No takers for OTT rights of Mansore’s 19.20 .21: ‘They don’t want realistic Kannada content’

In April this year, Kannada actress-producer Ramya put the spotlight on the fact that major streaming platforms do not pick up content from Sandalwood for reasons best known to them. Ramya openly spoke about something that several filmmakers have been whispering about in hushed tones for quite a while. In fact, when OTTplay spoke to some whose films had not found a digital partner, including national award-winning filmmaker Mansore, they’d lamented how streamers do not make outright purchases and insist on a theatrical release first, however small and that there is no screening committee, with the review ratings playing a major role in whether or not a film gets piced after all. Thereafter, depending on the film’s box office performance, a nominal sum is offered by way of digital rights.

Read also: Filmmakers weigh in on the ‘OTT platforms don’t buy Kannada films’ debate sparked by Ramya 

Back then, Mansore had told us that he’d approached both Netflix and Amazon Prime Video for his latest film, 19.20.21, primarily because of the wider reach the platforms have. It was one of the reasons he had not considered local platforms like NammaFlix or Cinebazzar among others. Mansore had also said, “Smaller platforms do not have the bandwidth to ensure films are not pirated from their sites. They do not provide a guarantee that the content will be protected from piracy, unlike the bigger platforms like Netflix and Amazon, which engage an agency to take down illegal streaming links from piracy sites.”

A month later, Mansore still does not have a buyer for his film and no answer for the question as to when and where 19.20.21 will be available to stream. He recently took to social media about this, writing, that Prime Video does not want realistic content movies in Kannada, while the Netflix representative he was in touch with said that the platform doesn’t take Kannada cinema, without even watching the film. Interestingly, Mansore’s award winning film Nathicharami is available on Netflix.