No OTT premiere for Kartik Aaryan’s movies; actor adds new clause in his agreement with producers
The year 2020 saw a major boost in the consumption of content through OTT platforms, courtesy the pandemic. With theatres in the country shutting down in mid-March, OTT platforms like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Disney+ Hotstar became the go-to platforms for content consumption especially at a time when people were cooped up inside their homes. Eventually, with the pandemic refusing to die down anytime soon, several film producers decided to release their films on OTT platforms instead of awaiting normalcy to restore. While this move did surprise several celebrities, there was no choice left for most makers.
However, despite theatres having resumed business in most parts of the country starting October, many makers are still opting for a direct-to-OTT release. To ensure this does not become a new normal, a lot of celebrities have been deliberating on this aspect to safeguard their interests.
According to grapevine, Kartik Aaryan has got the makers of films he is a part of to add a clause in his agreement that prevents the direct release/premiere of his movies on OTT. The first movie where this clause has been inserted in the agreement is Dhamaka. This is to safeguard the direct OTT premiere. However as per the regular release window, the producers are free to make the movie available on OTT after the theatrical release.
Meanwhile, Kartik is all set to start shooting for Ram Madhvani’s Dhamaka starting next week. The film will be wrapped up in 45 to 50 days in a start-to-finish schedule. This is the first film that the actor will start shooting for post the lockdown.
The film is reportedly a Hindi remake of the 2013 South Korean movie The Terror Live and Kartik will essay the role of an investigative journalist. During lockdown, he has apparently been preparing for the part by consulting his media friends. As per a source, “The entire film unfolds in one media office. There are only 5-6 characters. It is a very intimate low-budget one-set film and Kartik accepted it because he wants to work with directors who can tap his acting chops, also because he wants to do films far removed from the lightweight comedies he has become typecast in.”
Also Read: Kartik Aaryan to start shooting for Ram Madhvani’s Dhamaka from next week
