Pooja Hegde: Watching films in a theatre today is a privilege

Actor Pooja Hegde is happy that amid a scenario where everything was uncertain due to Covid and people had barely started expressing interest in going to theatres, her film managed a theatrical release. Most Eligible Bachelor, starring her opposite Akhil Akkineni managed to collect a decent amount at the box office as well.

She says it was their “first win” . “Having said that, it’s the producers’ baby, it’s his money. Kudos to the producers for having faith. They had their own streaming platform, it is just so easy to give in and release the film on OTT. But they had faith in the film. Releasing a film in theatres today is very different. It’s great that they held on to it. It brought back people to watch a film in theatres,” feels the 31-year-old.

Does she feel that releasing a film theatrically has become almost like a privilege, which not everyone can opt for considering the uncertainty? She doesn’t agree. Explaining why, she continues, “ I don’t know if it is that. I feel it is an option. You need to know what will bring people to theatres. If you feel taking an OTT deal is better, that’s your call. As artists, we have different things that make us happy. We have different goals as compared to the producers. I feel OTT’s reach is great, but there are some films you need to watch on the big screen, it’s just the energy in the room.”

Movie watching is like a proper outing, which Hegde feels makes it so much bigger than watching something at home. “ You watch the film and just immerse yourself into that world, and laugh a little, forgetting everything. That’s something the theatre can do. I don’t know if it’s a privilege, but I do feel watching films there is a privilege,” says the actor.

Hegde is currently on a professional high, with films such as Cirkus with Ranveer Singh, Radhe Shyam with Prabhas, Bhaijaan with Salman Khan and more lined up. She feels good about the current phase. “The industry has led me to the right place, I selected the right scripts. I never really thought the film was going to do that well. Somewhere, it all paid off,” she ends.