On Saturday, April 11, Bollywood Hungama reported that, following directives from the Ministry of Defence, China won’t be named within the Salman Khan-starrer Maatrubhumi. The news went viral very quickly and have become not only a trending Bollywood topic but additionally national news. Meanwhile, murmurs began circulating that the film may not be released in cinemas and that the makers were considering bringing it on to an OTT platform. Bollywood Hungama has now learned that there is no such thing as a truth to this chatter.
EXCLUSIVE: No direct-to-OTT release for Maatrubhumi; Salman Khan determined to bring his film to cinemas
A source told Bollywood Hungama, “Salman continues to be a mega star and he has mounted Maatrubhumi on a grand scale. It’s a movie for the large screen and hence, he and director Apoorva Lakhia are committed to releasing the film theatrically once the problems surrounding the film are resolved.”
An industry insider commented, “There’s a general misconception amongst certain people who there’s no censorship on OTT. Hence, they feel that if Salman Khan opts to skip a theatrical release, he’ll give you the chance to drop the film on OTT with none problem. Nonetheless, that’s not how it really works. Every film that releases directly on streaming platforms also goes through the certification process, just like every theatrical film. So, even for a direct-to-OTT premiere, the federal government must clear the film before it may well be presented to the general public.”
On April 11, Bollywood Hungama quoted a source who said, “Earlier, the film was inspired by an actual event. But as per the request of the Ministry of Defence, Salman Khan and director Apoorva Lakhia reshot the film by adding a fictional spin to the story. Accordingly, he reshot nearly 40% of the film as he added some romantic scenes, backstory, etc. The makers submitted the brand new cut, hoping that they’d get the NOC. However the Ministry still has apprehensions.”
The source added, “One among the requests to Salman Khan is that China shouldn’t be mentioned within the film. This was communicated to the makers upfront. The cut of Maatrubhumi, which was submitted earlier this month, has no mention of China.” The source further said that only those within the core team of Maatrubhumi are aware as to how the neighbouring country has been depicted or mentioned without naming it.
Also Read: Why has Salman Khan’s Maatrubhumi not locked its release date yet? Here’s what we all know!
More Pages: Maatrubhumi Box Office Collection
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