Abhay Deol's One by Two to release on Facebook (USA) today

Call it a step that no filmmaker has yet practiced or call it a bold step to counter piracy, Abhay Deol and his co-producer Viacom 18 Motion Pictures are set to release One by Two on Facebook today (31 January 2014). However, there’s a catch- only international audiences in USA will get to see the entire film while audiences in India will have to buy tickets to watch the film in theatres since access to the online version will be blocked in India. “One By Two will officially be the first film worldwide to premiere internationally on Facebook,” observed Abhay in a statement. The makers claim to have struck a deal with Facebook (USA) for this never-before-attempted move (not even Hollywood films have tried something like this before). Commented Rudrarup Dutta, spokesperson of Viacom 18, “Facebook will block all the IP addresses from India (geo-blocking) who will try to access the file. It will be available in countries where there is no theatrical release of the film.” Trade analysts here believe that the makers have rightfully taken such a step as they are very well aware that the film is unlikely to get a significant international release.