Lmk December 09 2018, 7.28 pm
OTT player Zee 5 is making slow but steady inroads in the Tamil web series and original content space. In a grand event held in Chennai on Friday evening, it was announced that long pending feature films - Sigai and Oru Pakka Kathai will be directly premiered on Zee 5 instead of the usual theatrical release.
Sigai is an experimental film featuring Pariyerum Perumal hero Kathir as a transgender prostitute while Oru Pakka Kathai is a film with a bold theme, directed by Balaji Tharaneetharan, who is waiting for the release of his 3rd film Seethakaathi on December 20th. Both these films created a good impact with their posters and other promotional content but somehow couldn’t secure a theatrical release till now. If this direct web release strategy works out well, it will be a boon for many talented, frustrated filmmakers who are similarly struggling to get their films to theaters.
At this event, popular director Venkat Prabhu was one of the attendees. He spoke about how the situation was really grim in Tamil cinema currently with multiple noteworthy films planning their theatrical release in the upcoming pre-Christmas weekend. He said that OTT players like Zee 5 are a relief for filmmakers in these tough times for traditional movie distribution through theatres.
