The shutting down of theatres and halting of production and promotional activities due to coronavirus has led to widespread rumours about several films in Bollywood. Right from speculations about films’ release on Over-The-Top (OTT) platforms to production updates, rumour-mongers have left no stone unturned.
On Friday, trade analyst Taran Adarsh took to Twitter to clarify some things. He tweeted out exclusive updates about Akshay Kumar starrer Laxmmi Bomb, Salman Khan starrer Radhe: Your Most Wanted Bhai, Varun Dhawan starrer Coolie No. 1, Ranveer Singh starrer 83, and Amitabh Bachchan and Ayushmann Khurrana starrer Gulabo Sitabo.
#Xclusiv: Several people within and outside the film industry enquiring about the *current status* of some forthcoming biggies… Lots of speculation as well… Here are the facts…
— taran adarsh (@taran_adarsh) May 8, 2020
Akshay Kumar’s upcoming film Laxmmi Bomb, helmed by director Raghava Lawrence has reportedly completed filming. While a rough cut of the film has been done, post-production activities like dubbing, visual effects (VFX), and re-recording are yet to be completed.
Kiara Advani is paired opposite Akshay in Laxmmi Bomb, marking the second association of the duo after Good Newwz. Fox Star Studios is presenting the film with Cape of Good Films, Shabinaa Entertainment, and Tusshar Entertainment House bankrolling the film.
It is the Hindi remake of the 2011 Tamil horror Muni 2: Kanchana that was also helmed by Raghava Lawrence. The original starred the director along with Sarathkumar, Raai Laxmi, Kovai Sarala, Devadarshini, and Sriman. It was the story of a trans woman’s spirit that enters Raghava Lawrence’s body to seek revenge for being killed mercilessly over a land-grabbing issue.
Filming for Salman Khan’s next Radhe, helmed by Prabhu Deva has not been completed yet. Two song sequences and a portion of the movie are yet to be shot followed by which post-production activities will begin.
Rumours were rife that the film will hit the OTT platform directly instead of hitting theatres that would most likely operate only after a few months. A report in Bollywood Hungama clarified that the makers will take a decision only after the film has been completed. It also added that they were willing to release the film on a digital platform if the need arises. Touted to be an action drama, Radhe is being bankrolled by Salman Khan Films, Sohail Khan, and Reel Life Productions Pvt Ltd. It is reportedly a remake of the Korean film The Outlaws.
While Disha Patani plays the female lead in Radhe, Randeep Hooda and Jackie Shroff play important roles. The movie was initially slated for an Eid 2020 release.
Varun Dhawan starrer Coolie No. 1, helmed by David Dhawan has wrapped up shooting and most of the post-production activities are done (except for a little bit of VFX and the whole of Digital Intermediary (DI) – digitising and colour grading the film, and Sound Mixing left.)
The movie, a remake of the director’s 1995 film of the same name, marks the third collaboration between the father-son duo after Main Tera Hero and Judwaa 2. While Sara Ali Khan is paired opposite Varun, Paresh Rawal, Rajpal Yadav, Javed Jaffrey, Shikha Talsania, and Sahil Vaid are playing important roles. The dramedy is being bankrolled by Vashu Bhagnani, Jackky Bhagnani, and Deepshikha Deshmukh’s Pooja Entertainment. It was slated for release on May 1 initially.
The original Coolie No. 1 featured Govinda and Karishma Kapoor in the lead. The movie was a comedy that depicted Govinda’s character who after pretending to be a rich businessman, marries Karishma Kapoor. The movie also featured Kader Khan, Shakti Kapoor, and Sadashiv Amrapurkar in pivotal roles.
Ranveer Singh starrer 83, helmed by Kabir Khan has completed filming and most of its post-production activities.
The film about India’s first cricket World Cup victory also stars Deepika Padukone, Jiiva, Tahir Raj Bhasin, Saqib Saleem, Harrdy Sandhu, Ammy Virk, Pankaj Tripathi, Boman Irani, Nishant Dahiya, Sahil Khattar, and several others. Jointly produced by Kabir Khan, Vishnu Vardhan Induri, Madhu Mantena’s Phantom Films, Deepika Padukone, Sajid Nadiadwala, Reliance Entertainment and 83 Film Ltd, the movie was to release on April 10.
The makers have denied rumours about the film’s release on OTT and said that it was meant to be witnessed on the big screen.
Hindi, Tamil & Telugu feature film #83TheFilm will release in OTT only after its Theatrical debut.
The streaming rights is bagged by @netflix pic.twitter.com/Fx6h7PCaUt
— LetsOTT GLOBAL (@LetsOTT) April 28, 2020
83 will release in Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu post lockdown.
Amitabh Bachchan and Ayushmann Khurrana starrer Gulabo Sitabo, helmed by Shoojit Sircar is done with shoot and post-production. The first copy of the movie has also been produced.
The dramedy that was set to release on April 17 has reportedly signed a deal with the OTT platform Amazon Prime, making the platform its digital partner. Although, it is not clear if the film will hit the OTT platform directly.
A report in Mumbai Mirror read that the director preferred a theatrical release for his film but was open to a digital release if required.
Gulabo Sitabo has been written by Juhi Chaturvedi and produced by Ronnie Lahiri and Sheel Kumar for Rising Sun Films.
