While many of the industry’s major names chose for a direct to digital launch in the midst of the pandemic – from Salman Khan to Akshay Kumar to Ajay Devgn – there is one individual who has stood by the exhibitors like a rock. It’s none other than Aditya Chopra, of course. For over 18 months, the producer has been delaying the release of films like Bunty Aur Babli 2, Shamshera, Prithviraj, and Jayeshbhai Jordaar.
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According to a source of BH, Yash Raj Studios received multiple offers from not one but all OTT players. The source informed the portal, “The giants are keen to collaborate with Aditya Chopra and strike a direct to digital deal. However, he has been clear about the fact that YRF films are meant to be consumed on the big screen and has time and again rejected the offers.”
“After the second wave of pandemic, with no clarity on reopening cinema halls in Maharashtra, Amazon Prime made a lucrative offer to Aditya Chopra to acquire the entire slate of 4 films for a humongous sum of over Rs. 400 crore. However, without even giving it a thought, the response from the Adi was a firm NO. The amount quoted by the OTT players would have ensured tons of profit for Adi in a fraction of a second,” the source added.
According to the same source, the digital behemoth was willing to haggle with Adi in order to obtain any, if not all, of the four projects. “They understood that Adi is in no mood to sell the big ticket magnum opus like Prithviraj and Shamshera. Hence, they made a counter offer of buying the relatively small films like Bunty Aur Babli 2 and Jayeshbhai Jordaar. But all that they heard from Adi was a NO,” shared the source, quick to add, “He didn’t sell a dud like Sandeep Aur Pinky Faraar, so giving away projects like Jayeshbhai and Bunty Babli is out of question. All YRF films are meant for cinema halls and an announcement on the release dates is on cards any day now.”
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This clearly states that YRF is all geared up for a theatrical release once cinema halls reopen in Maharashtra.
