Shoojit Sircar keen on adapting Mahabharat for OTT, talks about criticism Gulabo Sitabo got for releasing digitally

Shoojit Sircar was one of the first filmmakers in Bollywood last year to embrace OTT platforms, releasing his film Gulabo Sitabo directly on digital when the theaters shut down owing to the Covid-19 lockdown. The move did earn him and the project a lot of backlash but digital releases slowly became the norm in the pandemic era and many producers followed in Gulabo Sitabo’s footsteps.

Asked if OTT platforms will boost his flavor of cinema Shoojit tells Free Press Journal, “Whatever the medium, I will keep making films for myself first, without any commercial compromises. When I released Gulabo Sitabo on Amazon Prime Video last year, there was a lot of criticism, but now many producers are going for an OTT release. A person can watch a film at his own time because it is not going out of the theatres and this helps him understand it better.”

The filmmaker also revealed if he would be keen on directing a web series like a few of his contemporaries are doing now, Shoojit added, “I know others before me have done it and some others now are planning it too. I want to make my version the Mahabharat for OTT.”

For now, the filmmaker is readying his film Sardar Udham Singh which stars Vicky Kaushal. The project has been on hold like many others owing to the pandemic but despite roadblocks Shoojit is determined to release this passion project even if he has to invest money from his own pockets to do it.