HTLS 2020: Nick Jonas & Priyanka Chopra Weigh In On The OTT Vs. Cinemas Debate, Actress Says, 'It Doesn’t Have To Be A Choice'

Priyanka Chopra and Nick Jonas grace the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit 2020 for their first-ever interview as a couple to any Indian media publication and made some interesting conversation about their individual careers, the pandemic and life after marriage. Talking to Sonal Kalra, National Editor for Entertainment at Hindustan Times, Priyanka and Nick weighed in on the ongoing debate of streaming services versus cinemas and remarked about how there is a place for both since the two mediums vary in experience.

Commenting on the streaming services replacing cinemas during the ongoing pandemic Nick Jonas says, “We are in particularly odd times when it comes to going to the cinemas so the streaming platforms have provided a really great alternative for that experience with the bigger scale movies and TV programs and the smaller stuff.”

He adds that it necessarily doesn’t mean that the cinema experience has been replaced. “There’s certainly room for both I think when life gets back to a version of normal the experience of going to a movie theatre, have popcorn, a drink and watching a great film is so unique and such a special thing with the whole experience. That can be created at home too if you like but when life gets back to normal I’m excited to go back to the movies and she knows I am a sucker for popcorn and the theatre so I’ll be looking forward to that,” the American singer said.

Priyanka Chopra, on the other hand, remarks that the streaming services are a necessary part of the evolution of entertainment and that they are here to stay. She tells, “I think that we have talked so much about going to a movie in a theatre and getting that tub of popcorn but I do think that streaming services are not going anywhere. It is a hugely essential part of the evolution of entertainment.”

Commenting on how in India the audience usually deems streaming services as secondary to cinemas the Bollywood star added, “I disagree with that. I think there’s of course a romance and charm to having a theatrical release but I think that there’s an absolute necessity in having streaming services. I mean we have been to places in India where people have cell phones and service but don’t have TV and light so these people are consuming their entertainment on their phones and that’s going to be a streaming service. I think it’s going to be smart to actually get ahead of it and understand that this is a part of the evolution of cinema and that we should be on the right side of it. I definitely am.”

The actress added that streaming platforms are empowering to producers who can create any kind of content and be assured that it will find viewership via streaming services. Personally, she feels that the direct to home platforms are amazing and loves how content is curated to her choice.

That said, Priyanka states that both platforms are necessarily not in competition, “We can have both, I mean it doesn’t have to be a choice. When you want to go out for a movie and you want to watch the Simmba and the Avengers of the world, you’ll go out to the movie theatre and do the popcorn experience. Sometimes you just want to sit at home and watch a Dash and Lily or a really fun movie and that’s nice under your blanket with microwave popcorn too. So we don’t have to choose,” she concluded.