stake involved. The makers of Sai Tej’s Republic sold the entire rights of the film for Zee Studios for Rs 35 crores. The film may skip the theatrical release if the theatres are shut for more than 2 months.
Several small filmmakers are holding talks with the digital platforms to close the deals and recover their investments as it is highly impossible for them to get a theatrical release this year. On the other side, the exhibition industry which recovered well is shut now and will stare at losses for the next 2-3 months. On the whole, the second wave of coronavirus changed the big plans of Tollywood and the OTT players are busy closing the deals.
