Open Theatre: A Platform For Independent Films To Shine

Open Theatre was established by the creators of the Sanjay Mishra-starrer Andaman after they noticed limited opportunities for independent films in a market dominated by big-name stars. To ensure their meaningful film reached viewers, they launched Open Theatre, a platform that runs on a referral system. This initiative has been successful, selling over 35,000 tickets without any promotional campaigns.

Since its launch, Open Theatre has featured a variety of independent films, such as Mango Dreams starring Pankaj Tripathi, Rajat Kapoor’s directorial venture Kadakh, Sanjay Mishra’s Andaman, and Tanuja Chandra’s critically acclaimed documentary Aunty Sudha Aunty Radha. These films have garnered positive responses from audiences.

Co-founder Smita Singh remarked, “When I directed Andaman in 2020, I pitched the film to numerous platforms and distributors, but none were interested because it didn’t fit their criteria or business model. With Sanjay Mishra and Rajesh Tailang only in cameo roles, they were looking for a big star in the lead. Faced with the choice of giving up or creating something of my own, I chose to launch Open Theatre. Our goal is to bridge the gap between talented filmmakers and enthusiastic audiences, providing a platform for stories that might otherwise go unheard.”

Co-founder Anand Raaj added, “As we were developing the platform, we questioned why anyone would support or watch our films. This led us to the idea of making audiences profit partners through our campaign, ‘Iss Film Ke Hero Aap.’ We credit our audience for the success of this model. Our aim is to at least recover the production costs of these independent films, making it a viable business model for producers. This approach will also provide more opportunities for filmmakers and artists.”

The platform continues to showcase captivating independent films that have faced challenges in finding other distribution channels. Upcoming releases include Uljhan starring Vikas Kumar and Saloni Batra, 10ml Love featuring Rajat Kapoor and Tisca Chopra, and Daayen Ya Baayen with Deepak Dobriyal, among others.