Chanchal Chowdhury: OTT can never replace the magic of cinema

Bangladeshi actor Chanchal Chowdhury is in Kolkata. His film Hawa is being screened at the fourth Bangladesh Film Festival, which is taking place at Nandan, Kolkata, between October 29 and November 2. The screenings of Hawa witnessed nothing short of a frenzy among the city’s cine lovers. An overwhelmed Chanchal expressed his gratitude to the viewers.

In an interview with OTTplay, the actor talked about how Hawa brought the audience in Bangladesh back to the theatres. He also explained why OTT platforms cannot replace the ‘big-screen magic’ of cinema. “During the pandemic, when the popularity of OTT knew no bounds, I used to wonder if OTT would replace theatres. Then I realised that cinema has its audience,” he said. 

Also read: Exclusive! Bangladesh Film Festival: Hawa fever grips Kolkata as cine buffs gear up to watch Chanchal Chowdhury’s ocean thriller 

Hawa was released in July this year in Bangladesh and proved to be a commercially successful film. According to sources, it grossed approximately Tk 16 cr BDT (Rs 13 cr), while it has a budget of Rs 3 cr. “The amount of success that Hawa got, both commercially and critically, was amazing. It was also unexpected. The success proves that if you make something good, people will queue up and watch the film in theatres,” the actor said. Talking about the rising popularity of OTT, Chanchal said, “Yes, OTT is much more economic. The amount of time and money you spend to watch a film at theatres with your family, you can buy a subscription to an OTT platform. And yet, there will be films, like Hawa, that will take you to theatres. If it is a good film, people will go to a theatre to watch it. No one knows when and which OTT platform will get the rights of Hawa. The director of the film made it for theatres and not for OTT.”