Back in our childhood, we all watched movies just to have a good time at the cinema halls. After watching a film, we would share our opinion about the film with our close ones. In case we missed watching it in the theatre, we would wait for the film to be premiered on satellite months after its theatrical release and watch it with the same enthusiasm as we would in a theatre. We were never bothered about the success or failure of movies, and even if we were curious to know about the business of these films, there were no authentic means to know about the verdict of these films (except for a few film magazines).

But with the proliferation of social media, there has been a lot of discussion and curiosity about the business of movies. As fans, we want films featuring our favorite stars to do exceedingly well. Heated debates on the collection of Brahmastra indicated the obsession of even the common public to know about the actual budget and collection of the film. Box Office is tracked vigorously, and there is as much discussion on the commercial aspect of movies as on the quality.

This is where the OTT revolution has turned the tables.

When a film is released directly on OTT (skipping the theatrical release), there is no actual data made available to the audience post-release that can be dissected and analyzed to arrive at a conclusion. In the case of TV series, the announcement and subsequent release of the sequels can still validate the success of the earlier seasons. But in the case of movies released directly on OTT, the situation becomes dicey. Social media appreciation ends up being used as the sole barometer for the success of such movies. But eventually, the appreciation on social media can be misleading. There is always a possibility of building a false perception around the success or failure of any movie by the PR agencies of the stakeholders associated with a film. A film like Zara Hatke Zara Bachke would have sunk without a trace had it been released directly on any OTT platform. The validation it eventually got through its Box-Office numbers would have been missing had it been a direct OTT release. Even a blockbuster like Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 with a direct OTT release would have most probably been compared to its prequel and dismissed as a one-time watch that is nowhere close to its prequel (while the footfalls of Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 are greater than those of its prequel). On the contrary, there have been films that were released directly on OTT and got rave reviews, only to be forgotten in the years to come with dismal TRP ratings.

Films that cater to a more erudite and elite audience end up getting more appreciation on social media compared to massy films. What it eventually does is create a false perception of the taste of the audience. This delusion leads to niche films planned for theatrical release being mounted on a scale that is not in commensuration with the expected returns. It is still the hardcore, well-made commercial films like Pathaan, KGF-2, Brahmastra, and RRR that have raked in the maximum moolah in the last couple of years, even if they don’t appeal to the intellectuals on social media.

The silver lining amidst the manipulation of perception on social media is that the focus is shifting toward the merits of the film. With the direct OTT release, there are no fan wars or discussions on how much it earned. It brings back the nostalgia of old times when films were meant to be consumed just to experience varied emotions without being bothered about how much they earned.