Fahadh Faasil, the National Award-winning actor who predominantly works in the Malayalam film industry, on Wednesday released a statement on his social media page about the decision to opt for a direct-to-OTT release for his upcoming film Malik.
“With a heavy heart, the director, the producer, all the technicians, and the rest of us have opted for an OTT release for our very ambitious project, Malik. Unlike my recent OTT releases, which were planned for home viewing right from the beginning, Malik was designed for a theatrical experience and it was the only film I had ready when theatres would open to 100%,” the actor wrote.
Fahadh’s films like C U Soon, Irul and Joji released on OTT platforms during the lockdown.
On June 8, Malik’s producer Anto Joseph wrote to the Kerala Film Exhibitors Federation and the Film Exhibitors United Organisation of Kerala stating that he is trying to get a direct-to-OTT release for Malik and another film, Prithviraj Sukumaran-starrer Cold Case. In the letter, Joseph said that he was initially planning to release Malik alongside Marakkar: Arabikadalinte Simham on May 13, when the government permitted theatres to reopen. But since theatres have been shut down again due to the surge in Covid-19 cases, he was opting for an OTT release.
In his statement, Fahadh promised an “absolute fresh theatrical experience” when he next sees his audience in theatres.
The actor also opened up about his accident during the shoot of Malayankunju, the upcoming Malayalam survival thriller. “In my calendar, the lockdown started on March 2,” he wrote, referring to the day he met with the accident. “My doctors said it was ‘close’. As a defence mechanism, my hands touched the ground before my face, which in 80% of the cases, the victims fail to do. I was lucky I didn’t lose my presence of mind, my doctor added.”
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In his long note, Fahadh also spoke about his married life with Nazriya Nazim and reminisced about how they fell in love during the shoot of Banglore Days in 2014.
He concluded his statement saying, “This indeed is a difficult time for all of us. This too will soon end for a new beginning.”
Fahadh has a slew of other projects in the pipeline, including the Allu Arjun-starring Telugu film Pushpa and Kamal Haasan‘s Tamil film Vikram.