Open Theatre founder Anand Raaj: 'We’re targeting five lakh viewers before the film is even made'

Last year, filmmaker Anand Raaj launched Open Theatre, an audience-driven OTT platform that houses indie films. He says the platform was born out of the frustration he felt at indie movies constantly being sidelined by streaming giants and distributors. “We’re building a community-driven platform, where the audience isn’t just watching the film, but also contributing through backing and crowdfunding,” says Raaj, who tried the experiment with the platform’s first original, Andaman, last year.

Encouraged by the response, Raaj and Smita Singh, the platform’s director, are now setting the stage for their second film, Arjun Bewakoof, starring Sanjay Mishra.  
Their business strategy is simple — through social media, they spread the word about the film in development, and invite investments from the audience. When the film is made and eventually released on Open Theatre, the profits generated by its pay-per-view system are directed to the investors. Raaj adds, “With Andaman, we had sold more than 50,000 tickets in two months, and we made the audience profit partners.”