Sooryavanshi, 83 makers says will consider digital release if Covid worsens

Reliance Entertainment Group CEO said they are "inclined" to release their films -- "Sooryavanshi" and "83" -- in cinemas, but if there is delay in opening theatres, they will explore digital release

Reliance Entertainment Group CEO Shibashish Sarkar on Saturday said that they are "inclined" to release their much-awaited films -- Akshay Kumar-starrer "Sooryavanshi" and Ranveer Singh's "83" -- in cinemas, but if there is delay in the opening of theatres, they will explore the avenues for digital release.

Cinema halls across the country have been closed since the nationwide-lockdown was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in March to curb the spread of coronavirus.

Sooryavanshi, directed by Rohit Shetty, and Kabir Khan's 83 were the first two big films to get a theatrical release dates after the first Unlock was implemented in June.

Reliance Entertainment had announced that Akshay's cop drama will hit the theatres on Diwali, while "83" will release on Christmas this year

"Just to reiterate we are 100% inclined to release 'Sooryavanshi' & '83' in theatres. However we do not want to push the release dates any further.

"If uncertainty continues on the opening of cinemas or the pandemic situation worsening, we will explore all options between theatrical, digital both TVOD (TVOD is transactional video-on-demand) & SVOD (SVOD is subscription video-on-demand) routes, in consultation with our directors actors and partners," Sarkar wrote on Twitter in response to rumours of the films making it to OTT.

"Sooryavanshi" was originally scheduled to release on March 24, while "83" was set to hit the cinema houses on April 10.

"Sooryavanshi" is the third film in Shetty''s cop universe after Ajay Devgn's "Singham" and Ranveer-starrer "Simmba".

The film is presented by Reliance Entertainment and produced by Rohit Shetty Picturez in association with Dharma Productions and Cape of Good Films.

"'83", which chronicles India's first World Cup win under the captaincy of Kapil Dev in 1983, also stars Hardy Sandhu, Tahir Raj Bhasin, Jiva, Saqib Saleem, Pankaj Tripathi and Deepika Padukone.

The film is produced by Khan, Madhu Mantena, Vishnu Induri and presented by Reliance Entertainment.