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Why are makers releasing incomplete films? Experts weigh in
From The Ladykiller to Hukus Bukus, many films were released incomplete in the theatres recently. Here's what the experts say.
After Arjun Kapoor and Bhumi Pednekar’s The Lady Killer made news for hitting the theatres on November 3 as an unfinished film, just five days after the trailer was released, we took a look at more such incomplete releases. Talking about the Ajay Bahl directorial, with barely any promotion and information, the film releases and if reports are to be believed, only 293 tickets across India were sold on Day 1. It was released on 11 screens in India, in Mumbai and Delhi NCR with 1 or 2 shows a day. In fact, Bahl had said in a statement, “To confirm, yes the movie is incomplete. 30 pages of the 117 page screenplay were never shot. A huge number of connecting scenes, Arjun and Bhumi’s entire romance, Bhumi’s dependence on alcohol, Ajrun’s sense of being trapped and losing everything and having to run from town, his sense of total despair, all these psychological beats are missing. So yes, it’s no surprise that the film feels choppy and disjointed and one finds it hard to connect with the characters.”
However, he later turned from his statement and said in another statement, “It’s a humorous take on baseless rumors circulating about the film’s completion status. I understand that humour and sarcasm can sometimes be misinterpreted. I want to emphasise that Ladykiller is a complete film which has been released for the audiences and I am immensely proud of this project.”
Many more such half-baked films include, Shastry Viruddh Shastry and Hukus Bukus, which also released on November 3 met with the same fate. Hardly any promotions, trailer releasing a week before the release, both the movies landed up with mere collections at the box office. While Trade analyst and producer Girish Johar says, “Everything is getting wasted. The talent, technicians, even producers, so at the end of the day, everyone is losing. Credibility would be questioned and the audience is also losing faith, so it is critical to take such things seriously. Some version must be at least worked out to release the film as a complete one on OTT.”
“It was tragic for films like Hukus Bukus, Ladykiller and Shastri Viruddh Shastri that have good actors but the product has lost confidence. And with most money spent on actors and production, there’s zilch left for marketing. So no one knows if a film is even released. It’s heartbreaking for the makers. And there should be more support from various state governments to incentivize such smaller indie films. Simply to protect the smaller film maker not attached to a studio,” adds Omar Qureshi - Author, Movie Expert & Content Creator.
Why release incomplete films?
Weighing in on the ongoing situation of incomplete releases, Trade analyst Atul Mohan reasons, “They do it all because of their OTT deal. If they don’t deliver it on time, then the OTT buyer would cancel the deal, which would create difficulties in finding a new buyer. Producers lock their OTT deal very early on. Time se shoot nahi hua hoga aur overbudget hogaya hoga, toh producer ne socha hoga aur paisa kyu daalu. Already agar use ₹5 milna hai, and ₹4 kharch hochuka hai, toh promotion vagerah mai uska yoh nuksaan hojaega na. They get good money from the digital deal. They mostly have old commitments in a bulk package of movies so they can’t back out.”
Johar agrees and says, “I think primarily because the producers have secured monetisation of a certain value from the digital rights. They have been asked by the buyers to have a release at the theatrical window because they expect the producers to do some kind of a P&A which will help save the promotion cost of these buyers. But, what has happened is that producers are not taking that seriously and releasing films in a half hearted manner, which is not being received by the audiences so it is backfiring only. The makers need to ensure that the product is finished. All of it to bring the film to OTT finally.”
“Movies have always meant to be the entertainment platform of all classes of people. Buy some popcorn drink a soda and escape into a dark theatre for two hours. But the pandemic changed all that. With movies taking a beating at the box office, a lot of indie makers ran out of funds and the confidence of their financier real fast. So if you’re not a Khan, Kumar or Kapoor - footfalls seemed unlikely and producers wisesend up real fast,” adds Qureshi.
On the other hand, Film exhibitor Akshay Rathi tells us, “I think it’s because the producers run out of finances mid way or during post production. There are 1 out of 100 films that have such fate. It could also be the availability or dates of the star involved, or disputes between the producers and filmmakers. Things like this happen, it is very circumstantial.”
