India's Bold Voices Silenced in Theaters? 45+ Filmmakers Call for Change- Demand Fair Screens Now!

Mumbai – Over 45 prominent Indian independent filmmakers have united to decry the "shrinking space" for indie cinema in the country, spotlighting the limited theatrical releases of critically acclaimed works like Kanu Behl's Agra.

The joint statement, released on social media and amplified by major outlets, accuses multiplex chains and OTT platforms of perpetuating an "unsustainable" ecosystem that sidelines small and mid-budget films, threatening the very survival of diverse storytelling in India.

The statement emerges against the backdrop of Agra's troubled domestic rollout earlier this month. Despite garnering international acclaim, including awards at festivals like Venice and Rotterdam and generating significant buzz among cinephiles, the film has been relegated to sparse morning or weekday slots in multiplexes, with reports of abrupt cancellations in key cities like Mumbai and Delhi.

Behl, one of the statement's key signatories, shared the missive on X (formerly Twitter), framing it as a "time to speak up" moment for the community. This isn't an isolated incident; it underscores a decade-long struggle where Indian indie films, celebrated globally at Cannes, Sundance, and Berlin for their "honesty, courage, and craft," remain largely invisible to domestic audiences.

At the heart of the filmmakers' grievances is a web of entrenched barriers that stifle indie visibility. Small and mid-budget films across languages routinely endure severely limited screenings, often confined to inconvenient morning-only or weekday-only time slots that deter working audiences; sudden, unexplained cancellations that erode momentum; a glaring lack of transparency in how multiplex chains allocate screens, leaving decisions opaque and unaccountable; and an overt prioritization of big-budget commercial releases, which dominate prime evening and weekend slots regardless of merit or demand.

Compounding this, OTT platforms once viewed as a liberating alternative, now increasingly condition acquisitions on strong theatrical box-office performance, trapping indie projects in a vicious closed-loop: they must "prove" viability in theaters they're denied fair access to, further marginalizing voices from regional and underrepresented communities. These issues, corroborated by reports from outlets like Hindustan Times and Deccan Herald, have led to a 30-50% drop in indie theatrical releases over the past five years, per industry trackers, effectively eliminating pathways for emerging talents and eroding India's cultural diversity on screen.

The filmmakers, including luminaries like Payal Kapadia (All We Imagine as Light), Rima Das (Village Rockstars), Nandita Das, Shonali Bose, and Chaitanya Tamhane (Court), propose five concrete reforms to exhibitors, streaming giants, and policymakers.

These include guaranteeing at least one post-6 PM slot for every qualifying indie release; mandating public disclosure of screen allocation criteria; institutionalizing monthly or quarterly "indie showcase cycles" in theaters; forging public-private partnerships with cultural centers for a national alternative screening circuit; and decoupling OTT acquisitions from theatrical metrics to create parity for non-mainstream works. "We are not demanding exceptional treatment," the statement asserts. "We are demanding fair access, the right for Indian audiences to discover Indian films."

Signed by a cross-regional coalition spanning Hindi, regional, and documentary filmmakers, among them Alankrita Shrivastava, Vasan Bala, Shaunak Sen (All That Breathes), and Gurvinder Singh, the declaration emphasizes collaboration over confrontation.

"India's independent films have shaped the way the world sees us," it concludes. "It is time for us to shape a system where our own audiences can see us too." As the statement gains traction online, with thousands of shares and endorsements from industry figures, it signals a potential turning point. Will multiplex operators and platforms respond, or will the indie flame flicker out?