Mumbai: Shakeela, starring Richa Chadha, is slated to have a theatrical release on Christmas, the makers announced Monday. The Richa Chadha-starrer, directed by Indrajit Lankesh, was scheduled to hit the screens earlier this year.
Shakeela features Chadha as the titular adult actor. She was one of the biggest stars of the 1990s from Kerala. Shakeela acted in several adult films in languages spanning Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada.
The makers made the announcement with the launch of the film’s new poster. It features the Fukrey star draped in a sari, holding a gun. “This year, Christmas gets hotter. In cinemas,” the caption on the poster read.
Lankesh said Shakeela has been his passion project after the actor’s rags-to-riches story caught his attention.
“I did some extensive personal interviews with her. I came to know so much about the person that she is behind that image of a star. And I knew that it is only Richa who can nail the part. This film will help youngsters who aspire to be part of the film industry. It will make them understand that there is more to the overlying glitz and glamour,” the director said in a statement.
Shakeela also stars Pankaj Tripathi and Malayalam actor Rajeev Pillai. It will have a multilingual release next month.
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The film is produced by Sammy Nanwani and Sahil Nanwani.
Shakeela is the third Bollywood film to have a big screen release after Manoj Bajpayee starrer Suraj Pe Mangal Bhari and Tillotama Shome’s Sir. This comes after the Centre allowed cinema halls to reopen with safety regulations and 50 per cent occupancy under Unlock 5 plan. Earlier cinema halls, theatres and multiplexes had been closed since lockdown was enforced March in India to prevent the spread of coronavirus.