Time is a relative concept. A touch for a fraction of a second on a hot kettle seems infinite, while time spent with friends and family seems like a blink of an eye. It was claimed that Laal Singh Chaddha was made after extensive work for 14 years, but the movie fell flat at the box office within no time after its theatrical release. Controversial statements and track records of its star cast landed the film in the eye of the Boycott Trends storm, and failure was obvious from the start.
The debacle of Aamir Khan starrer Laal Singh Chaddha continues after its silent release on the OTT platform.
Boastful Aamir Khan eats a humble pie
It seems that the clock ticked fast for Laal Singh Chaddha. The movie, which was supposed to be released at least six months after its theatrical release, was released on Netflix without making huge PR noises. The movie was silently released on Netflix within just 8 weeks of its pathetic run at the box office.
Reportedly, Aamir Khan and his team spent 14 years making the Hindi adaptation of the acclaimed Hollywood movie “Forrest Gump”. It was made with a humongous budget of Rs. 180 crores. But it could only muster a domestic collection of Rs 59 crore.
Also Read: Laal Singh Chaddha’s flopped! Is this the final victory?
It failed to perform on the global circuits as well. Its lifetime worldwide collection is said to be around Rs 130 crore. It appears that the film’s production team was desperate to cover its losses and generate whatever revenue it could by selling the film’s OTT rights. This is why the team could not get a favour deal with OTT platforms and got a silent OTT release on Netflix.
Also Read: Netflix Cancels Aamir Khan
On the 5th of October, without much glare, Netflix announced that it has added Aamir Khan and Kareena Kapoor’s Laal Singh Chaddha to its viewing library.
Keep your p̶o̶p̶c̶o̶r̶n̶ golgappas ready because Laal Singh Chaddha is NOW STREAMING!😍🪶 pic.twitter.com/KTcDwiJAfA
— Netflix India (@NetflixIndia) October 5, 2022
Netflix India announced this on social media by sharing a poster. The caption read, “Keep your golgappas ready because Laal Singh Chaddha is NOW STREAMING.” Netizens highlighted this silent release on Netflix.
So, very silently Netflix started streaming Laal Singh Chaddha.
Beneath that silence is a broken ego—once a Bollywood megastar—now has to beg & bend, break his own 6 month rule, & settle with peanuts!
Reason why Netflix is in losses—it’s a dumping ground for anti-India lobby!
— Eray Mridula Cather 🇮🇳 (@ErayCr) October 6, 2022
laal singh chaddha already on netflix? damn
— и α υ z 🌸 (@nosyxnauz) October 7, 2022
Also Read: From Zero to Lal Singh Chaddha: How Disgruntled Hindus Demolished the Once Invincible Khan Stardom
I have Netflix still i wont watch Laal Singh Chaddha 🤣#BoycottbollywoodCompletely
— NonSickular 🇮🇳 (@Yeda456) October 7, 2022
Earlier, a confident Aamir Khan had said that the film would get an OTT release at least six months after its theatrical release. He opined that one of the major reasons for the continuous failure of Bollywood movies is the short time gap between theatrical release and OTT release.
He said, “One of the reasons, primarily, I think the curiosity of going to theatres has been reduced because films come on OTT right after they come in theatres; they come on OTT very fast. So I have always tried to keep a 6 month gap between my films. I don’t know what the industry follows, but I like to keep a 6 month gap. So that’s what I tried to do for all my films and, up till now, we have managed that. ”
A wise choice to avoid glare and further muddying the already troubled waters
It seems that realisation has kicked in for the LSC marketing team. The huge budget for PR of Brahmastra could not help the movie get success at the box office. The same was the fate of other agenda-driven movies. It seems that the LSC team followed a well-known strategy: don’t throw good money after bad money.
Read more: If LSC performs really well in China, probe agencies should investigate the numbers.
This is why it seems a wise decision for the LSC team to avoid further controversies and decrease its chances of covering up as much losses as possible. Otherwise, it is usually noted that films land on OTT with their full star cast doing additional rounds of PR for the movie. They run pillar to post, marketing the team and sending social media posters. But this silent release of Laal Singh Chaddha on Netflix is the stark opposite of that. Even the star cast, Aamir Khan or Kareena Kapoor, gave no mention of the movie’s release on Netflix.
Although the movie is a pathetic remake of the Hollywood classic Forrest Gump, even if it helps the movie team to cover up its losses, it will be a major learning curve for Bollywood. The lesson is that it should drop needless PR strategies and focus on concepts, as even if the content strikes chords with a few sections of the audience in theatres or OTT, it can help them earn their livelihood.
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