Bollywood stars make a beeline for the web with new releases

With the lockdown in India bringing film shoots to a halt, upcoming assignments of several film stars will release on various digital platforms over the next months. While others who may never have worked on a digital medium are now open to the idea of appearing on the small screen. Here’s a sneak peek at the star-studded line-up you can view in the comfort of your own home...

Sushant Singh Rajput in ‘Dil Bechara: The late actor’s last film, ‘Dil Bechara’, will release digitally on July 24. The film is the official remake of the 2014 Hollywood romantic drama, ‘The Fault In Our Stars’, based on John Green’s popular novel of the same name. Budding actress Sanjana Sanghi stars opposite Rajput in the film. It will premiere on Disney+ Hotstar. We are hoping the UAE audience get to see the movie soon.

Alia Bhatt, Aditya Roy Kapur, Pooja Bhatt and Sanjay Dutt in ‘Sadak 2’: Mahesh Bhatt is the latest filmmaker who has turned to a digital platform for the sequel to his 1991 hit film. In an interview with PTI, the senior Bhatt — who is making his directorial comeback with the film — said the decision was taken keep the pandemic in mind. A streaming platform and date it to be announced.

Abhishek Bachchan and Nithya Menen in ‘Breathe: Into The Shadows’: Junior Bachchan will be making his digital debut with ‘Breathe: Into The Shadows’. It also marks the digital debut of South Indian actress Nithya Menen. The show also features Sayami Kher, along with actor Amit Sadh, who was lauded for his performance in the first season of ‘Breathe’. Sadh will reprise his role as Inspector Kabir Sawant once again. This time, Bachchan will be on a mission to find his missing daughter. Director Mayank Sharma has co-written the series with Bhavani Iyer, Vikram Tuli, and Arshad Syed. The series will stream on Amazon Prime Video from July 10.

Vidya Balan in ‘Shakuntala Devi’: The film will see actress Vidya Balan play math genius Shakuntala Devi. The Anu Menon-directed film is based on the life of Shakuntala, who was widely revered as the Human Computer for her innate ability to do incredibly complex calculations within seconds. The film will premiere on Amazon Prime Video.

Saif Ali Khan in ‘Dilli’: Khan has already made an impressive web debut with ‘Sacred Games’. He returns to the medium in ‘Tiger Zinda Hai’ director Ali Abbas Zafar’s show ‘Dilli’, which is about the dark edges of Indian politics. The show also stars Sunil Grover, Mohammad Zeeshan Ayub and Sarah Jane Dias. It will stream on Amazon Prime Video.

Manoj Bajpayee and Samantha Akkineni in ‘The Family Man 2’: Bajpayee returns in the second chapter of ‘The Family Man’, and co-starring this time is southern star Samantha Akkineni. While Bajpayee impressed with his role in season one of the show, Akkineni grabbed attention with her role in the Tamil film ‘Super Deluxe’ that had earlier released in Netflix. ‘The Family Man 2’ streams on Amazon Prime Video.

Janhvi Kapoor in ‘Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl’: Ditching a traditional theatrical release amid the COVID-19 crisis, the Janhvi Kapoor-starrer goes for a direct-to-web release. The film is inspired by the life of Indian Air Force combat pilot Gunjan Saxena, and stars Kapoor in the titular role. Saxena entered the war zone during the 1999 Kargil War. Directed by Sharan Sharma, the cast also features Pankaj Tripathi, Angad Bedi, Viineet Kumar, Manav Vij and Ayesha Raza. It will be released on Netflix.

Swara Bhasker in ‘Rasbhari’: Bhasker stars in this love story set in Meerut. She plays the role of a stern English teacher who is the object of attraction for Nand (Ayushmaan Saxena). The show premiered on Amazon Prime Video this weekend.

Raima Sen in ‘The Last Hour’: Sen has made a mark in Hindi and Bengali films. She now treks the digital medium with the supernatural thriller that will also feature Sanjay Kapoor. Set in a Himalayan hill station, the show is created by Amit Kumar. Asif Kapadia is backing the Amazon Prime Video series as executive producer.

Konkona Sen Sharma in ‘Mumbai Diaries 26/11’: The series, starring Sen Sharma and Mohit Raina, is expected to narrate a fictionalised account of the terror attack that took place at the Cama Hospital, among other venues, on November 26, 2008. Directed by Nikkhil Advani, it will stream on Amazon Prime Video.

Amol Palekar and Manav Kaul in ‘Gormint’: The political satire features Amol Palekar and Manav Kaul with Shikha Talsania and Girish Kulkarni. Plot details of the Amazon Prime show are under wraps. Release date of the show is yet to be officially confirmed.

Aftab Shivdasani in ‘Poison: 2’: The Bollywood actor will make his digital debut with the upcoming web series ‘Poison: 2’. The series will also feature Raai Lakshmi, Pooja Chopra, Gautam Gulati and Taher Shabbir and stream on ZEE5.

Akshay Kumar in ‘The End’: Bollywood actor Kumar will make his web debut with a thriller series, whose working title is ‘The End’. Amazon Prime Video announced the show by Abundantia Entertainment. The multi-season show is presently under development and aims to appeal to fans of the action-thriller genre worldwide. A release date is awaited.