Sadak 2 the sequel of 1991 film of the same name starring Sanjay Dutt and Pooja Bhatt in lead roles and directed by Mahesh Bhatt was one of the most anticipated films of the year. But the global pandemic has thrown the entertainment industry into a fix especially about movie releases. Many films are looking to move to a digital release on OTT platforms and according to Sadak 2’s producer Mukesh Bhatt (Mahesh Bhatt’s brother), they will also have to do the same. The sequel stars Alia Bhatt, Aditya Roy Kapur, Pooja Bhatt, and Sanjay Dutt.
Mukesh confirmed to PTI that the film is going for an OTT release amidst the rising number of coronavirus cases in the country. The movie was originally slated for release on 10th July 2020. Uncertainty around theatres reopening still remains and hence the makers of the film had to resort to a digital release.
Talking about the tricky situation, Mukesh Bhatt said:
The number of Covid-19 cases are increasing day-by-day instead of subsiding. In this situation, do you think the theaters will open? And even if they do and Sadak 2 is released, will people go to watch it? People have to protect their families. Today, life is more important.
He further added that the sequel was an ambitious project for the big screen but they will have to go the digital way to survive. He added that there are certain things that you do because there’s no choice and this is the only option they have left. The producer said that they haven’t made the film to keep it under lock and key anyways and they want to bring it to the people. The producer also said that
With many films like Vidya Balan‘s Shakuntala Devi, Janhvi Kapoor‘s Gunjan Saxena – The Kargil War, Sushant Singh Rajput’s last film Dil Bechara all headed for a direct digital release, many theatres owners are not happy with filmmakers. But Mukesh Bhatt says, this phase of digital release is just temporary and people would still want to go out as a family to watch a movie for entertainment. While he didn’t mention which platform the film might be releasing on, reports across the internet suggest that it might release on Disney+Hotstar.
Most recently, Shoojit Sircar‘s Gulabo Sitabo starring Ayushmann Khurrana and Amitabh Bachchan was the most recent hugely anticipated film to release online.