Exclusive | Aachar & Co.'s Sindhu Sreenivasa Murthy: 'Means the world have a theatrical release in these times'

Although the harsh effects caused by the coronavirus pandemic seem well behind us, cinema and the ecosystem surrounding it are yet to fully find their bearings. The OTT boom, as it were, which occurred during the two lockdowns, almost inadvertently posed itself as a stiff competitor to the theatrical experience. This, in turn, meant that a film, depending on its template or ethos, would be categorized either as an OTT release (the romcoms, crime thrillers, slice-of-life stuff) or the big-screen kind (KGFs, RRRs and so on), leaving the stakeholders in the business a little confused. 

Of course, the theatres are slowly but surely back in vogue and the ongoing success of films like Oppenheimer, Barbie, Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani and Kannada's own Hostel Hudugaru Bekagiddare enunciate this fact. But simultaneously, one also encounters films prematurely releasing on OTT and quite a few of them have not even gotten the chance to realize the box office potential of their endeavours. 

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In this vein, OTTplay caught up with Sindhu Sreenivasa Murthy, an enterprising filmmaker who is foraying into this world with her debut film Aachar & Co. Speaking about what it means for a debutant in this era to have a full-fledged theatrical release, Sindhu shares:

"It means everything. I was born before the OTT era, so there is this fascination to bring a story to life on the big screen. We (filmmakers of her generation) have dreamt of seeing ourselves on the big screen - direction and writing came much later in my life - and that fascination has always been with me. It has always been the dream. I don't know if that's changed for the generation next but it means the world to me to get my debut film out as a theatrical release. I do hope that it works well and my sincere hope is that people find it funny, relatable and respond to it at the box office."

Aachar & Co., a PRK Productions film, arrived in theatres on July 28 and has garnered encouraging reviews from audiences and critics alike. Despite being a limited release and all the competition around, the film has managed to hold its own with good box office results.

Weighing in on the same OTT/theatre concern, PRK Productions' Ashwini Puneeth Rajkumar reckons that just because a film loosely falls under the 'OTT' category, it isn't that one must not visit a theatre. "Aachar & Co. is such a nostalgic film that could be enjoyed with families in a cinema hall. Since it takes you back to the '60s, kids of the new generation will able to experience what it was like back in the day, the joint families, their drama, etc. on the big screen. And more importantly, streaming platforms don't function the way they used to in the past, meaning that there is no direct OTT release anymore. Personally, PRK Productions likes to make every film for a theatre viewing," shares Ashwini Puneeth Rajkumar.