I’ve personally met people who discovered the raw, gritty brilliance of Mukkabaaz (Hindi, but the logic applies) or Nude via a pirated copy, then went to the theater for the director's next film. In the Marathi industry, word-of-mouth is everything. A 720p file that gets shared on a family WhatsApp group (yes, Uncle Ajay loves sending movie links) creates a cultural moment that the official channels failed to create.
Treat the Marathi audience like first-class citizens. Release films day-and-date on OTT. Price the digital rental at the cost of a vada pav . Stop geo-blocking content for the diaspora in the US and UK. marathi movie 720p