Ishaan Khatter starrer Pippa to skip theatres for a direct-to-OTT premiere

Back in 2021, producer Ronnie Screwvala announced two feature films – Tejas and Pippa set against the backdrop of the Indian Armed Forces. Little did he know that both films would prove to be loss-making ventures. While the Kangana Ranaut led Tejas has turned out to be a true-blue disaster, his second film, Pippa is taking a direct-to-digital route.

According to sources close to the development, the Ishaan Khatter-led Pippa will skip theatrical release as it has been sold to a leading digital player for an OTT premiere. “The stakeholders feel that it would make no sense to release Pippa on the big screen given the change in business dynamics. While the film has turned out to be a good project, the makers feel that the audiences are not stepping out to see non-event films on the big screen, And hence, the film is sold to a digital player,” a source told Bollywood Hungama.

The twist in the tale comes here. The film has been sold below its cost price to the OTT player. “Pippa has gone over budget in its making. It cost Rs. 75 crores and the idea ever since the shoot was wrapped up was to minimize the losses. The theatrical release would have resulted in big losses as the star-cast is not big. So the makers have sold the film to an OTT platform and booked limited losses on the project. This is the best-case scenario in terms of revenue for Pippa and that has happened because the content is good,” the source told us further.

Pippa is set against the backdrop of the 1971 India vs Pakistan War and will be released in 2024.

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