“Filmmakers keep making films for the big screen. Long live independent film.”

Sean Baker’s impassioned, post-Oscar win speech for “Anora” was a rallying cry to make the theater-going experience for independent films as accessible as it is for studio blockbusters such as “Oppenheimer” or “Avengers.” His plea, however, has no takers in India — even after a historic win.

Now that “Anora” has won Best Picture, cinephiles in India would naturally expect the movie to (finally) hit theatres, leveraging the post-Oscars surge. However, an eager audience will have to settle for watching the film on a streaming platform (JioHotstar) on March 17 instead. “Anora” was originally scheduled for a theatrical release in India on November 8, 2024, but it quietly disappeared from ticket booking websites and promotional tweets were deleted without explanation. Post Oscar-win, pvrcinemas_official (the largest film exhibitor in India) posted Sean Baker’s speech on Instagram with the caption “The...