With the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and theatres remaining closed for an indefinite period, the direct-to-digital release has proved to be the new avenue for filmmakers and producers. Amitabh Bachchan – Ayushmann Khurana starrer ‘Gulabo Sitabo’ was the first major film to ditch the box office and release directly on OTT platform. Many have followed suit since then with the latest being the announcement of the release of seven big star movies – Laxmmi Bomb, Bhuj : The Pride of India, Sadak2 : The Road to Love, Dil Bechara, The Big Bull, Khuda Haafiz, Lootcase – all on Disney+Hotstar.
This trend has now been picked up by T-Series owner Bhushan Kumar who has decided to release his three mid budget movies on Netflix. The films locked for Netflix premieres are— ‘Ludo’, ‘Jhund‘, and ‘Indoo Ki Jawani’ which are all completed and were scheduled to release in the first half of this year.
Ludo –
Anurag Basu’s ‘Ludo’ is a dark comic anthology where the story centres on unavoidable jeopardies of life and has four different stories set in a quintessential Indian metro. Ludo stars an ensemble cast comprising of Abhishek Bachchan, Rajkummar Rao, Aditya Roy Kapur, Fatima Sana Saikh, Sanya Malhotra and Pankaj Tripathi among others. This action-comedy film has a lot of drama and emotions with interesting stories at its core similar to Basu’s hit 2007 slice-of-life film Life In A… Metro. The film’s music is given by Pritam.
Indoo ki Jawani –
Kiara Advani and Aditya Seal starrer ‘Indoo Ki Jawani’ is a coming-of-age drama revolving around a feisty girl from Ghaziabad whose left swipes and right swipes with a dating app results in hilarious chaos. This film marks the hindi directorial debut of Bengali writer-director Abir Sengupta. ‘Indoo ki jawani’ has been produced by Nikkhil Advani, Niranjan Iyenger and Ryan Stephen.
Jhund –
Amitabh Bachchan starrer ‘Jhund’ is the bollywood debut of the Sairat fame Marathi filmmaker Nagraj Manjule. This sports drama is set against the backdrop of a slum. Amitabh Bachchan plays the role of Vijay Barse who managed to rehabilitate street kids by diverting their attention from drugs and crime with the help of football. The film also stars Sairat leads Akash Thosar and Rinku Rajguru in pivotal roles.
T-Series is apparently also in talks for its other anticipated movies like –
John Abraham and Emraan Hashmi’s ‘Mumbai Saga’
Parineeti Chopra’s Saina Nehwal biopic
Joint production venture ‘Tuesday & Friday’
‘Ezra’ remake
But the deals on these hasn’t worked out so far. According to people familiar with the development, the makers are waiting to finish these film’s remaining part of the shoot before deciding whether they should opt for OTT premiere or take the traditional theatrical route.
Other than T-series’ movies several other movies are in talks for direct OTT release. Some of these are –
Mimi –
Mimi, apparently to be released on Zee5, is based on Marathi film ‘Mala Aai Vhaaychay’ which won the National Award for Best Feature Film in Marathi in 2011. Kriti Sanon is all set to play a surrogate mother in this upcoming film of hers. The film deals with the subject of rising surrogacy practices in India. Luka Chuppi filmmaker Laxman Utekarthe has directed it which also stars Pankaj Tripathi and Sai Tamhankar. The film is produced by Dinesh Vijan’s Maddock Films in association with Jio Studios.
Khali Peeli –
Directed by Maqbool Khan, the Mumbai-set movie promises a young, edgy roller-coaster ride that kick-starts one night, when a boy meets a girl. The film features Ishaan Khatter and Ananya Panday in main roles, with Jaideep Ahlawat as antagonist. The film has been produced by Ali Abbas Zafar and Himanshu Mehra. The film has been acquired by Netflix, though the release date is yet to be announced.
Shershaah –
Recently, reports emerged that Sidharth Malhotra and Kiara Advani starrer Shershaah’s makers are negotiating a deal with Netflix for an OTT release. Shershaah, starring Sidharth Malhotra and Kiara Advani in the lead is based on Army martyr Vikram Batra’s life. The movie directed by Vishnu Vardhan will reportedly narrate the untold story of the Param Vir Chakra awardee. The Sidharth Malhotra and Kiara Advani starrer is produced by Hiroo Johar, Karan Johar, and Apoorva Mehta under Dharma Productions.
Roohi Afzana –
Roohi Afzana is a comedy horror film directed by Hardik Mehta and produced by Dinesh Vijan under the banner Maddock Films. It tells the story of a ghost who abducts brides on their honeymoons. The movie stars Rajkummar Rao, Janhvi Kapoor and Varun Sharma. After Gunjan Saxena – The Kargil Girl, Janhvi Kapoor’s Roohi Afzana is also in talks for OTT release.
Dolly Kitty Aur Woh Chamakte Sitare –
Another film to apparently have an OTT release is Bhoomi Padnekar and Konkana Sen Sharma starrer ‘Dolly Kitty Aur Woh Chamakte Sitare’. Both Netflix and Amazon Prime Video are in contention. The upcoming film stars both actress as siblings and deals with a slew of social taboos.
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