Alia Bhatt, Akshay Kumar, Ajay Devgn, and Amitabh Bachchan are among those involved.
Four of the seven films part of Disney+ Hotstar Multiplex
Photo Credit: Disney/Hotstar
Disney+ Hotstar has unveiled a slate of seven Bollywood movies — as part of “Disney+ Hotstar Multiplex”, including the previously-announced Sushant Singh Rajput-starrer Dil Bechara — that will release between July and October on the streaming service. The six new ones include the Akshay Kumar-starrer horror comedy Laxmmi Bomb, the Alia Bhatt-starrer drama Sadak 2, Ajay Devgn's war drama Bhuj: The Pride of India, the Abhishek Bachchan-starrer biopic The Big Bull, the Kunal Khemu, Rasika Dugal-starrer comedy-drama Lootcase, and the Vidyut Jammwal-starrer romantic thriller Khuda Haafiz.
All seven films — Dil Bechara, Laxmmi Bomb, Sadak 2, Bhuj: The Pride of India, The Big Bull, Lootcase, and Khuda Haafiz — were originally slated to première in theatres. But with the ongoing coronavirus pandemic keeping cinema halls shut across India, they will now skip theatres entirely and release directly on streaming. While Dil Bechara will be available to everyone for free, the other six movies will be limited to subscribers of Disney+ Hotstar VIP, which costs Rs. 399 a year. A Disney+ Hotstar Premium subscription covers all 'VIP' benefits.
Akshay Kumar and Kiara Advani (Guilty) lead the cast of this remake of the Tamil-language horror comedy Muni 2: Kanchana, starring, written, directed, and produced by Raghava Lawrence. Lawrence is also the director and screenwriter — alongside dialogue writer Farhad Samji (Baaghi 3) — on Laxmmi Bomb, which has been partly shot in Dubai, UAE.
Laxmmi Bomb is a production of Cape of Good Films, Tusshar Entertainment House, Shabinaa Entertainment, and Disney-owned Fox Star Studios. Kumar and Tusshar Kapoor are the producers.
Mahesh Bhatt returns to the director's seat two decades later for a sequel to the 1991 romantic thriller original, his highest-grossing movie of all time. Returning cast members Sanjay Dutt and Pooja Bhatt are joined by the likes of Alia Bhatt, Aditya Roy Kapur (Aashiqui 2), Jisshu Sengupta (Barfi!), Gulshan Grover (I Am Kalam), and Makarand Deshpande (The Verdict: State vs Nanavati). Centred on Shreya's (Alia) attempts to expose a godman (Deshpande) running an ashram.
Sadak 2 is a production of Bhatt-owned Vishesh Films and Fox Star Studios. Mukesh Bhatt is the producer, as he was on the original. It was filmed in Ooty, Mumbai, Mysore, and Uttarakhand.
Starring Ajay Devgn, Sanjay Dutt, Sonakshi Sinha (Dabangg), and Nora Fatehi (Street Dancer 3D), the real-life story of 300 women who helped Indian Air Force Squadron Leader Vijay Karnik (Devgn) rebuild a destroyed airstrip during the 1971 Indo-Pak War. TV director Abhishek Dudhaiya makes his feature film debut as a writer and director.
Bhuj: The Pride of India is a production of T-Series and Ajay Devgn FFilms. Bhushan Kumar and Devgn are among the producers. It was filmed in Hyderabad, Kutch, Bhopal, Indore, Lucknow, Mumbai, and Kolkata.
Abhishek Bachchan plays Harshad Mehta, the stockbroker involved in the 1992 securities scam that led to major financial reforms, in this biopic that charts his rise during the eighties. Nikita Dutta (Ek Duje Ke Vaaste), Ileana D'Cruz (Barfi!), Sumit Vats (Hitler Didi), Ram Kapoor (Kasamh Se), Sohum Shah (Tumbbad), and Lekha Prajapati (iSmart Shankar). Kookie Gulati (Prince, Abhay) directs, and writes alongside debutant Arjun Dhawan.
The Big Bull is a production of Ajay Devgn Films and Panorama Studios. Devgn, Kumar Mangat Pathak, Anand Pandit, and Vikrant Sharma are the producers.
Kunal Khemu (Malang) and Rasika Dugal (Out of Love) lead the cast of this comedy-drama that revolves around a red suitcase full of cash. As a trailer from last September revealed, Nandan (Khemu), struggling financially, accidentally runs into said suitcase, which is also being hunted for by the likes of Vijay Raaz (Gully Boy), Ranvir Shorey (Sonchiriya), and Gajraj Rao (Badhaai Ho).
Lootcase is a production of Fox Star Studios and Soda Films.
Vidyut Jammwal (Commando), Shivaleeka Oberoi (Yeh Saali Aashiqui), Annu Kapoor (Vicky Donor), Shiv Panditt (Shaitan), and Aahana Kumra (Lipstick Under My Burkha) reportedly star in this romantic action thriller — Bollywood loves a cross-genre entry — that was shot in parts of Uzbekistan. We don't know anything about the film. Faruk Kabir (Allah Ke Banday, 377 AbNormal) directs and writes.
Khuda Haafiz is a production of Panorama Studios. Kumar Mangat Pathak and Abhishek Pathak are the producers.
Can Netflix force Bollywood to reinvent itself? We discussed this on Orbital, our weekly technology podcast, which you can subscribe to via Apple Podcasts or RSS. You can also download the episode or just hit the play button below.
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