On December 24, the Kabir Khan film, starring Ranveer Singh, was released globally, retracing the journey to India’s historic World Cup victory at Lord’s on June 25, 1983.
The producers of the cricket drama ’83,’ whose screening schedule was thrown off by the Covid-19 rise, have pledged not to distribute the film on OTT before it has completed eight weeks in theatres.
It is currently standard practise for a theatrically released film to not be made available on an OTT platform or pay-per-view channel until eight weeks have passed from its first showing.
Despite the Covid-19 third wave shutting down theatres and multiplexes in Delhi and five districts in Haryana, and a 50% occupancy cap in Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal, sources close to the creators of ’83’ have opted not to stray from this approach, according to sources close to them.
Kabir Khan, the film’s director, stated in an earlier interview with IANS: “I have no influence over a film’s box office success. What I can do is put out the best effort I can in my career.”
Although the revival of the epidemic has slowed the economic success of ’83,’ it is still playing in theatres across the country, and Kabir Khan may take comfort in the knowledge that film reviewers all around the world have praised the picture. “It is a lovely sports picture with just enough awareness of where it stands, now that Britain’s imperial heritage is being questioned more than ever, on a broader field,” The Guardian said, expressing the consensus view of critics.
After eight weeks in theatres, the creators of ’83’ may look forward to a second innings on OTT and pay-per-view platforms, thanks to a perfect score on the film review aggregate Rotten Tomatoes.
