The Reliance Group CEO is now back home after spending 10 days in Kokilaben Ambani Hospital.

 

As coronavirus cases continue to mount, there is some good news. Reliance Entertainment Group CEO, Shibasish Sarkar, who had tested positive towards the end of May, has now been discharged from Kokilaben Ambani Hospital, Mumbai.

This platform was the first one to break the news that Sarkar, producer of Sooryavanshi and ’83, had tested positive for the virus. He was in the ICU, from where the hospital had confirmed with me on the morning of May 31. “We were informed beforehand that Shibasish Sarkar was being admitted. He was admitted around 9 pm, last night,” they had said then.

I had last spoken to Sarkar on March 11, in the capacity of Editor at SpotboyE.com, when the buzz about Sooryavanshi and ’83 being pushed due to COVID-19 was gaining ground.  

Sarkar had recently been interviewed by koimoi.com about movies going to OTT in the wake of COVID-19. According to the website, Sarkar had said that both the parties had a justified reason. “However, now they have to look at each other’s point of view with empathy. From a producer’s perspective, he/she has already invested money in the film, is running cost of interest and has no clarity when the theatres will open, but at the same time they also have a running cost of employee’s salary and office maintenance. And we must remember that every producer has a certain level of oxygen to breathe, right? So if a producer decides to take his film to an OTT platform, he isn’t wrong,” he said. He added, “The exhibitors will be disappointed as they are also bleeding and are in the hope that once the lockdown lifts, they will have some good content to screen in their theatres. In between if some good films go online then it’s definitely disappointing for them, which is completely understandable.”

Shibasish, it is great that you are back to being hale and hearty. Take utmost care in the days to come.