Bazooka, Alappuzha Gymkhana, Dominic and the Ladies Purse OTT: What's Wrong with Malayalam Cinema?

When OTT platforms started landing in India, there was a clear hope for independent and parallel cinema filmmakers that their work, even if it doesn't go mainstream, will at least find a platform on a mainstream OTT space, where people might just watch it accidentally and end up liking it the same. The same happened when the likes of Netflix and Amazon Prime came to India and started purchasing indie films.

The situation post-Covid and the state of cinema have been teaching fresh lessons to producers, distributors, and even to the heads sitting at the helm of these big OTT platforms. The numbers that they could reach with a commercial film still outweighed what they ended up getting from supporting parallel cinema.

Not all big films generate significant box-office revenue, and the creators of those mediocre commercial movies began to pay more attention to OTT platforms and align with their standards. This was where the big problem started. Soon, the control started shifting from the producers to streaming giants, and it didn't take much time for the heads of these streaming platforms to start to dictate terms.

Now, a film's release lies at the discretion of these OTT platforms. Producers only feel secure enough to release a film once they sign a digital/OTT deal. Let's take a look at some of the Malayalam films that released of late as examples.

Bazooka OTT: Confusion Remains! 

Everybody in India knows how big a star Mammotty is. Like Kamal Haasan, Mammootty likes to experiment with the genre of films. While some end up working at the box office, some will backfire. His latest film, Bazooka, is an example of the latter. Released on the occasion of Vishu, the movie didn't impress the audiences.

Even though some liked the way the movie was shot, others found the whole plot to be predictable, and as a result, Bazooka bombed at the box office. Now, here comes the troubling part for the makers. The filmmakers did not sign an OTT deal before the film's release because they were reportedly confident in the content and hoped that the movie's box office success would secure them a favorable deal with an OTT giant.

Since that didn't happen, they are now looking for some platform to get their movie, and reports indicate that Zee5 has bagged the rights. The anticipation for the movie's eventual streaming remains high. Another Mammotty movie that has yet to be released on OTT is Dominic and the Ladies' Purse.

Dominic and the Ladies Purse OTT: Prime Video's Stunning Silence 

Unlike Bazooka, Dominic and the Ladies Purse did end up performing decently at the box office and managed to touch the Rs.50 crore mark. Prime Video got the movie's digital rights, and reports say it will be on the platform by late April.

There has been no update on the movie since then, and now fans have lost hope in whether they will be able to catch it digitally at all or not. Both Mammootty films are currently stalled, with their OTT release currently uncertain.

Alappuzha Gymkhana: It's SonyLIV's turn now 

Alappuzha Gymkhana, starring Premalu fame Naslen, ended up being a surprise package for Visha, beating Bazooka, and became a box-office hit. The movie managed to collect Rs.45 crores and emerged as one of the biggest hits in Malayalam cinema this year (based on ROI). There were clear reports of the film's OTT rights being bagged by Sony LIV, and local outlets even reported that Alappuzha Gymkhana will start streaming from June 5th.

The movie is not on the SonyLIV app, and it is unclear if it will be released on the reported date or if the date will change. All in all, it's quite an interesting development that's taking place in Malayalam cinema, and with more big films coming in, the fate of their OTT deals also will be followed closely by fans.