OTTplay Awards 2022! Rajsekar Pandian and TJ Gnanavel: All the recognition Jai Bhim has been garnering is because of its OTT release

Jai Bhim, which received unanimous appreciation from movie buffs and critics across the country upon its release last year, brought laurels to Tamil cinema. The film, directed by TJ Gnanavel released directly on Amazon Prime Video, and went on to bag several accolades apart from being revered for the relevant topic it touched upon.

The movie, which was dubbed into various languages, garnered praise for its riveting screenplay, impressive making and stellar performances from actors like Suriya, Lijomol Jose, Manikandan, Prakash Raj, Tamizh and Rao Ramesh among others. The movie was adjudged as the Best Web Original Film at the OTTplay Awards 2022 which was held in Mumbai recently.

Director Gnanavel and co-producer Rajsekar Pandian jointly received the award and expressed excitement over the recognition. The duo said that they consider the latest honour special despite them having won many awards ever since Jai Bhim was dropped by the OTT giant.

Rajsekar said, "The love and recognition we have been receiving for Jai Bhim is overwhelming. With the OTTplay Award, we are really happy to have another feather in our cap. The icing on the cake is that the event has been organized exclusively for honouring OTT content."

Thanking Gnanavel, Rajsekar added that Jai Bhim is a pan world movie as makers have received appreciation from several quarters from other countries as well. The most satisfying part of having co-produced the project which highlighted struggles of marginalized people in the society, he said, was that the Tamil Nadu state issued a GO to provide them ration cards and voter IDs. "We are quite proud and excited about this achievement which was possible only because of the film," he added.

For Gnanavel, Jai Bhim isn't just another film. He noted that the movie reflected the emotions of downtrodden people in India and that their attempt was lauded by cinephiles erasing language barriers. He said, "Our initial plan was to release the film in theatres, but the pandemic forced us to go the OTT way. But all the recognition the movie garnered was because of its OTT release."

The huge success of Jai Bhim has motivated them to come up with stories that are hard-hitting and high on emotions. Rajsekar pointed out, "The reception towards the film has instilled confidence in us. We usually thrive to either entertain people or initiate a social change with our movies. We could achieve both with Jai Bhim."  

He also expressed gratitude for the positive changes OTT avenues have brought in the last few years with regard to uncompromising storytelling. "Earlier, producers would think of various ways to infuse commercial elements to please the theatre-going viewers. With the advent of OTT platforms and people getting used to watching their favourite content at their homes, we have the liberty to concentrate on the story without resorting to superficial ways to impress movie buffs," Rajsekar noted.