Carnival Cinemas express disappointment over OTT release of Laxxmi Bomb, Sadak 2, Bhuj: The Pride of India & more

On Monday, the showbiz world and all its fans got a piece of surprising news as a streaming platform announced the release of seven films Bollywood film over the next few months. 

While the announcement was taken in a positive light by the fans and the film industry, the Carnival Cinemas group released a statement and expressed their "disappointment" with the trend of direct to digital releases. 

BollywoodLife reported the statement made by Carnival Cinemas CEO Mohan Umrotkar who said, "We stand by our previous statement. It is very disappointing that the filmmakers are opting digital-first route when we are just steps away from the theatrical releases with the reopening of cinema halls across the country with all the necessary precautions. The economy is reopening and malls have already opened. They just need to have some more faith and patience to hold the content for the big screens, that is what it was made for."

The statement further read, "During the lockdown, we have participated in many surveys to realize that the audience is waiting for cinemas to reopen. For the entertainment industry to flourish everyone needs to stand by each other. And if films made for theaters release directly on streaming platforms it may hamper the overall growth of the ecosystem."

For the uninformed, seven Bollywood movies will be released directly on an OTT platform including Akshay Kumar-starrer Laxmmi Bomb, Ajay Devgn's Bhuj: The Pride Of India, Sadak 2 starring Alia Bhatt, Sushant Singh Rajput's last film Dil Bechara, The Big Bull starring Abhishek Bachchan, Vidyut Jammwal-starrer Khuda Haafiz and Lootcase featuring Kunal Kemmu.