Before the release of Mani Ratnam’s crime thriller Thug Life, lead actor and co-producer Kamal Haasan had maintained that the film won’t release on OTT before eight weeks. He claimed he wants to set a precedent for the Tamil film industry where the norm is to have a four-week window between theatrical and streaming release, unlike the Hindi film industry where the gap is eight weeks.
However, now it’s come to light that since Thug Life managed to earn only Rs 48 crore in almost two weeks, the makers are contemplating for an early release on Netflix India. After the film failed at the box office, the streaming platform reportedly dropped its price from Rs 130 crore to Rs 90 crore. Now, as per Pinkvilla, the makers and the streaming platform have met each other halfway by finalizing the price at Rs 110 crore, and the gap window between theatrical and streaming to be reduced by half at just four weeks. So, Thug Life is likely to drop on Netflix India around mid-July.
Since Thug Life has breached the eight-week window rule, particularly in the Hindi market where it’s a norm, the multiplex chains are imposing a fine of Rs 25 lakh on the makers. Thug Life isn’t the first time Haasan’s production house Raaj Kamal Films International has breached its contract and opted for an early OTT release. They did the same with Haasan’s last release, S Shankar’s vigilante drama Indian 2, which earned only Rs 81.32 crore at the domestic box office.
In the Hindi market, Aamir Khan has led by example by releasing his new film, RS Prasanna’s coming-of-age sports comedy Sitaare Zameen Par, only in cinemas. He has objected to even the eight-week window, insisting it’s too short. He hasn’t sold the digital rights to any platform yet and has claimed that the film would premiere on OTT and television only after a year.
Sitaare Zameen Par has crossed the Rs 75 crore mark at the domestic box office in just five days since release. It’s surpassed the lifetime India earnings of Bhool Chuk Maaf, which enjoyed a far shorter gap of two weeks between its theatrical release and streaming premiere. In fact, the makers Maddock Films even contemplated releasing the film directing on Prime Video India after skipping theatrical release at the last moment.
Meanwhile, this isn’t the only trouble Thug Life has had so far. Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce (KFCC) said on Thursday it’ll not allow the release of actor Thug Life in Karnataka unless he issues a public apology by May 30 for his controversial remarks about the Kannada language. Haasan’s recent statement claiming that “Kannada was born out of Tamil” during a promotional event for Thug Life has sparked widespread outrage among pro-Kannada groups and cultural organisations.
