Filmmaker Vinod Kapri has alleged that more than 75% of the shows of his film Pyre were cut within days of the release of Ramayana, and the Vinod Kapri Pyre claim has opened a debate about screen space for small films. Kapri, a National Award-winning director, posted a video on X and Instagram on Saturday 7 November. He said Pyre had grown from about 80 shows to more than 400 on word of mouth, and then lost over 75% of its screenings in two days, falling to fewer than 100 shows.
The Vinod Kapri Pyre allegation is that theatre owners and distributors were told to screen only one film. Kapri said he was told by theatre owners and distributors that they had been told no other film would be screened. He did not name the film in his video, but his comments came around the release of Nitesh Tiwari’s Ramayana: Rise of Legend on 5 November, the large-scale release that has dominated screens since. Kapri shared screenshots to support his claim, including a screen recording from the BookMyShow app.
The numbers Kapri cited show a sharp fall. Pyre opened in India on 30 October with a limited release of about 80 shows, and good word of mouth took it past 400 shows within two to four days. Kapri said the count then dropped to under 100 shows over the next two days. In Delhi, he said the film’s daily shows fell from 66 to 16, and he posted screenshots from Bengaluru as well, where several shows looked nearly full. The Vinod Kapri Pyre claim rests on those figures and on what he says exhibitors told him.
Vinod Kapri Pyre and the shows that were cut
The Vinod Kapri Pyre appeal was direct. Kapri said, “We too deserve a fair chance; please don’t do this injustice.” He said the film had earned its wider release from viewers, not from a large marketing spend, and that the cuts came just as audiences were finding it. Pyre is set in the Kumaon region of Uttarakhand and follows an elderly couple waiting for their son, who left the village decades ago. Before its release in India, the film had travelled to international film festivals and earned recognition on the festival circuit.
The film at the centre of the row is one of the largest Indian productions ever made. Ramayana is being made in two parts with a reported combined budget of Rs 4,000 crore, or about 500 million dollars. The first part, Ramayana: Rise of Legend, opened in theatres worldwide on 5 November, days before Diwali. It is directed by Nitesh Tiwari and stars Ranbir Kapoor as Ram, Yash as Ravana and Sai Pallavi as Sita. Over its four-day opening, the film made a studio-reported 55.7 million dollars worldwide, a Diwali opening record for an Indian film, with 23.7 million dollars of that coming from outside India.
Vinod Kapri Pyre claim and the Ramayana release
The Vinod Kapri Pyre dispute is not new in kind, even if the numbers are stark. Small films in India have long struggled to hold screens when a large release arrives, and exhibitors tend to give the bigger film the most shows in the first weeks. What makes this case stand out is the scale of the fall Kapri describes, from more than 400 shows to fewer than 100, and his claim that exhibitors were told to play only one film. Neither the theatre chains nor the distributors have been quoted in the reports so far, and the claim remains Kapri’s account of what he was told.
Kapri’s video drew quick responses from other filmmakers and viewers, and the debate has spread beyond Pyre itself. The question it raises is whether a film that finds its audience through word of mouth should keep its screens when a tentpole release arrives, or whether the market alone should decide. For now, the Vinod Kapri Pyre shows remain far below their peak, and the director has said he will keep posting updates on the film’s screen count.
Vinod Kapri Pyre and what happens next
Pyre continues to play in the shows it still holds, and Kapri has asked viewers to support it where it is screening. The film’s festival run gave it a base of viewers before its India release, and the word of mouth that took it from 80 to 400 shows is the part of the story Kapri keeps returning to. The Vinod Kapri Pyre claim will be tested in the coming days by the film’s screen count, and by whether exhibitors restore shows as Ramayana moves into its second week.