Releasing a film in multiple languages as a pan-India project has recently become a trend of sorts. But this strategy is giving success only in a few cases and is backfiring for most of the films.
The makers are in a dilemma to release their project in all languages at once or wait for a few weeks and then release it based on the response to its original version.
Very few makers are getting their films ready in all the languages in advance and releasing them on a pan-India level in one go. But most of the time, the films fail in the other languages burning a big hole into the producers’ pockets who have to spend crores to create a high-quality dubbed film. Recent example is Dasara.
So some makers are adopting the strategy of waiting to see the response the film gets in its original version. After its release in the original version, if the film gets a unanimously positive response, then they start dubbing it into other languages and release it after a few weeks.
But in this case, by the time the film releases in other languages, its OTT premiere date will be fast approaching, and people might not show interest in watching the film in theaters as it will be available on OTT in the next few days.
The recent Malayalam blockbuster 2018 is getting ready to release in Telugu on May 26. The makers decided to release the film in other languages after it received a phenomenal response in Malayalam. But it has also been revealed that the film is going to make its digital debut on SonyLiv soon.
It will be interesting to see if the producers’ gamble pays off and the audience will flock to the theaters to watch 2018 in theaters or if they will prefer to wait for its OTT premiere on Sonyliv.
