Buzz has it that after Gulabo Sitabo (2020) and Shakuntala Devi (2020), Amazon Prime Video has secured yet another high-profile Bollywood film for a direct-to-digital premiere on its platform.
Yes, you read that right! Filmmaker Sanjay Gupta’s much-awaited gangster drama Mumbai Saga, starring John Abraham, Emraan Hashmi and Kajal Aggarwal in important roles, will reportedly premiere directly on Amazon Prime Video later this year.
Based on true events that transpired in Mumbai in the 1980s, Mumbai Saga is expected to forgo its theatrical release due to the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic. If the film does so, it will join Gulabo Sitabo, Shakuntala Devi, Dil Bechara, Laxmmi Bomb, Sadak, Khuda Hafiz, Lootcase, Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl and Bhuj: The Pride of India on the list of films which are skipping their theatrical release due to the pandemic and releasing directly on various OTT platforms.
A source in the know informs a publication, “Mumbai Saga was originally envisioned as a big-screen outing, with Amazon Prime Video onboard as the film’s digital exhibitor. However, with the theatres showing no signs of reopening anytime soon, producer Bhushan Kumar is contemplating premiering it on the streaming platform. The discussion on the financials has begun, but the two parties have yet to agree on a figure.”
Aside from John Abraham, Emraan Hashmi and Kajal Aggarwal, Mumbai Saga also features Jackie Shroff, Suniel Shetty, Prateik Babbar, Rohit Roy, Samir Soni, Amole Gupte, Gulshan Grover and Pankaj Tripathi on its ensemble cast. The film still has a few portions left to be shot, which the team is planning to shoot in mid-August.
More details are awaited.