In the latest news to generate massive buzz in the OTT space, Abbas Mastan’s OTT debut film ‘Penthouse’ is on the verge of being acquired by fast-rising streaming platform, Jio Cinema. The suspense and murder mystery thriller promises to be yet another notable feather in Abbas Mastan’s films repertoire, brimming with the duo’s trademark penchant for twists and turns.
For those who don’t know, Penthouse was initially commissioned by streamer Netflix, for streaming on its platform. Netflix had made a considerable splash back in 2021, when it first announced ‘Penthouse’, the maiden OTT film for talented filmmakers Abbas – Mastan. Unfortunately, merely a year after the announcement came the disappointing news that Netflix had washed its hands off ‘Penthouse’, in a bid to consolidate its India slate.
Since then, the fate of Penthouse had been left hanging in obscurity; until now. As per reports in the media, deep-pocketed streaming platform Jio Cinema is interested in acquiring Penthouse for streaming on its platform. The compelling cast and crew of Penthouse is no doubt the primary driving factor for Jio Cinema’s interest in the film.
Penthouse stars Sharman Joshi, Bobby Deol, Arjun Rampal, Mouni Roy, Waluscha De Sousa and Manjari Fadnis as primary leads, along with Tisca Chopra and Cyrus Broacha in supporting roles. A remake of Hollywood movie ‘Loft’, Penthouse is a psychological thriller, with a murder and a dead body at the centre of the story.
Three business partners cum friends share a rented penthouse, which they use to conduct illicit affairs with their mistresses. Matters sour between them when the dead body of a woman is found at the penthouse, a place only the friends have access to. The film is a dark thriller as much about deceit and betrayal of trust as it is about the dead body.
Interestingly, if Jio Cinema does acquire Penthouse, it will be a major gain for the streamer. Ever since it made a flashy launch in May, Jio Cinema has been releasing dud after dud on its platform. Not a single original movie on Jio Cinema has made any kind of impression; not even the much-hyped Bloody Daddy. The situation is such that barely any viewers even register, let alone tune in to Jio Cinema to watch the mediocre movies it keeps premiering.
At such a time, Penthouse might prove to be just the thing for the opportunistic streaming platform. Based on Abbas Mustan’s reputation for making movies loaded with twists and turns, we can safely assume that the film will be a thrill-a-minute crime drama, a la the director brothers’ thrilling Race franchise.
Film enthusiasts have been waiting for Penthouse since long. And if Jio Cinema gets hold of Penthouse, it’ll finally make film-lovers sit up and take notice of the largely mediocre streaming platform.
Netflix’s loss might just prove to be Jio Cinema’s gain – a much-needed one too.
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