Mumbai, Oct. 7 -- There was a time when a film like Prem Keetanu would have had a fairly straightforward theatrical proposition. A young cast, college life, friendship, romance, comedy, music and a little heartbreak, the sort of Hindi film audiences could pick for a weekend outing without needing it to be an event. That audience hasn't necessarily disappeared. But the way it watches films has changed.

The rapid expansion of OTT platforms gave viewers an alternative to the theatre, especially for films that did not come with a superstar, franchise or spectacle-driven proposition. The pandemic accelerated that shift, making home viewing a habit and giving audiences the confidence to wait for a film to arrive on streaming rather than paying...