Social media is replete with speculations surrounding the straight-to-streaming release of Sivakathikeyan's Doctor. Sources close to the Nelson Dilipkumar directorial are claiming that the film will be premiering on Disney+ Hotstar. 

Reacting to the news, fans of Sivakarthikeyan took to Twitter, requesting makers to release the film in theatres as initially planned, and also trended the hashtag, #DoctorOnlyInTheatres, for the same. However, the makers of the film are yet to officially confirm whether the film will take the OTT route or will be a theatrical release. Doctor was initially scheduled to hit the screens in March this year but was postponed due to the resurgence of the pandemic.

In May, the producer Kotapadi J Rajesh issued a statement related to the film's release. "As a producer, I'm bearing all the financial and material constraints caused by Covid-19 with a fully-ready film in hand. I'm doing everything within my power to get the film the right release." read the statement. He added that it wasn't the right time to talk about a celebration like Doctor. The film has also completed its censor formalities and was awarded a U/A certificate in May.

The film, which marks the debut of Priyanka Arul Mohan in Tamil cinema, also features Vinay and Yogi Babu in prominent roles, and has a soundtrack by Anirudh Ravichander. Doctor is a co-production between KJR Studios and Sivakarthikeyan Productions. Meanwhile, Sivakarthikeyan also has the long-awaited Ayalaan and Don in his pipeline, while Nelson is currently working on Beast, starring Vijay and Pooja Hegde.