Netflix dropped a bombshell this morning when it announced that Dharma Productions’ Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl will premiere on its platform. This makes it the next big ticket Bollywood movie after Gulabo Sitabo and Shakuntala Devi to skip theatres and opt for a Direct To Digital release.
Karan Johar had earlier refuted talks of his opting for a Direct To Digital release for Gunjan Saxena by exhorting readers to not indulge in idle speculation and wait for an official announcement. The announcement, when it has come, is not much of a surprise for us at Binged.com. We had made the revelation in late April – early May itself, of Gunjan Saxena arriving on digital instead of theatres.
Gunjan Saxena The Kargil Girl is a biopic on Gunjan Saxena, the first female Indian Air Force pilot to venture her aircraft into a live combat zone. She partnered another female Indian Air Force Pilot Srividya Rajan, who shares the record with her, to carry out dare devil rescues of Indian soldiers during the Kargil War.
Gunjan Saxena was later conferred the Shaurya Vir Award for her exemplary bravery and dog-headed relentlessness in carrying out the courageous rescue operations.
Considering the scope of the storyline and the nature of the narrative, Gunjan Saxena The Kargil Girl merits a big screen release, and deserves to be enjoyed in theatres. But the theatres shutdown in the unusually demoralising Covid-19 circumstances have compelled producers Dharma Productions and Zee Studios to opt for the difficult decision.
The film is directed by Sharan Sharma and stars Janhvi Kapoor, Pankaj Tripathi, Angad Bedi, Neena Gupta, Vineet Kumar and Vijay Verma in crucial roles.
In late April and early May, Amazon Prime Video had created a sensation when it announced the release of seven much-awaited movies directly on its platform, bypassing theatrical release. Gulabo Sitabo, Shakuntala Devi, Ponmagal Vandhal, Penguin, French Biryani, Sufiyum Sujatayum and Law are the seven movies.
There’s also strong buzz that Akshay Kumar starrer Laxmmi Bomb has been picked up by Disney Plus Hotstar for a Direct To Digital premiere.
There are a host of other movies that are likely to end up for direct to digital releases on digital platforms, including Ishaan Khatter – Ananya Pandey starrer Khaali Peeli, Siddharth Malhotra’s Shershaah, Kiara Advani’s Indoo Ki Jawaani, Abhishek Bachchan’s Ludo, Amitabh Bachchan’s Jhund, among a long list.
Netflix hasn’t announced any release date for Gunjan Saxena yet. Watch this space at Binged.com for further updates on the trailer and release date of the movie.
"Plane ladka udaye ya ladki, usse pilot hi kehte hain"- Gunjan Saxena – The Kargil Girl, arriving soon. #GunjanSaxenaOnNetflix#JanhviKapoor @DharmaMovies @ZeeStudios_ @karanjohar @apoorvamehta18 @TripathiiPankaj @Imangadbedi @ItsViineetKumar #ManavVij #SharanSharma pic.twitter.com/3blmvho4rG
— Netflix India (@NetflixIndia) June 9, 2020
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