My film's highlight is its distribution plan, says Andaman (2021) director Smita Singh

Smita Singh’s directorial debut film Andaman (2021), starring Anand Raaj and featuring veterans Sanjay Mishra and Rajesh Tailang in important cameos, has been receiving positive response from viewers since its release on a small pay-per-view platform called OpenTheatre.

According to the director, the film, made on a shoestring budget and offering a strong social commentary on the COVID-19 pandemic and the country's flawed bureaucratic system, has been able to make a good recovery through its unique distribution plan and with the support of viewers "as profit partners".

The film is available on a pay-per-view basis on the unsung OTT platform for a paltry Rs45. But the real driver is the 'partnership' angle where a viewer who likes the film can recommend it online to friends and get a commission in the form of a PayTM cashback of Rs15 each time one of those friends buys the film.

“Usually, debutant filmmakers are told not to expect recovery from their first film, but we have been fortunate to achieve this," Smita Singh told Cinestaan.com. "The highlight of my film is its unique distribution plan and I am very surprised that my recovery has been satisfactory.”

The filmmaker has been getting a good response from audiences and many viewers have used the distribution plan to become profit partners. “I never dreamt that this plan would create this impact," she said. "It feels good to see how many people are running this hashtag of 'we are the hero of the film'.

"Even UPSC [Union Public Service Commission, the agency that selects the country's top layer of administrative officers] aspirants are loving this film and showing their love and support," Smita added. "They are our real heroes, I feel.”

In the film, Anand Raaj plays Abhimanyu, an aspirant for the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), who gets appointed as panchayat secretary of village Bhulanpur, known locally as Andaman on account of its inaccessibility, and changes its fate, fighting corruption and stagnation with his strict values, conviction and leadership qualities.

“I am receiving great response from many filmmakers in the industry that we have done a great job,” Smita continued. “If we had got good financial support, this would have taken our film to another level. I never imagined that my first project would be this good.”

Produced by 8 Pillar Motion Pictures and written by Anand Raaj, the film is currently being streamed on OpenTheatre.