An oft heard complaint from Kannada filmmakers is that mainstream OTT platforms tend to reject movies from the industry without even watching them. This applies even to films that are critically-acclaimed, won national and international recognitions, solely because they were not able to draw crowds to the theatres. Independent filmmaker Prithvi Konanur has three releases to his credit – three films that did fantastically well in the festival circuit, but, did not work theatrically. They will have an audience on OTT, but the problem is that platforms are not willing to bet on that.

Prithvi’s now decided to take control of this situation and is releasing two of his films on his official YouTube page on August 15. The filmmaker, who has, time and again, spoken about OTT platforms’ refusal to pick up Kannada content is irked because his films were rejected without being watched.

OTTs do not watch Kannada films before rejection: Prithvi Konanur

Taking to social media with a video message about the impending release of his films Railway Children and Hadinelentu, Prithvi said, “I don’t know if the selection process (without a screening) is only for Kannada cinema or other languages as well. But how do you explain the rejection of cinema that won international accolades at film festivals across the globe and has been critically-acclaimed in India? What is the logic behind this? Are they implying that Kannada movie audiences have no taste in cinema? Are Kannada audience incapable of appreciating mature themes and subjects?”

Even from a business point of view, Prithvi says that he fails to understand the logic of OTT platforms. “In the last 2-3 years, there are several good Kannada films that have been unable to reach audiences because of this issue with OTTs. If a good film is on a platform, why would audiences not watch it and make it a profitable venture for the streamer? The platforms should, ideally, explain the rationale behind this,” says the filmmaker.

The problem, though, does not end with OTT platforms, he says, adding that TV channels have also been following the same format. “TV channels openly state that their target audience is in rural areas, where the populace is not highly educated, as well as the older generation. According to them, young educated Kannadigas do not watch content on local general entertainment channels. This, in turn, disqualifies films like mine from being picked by TV channels also,” says Prithvi.

While his films will shortly be available to stream, Prithvi adds that since he’s not a regular YouTube content creator and the number of films on his channel are limited, the revenue generated from this release will be limited. As such, he will provide a QR code along with the film for audiences to make voluntary contributions after watching the film.

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