Three films released over the past few weeks with notable actors, intriguing themes and theatrical ambition. Maa, Maalik and Aankhon Ki Gustaakhiyan each had something going for them. But the one thing they shared was also their undoing, directors who came from an OTT background and failed to recalibrate for the demands of the big screen.
Mismatch of Source and Scale
Streaming allows creators to be patient. Scenes can breathe, character arcs can meander, and stories can unfold at their own pace. But theatrical films don’t have that luxury. They need to grip the audience immediately, sustain their interest, and offer visual and emotional payoffs.
Pulkit, who previously helmed the successful OTT series Bose: Dead or Alive, also directed the direct to Netflix film Bhakshak and direct to ZEE5 Dedh Beegha Zameen. With Maalik, he made his theatrical directorial debut, aiming to transition from digital suspense thrillers to a massy gangster drama.
Santosh Singh, who has worked extensively in digital entertainment, has directed episodes for popular romantic dramas including Apharan, Ranneeti and Broken But Beautiful. Aankhon Ki Gustaakhiyan marks his first theatrical feature and a notable pivot from episodic storytelling to film.
Vishal Furia, the most experienced of the three in genre filmmaking, is best known for his work on the horror films Chhorii and Chhorii 2, both streaming originals. He also directed the Hindi remake of the Malayalam psychological thriller Forensic, which was direct on Zee5, further cementing his reputation as a go-to name for dark, atmospheric content on OTT.
What followed were three well-meaning but fundamentally misjudged films that never should have been designed as theatrical experiences in the first place.
Maa: All Mythology, No Horror
Directed by Vishal Furia, Maa positioned itself as a genre-blending supernatural thriller. With Kajol in the lead and a promising horror-mythology concept, expectations were high. But the director quickly abandoned horror after the initial setup and leaned entirely into mythological exposition. The shift diluted the tension.
Instead of creating fear or mystery, the film turned into a sermon-heavy narrative about faith and destiny. Furia, known for his chilling work on OTT projects like Chhorii, forgot the primary requirement of horror atmosphere and dread. As a result, Maa lacked both the thrills horror fans expected and the coherence a mythological story demands.
Despite an encouraging opening of ₹4.5 crore, the film plateaued by week two and ended up with lifetime collections of around ₹37 crore. Audience fatigue set in quickly, and many walked away confused about what genre the film was trying to serve.
Maalik: Strong Acting in a Stale World
Pulkit’s Maalik featured Rajkummar Rao in a full-blown massy gangster role. Rao gave the film his all and his performance was committed, intense and transformative. But the world around him felt generic. The 1980s Allahabad underworld setting lacked freshness or detail. Characters followed predictable arcs, and the emotional beats didn’t hit hard enough. For a film about ambition and power, the storytelling felt too safe. The action was serviceable, the dialogues underwhelming, and the narrative borrowed too heavily from better gangster dramas.
The opening at ₹4.02 crore was decent, but it lacked the energy or novelty to pull in repeat audiences. The film will find it tough to build beyond its initial curiosity.
Aankhon Ki Gustaakhiyan: A Half-Baked Debut
Santosh Singh’s Aankhon Ki Gustaakhiyan, meant to be a modern romance, ended up being a showcase of everything that doesn’t work when a director brings OTT pacing and aesthetics into a theatrical format. Shanaya Kapoor’s debut film opened at a dismal ₹35 lakh, one of the lowest openings in recent memory. Despite having a capable lead in Vikrant Massey, the film never established its emotional core. The characters remained underdeveloped, and the romance felt forced. The screenplay lacked flow, with long stretches of nothingness broken by sudden bursts of symbolism that didn’t land.
The biggest flaw was structural. The film seemed like a long-form web series episode stretched to fill two hours, with no narrative urgency. Singh’s failure to adapt to the demands of cinematic storytelling was evident from the first frame to the last.
The Core Problem: OTT Mindset in a Theatrical Medium
In each case, the director approached the film with a streaming-first mindset. There was no sense of scale, no awareness of how audiences consume films differently in a cinema hall, and no real attempt to create moments that would resonate beyond the screen. While the actors showed promise, they were let down by direction that lacked cinematic instinct.
It’s a hard truth, but one the industry needs to acknowledge that OTT success does not translate automatically into theatrical skill. Until these directors learn to think for the big screen, their box office results will remain just as underwhelming as these three films.
Three films combined had 110 crore budget and it failed to recover even 30 crore distributor share – 80 crore wiped off from the industry!
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