Disney’s big-ticket super-hero film Mulan about a teenaged Chinese female warrior, is facing a virtual boycott in many parts of the world. Its young leading lady Liu Yifei went on record to show her support for the Hong Kong police which has been cracking down brutally on protesters.
And now after a call for a boycott, will the film get a theatrical release in India when movie theatres re-open?
A source in the know says it is a difficult situation in more ways than one. “Firstly, because of the pandemic Mulan opened the world over on both the OTT platform and in theatres. In India Mulan is not available on OTT as Disney-Hotstar wanted to preserve the film’s novelty and excitement for theatres. But now, that seems like a foolhardy decision. Because theatres show no sign of re-opening. And even if they do, WHEN they do open, these worldwide protests against the lead actress could prove the final undoing of Mulan.”
Here is some unsolicited advice for Disney-Hotstar: put Mulan on the digital platform immediately, because fans are in any case downloading the film from other countries and watching it. Waiting for theatres to re-open in India could be an arduous and time-consuming exercize.