Mumbai: Streaming platform Netflix Saturday unveiled exclusive footage from its upcoming slate of films and series, including Raj Nidimoru and Krishna DK’s show “Guns & Gulaabs” and “Rana Naidu”, led by Rana Daggubati and Venkatesh Daggubati.
The streamer gave a sneak peak into its 12 titles during the India segment of the global fan event “TUDUM”. It was hosted by influencer-actor Prajakta Koli and comedian Zakir Khan.
Netflix showcased a bloody, retro and humour-filled teaser of “Guns & Gulaabs”, exploring a person’s dark streak. It features Rajkummar Rao, Dulquer Salmaan and Adarsh Gourav in the lead.
Inspired by the misfits of the world, the show is set in the 90s and is billed as a story that depicts love and innocence, though it is set in a world of crime.
Salmaan, who is making his OTT debut, described the series as a “mad, crazy, hyper ride”.
“It is like something not just like regular but full-on amusement park, full-on frills and thrills. (You) will get to see some great characters, I think you will fall in love with most of the characters in the show.
“There’s some great writing, some great laughs, some great twists and suspense. It really packs a punch. It’s a full course meal, it throws everything at you,” the actor said.
“Rana Naidu”, an official adaptation of the popular American drama series “Ray Donovan”, follows the life of Rana Naidu (Rana Daggubati), the go-to guy for everyone in Bollywood when they have a problem.
Set in Bombay, where glitz meets grime, Rana Naidu does the dirty work for the city’s top power players; making the problems of the city’s celebrities, superstar athletes, and business moguls disappear.
This taut drama unfolds when his father Venky (Venkatesh) is unexpectedly released from prison, setting off a chain of events that shakes the Naidu family to its core, the official synopsis read.
“It has got a whole lot of action, thrills, dark family drama between real family. This is the first time these faces are coming together,” Rana said.
Karan Anshuman, known for creating hit shows like “Mirzapur” and “Inside Edge”, is the showrunner and the director. Suparn Verma of “The Family Man 2” fame serves as the co-director.
Surveen Chawla, Sushant Singh, Abhishek Banerjee, Suchitra Pillai, Gaurav Chopra, and Ashish Vidyarthi round out the cast of “Rana Naidu”.
Netflix also provided a glimpse into filmmaker Hansal Mehta’s drama series “Scoop”, inspired by Jigna Vora’s biographical book “Behind The Bars In Byculla: My Days in Prison”.
Featuring Karishma Tanna in the leading role of Jagruti Pathak, an ambitious crime journalist, the show also stars Mohammad Zeeshan Ayyub, Harman Baweja, Deven Bhojani, Tannishtha Chatterjee, and Shikha Talsania, among others.
Another series from the streamer was “Soup”, starring Manoj Bajpayee and Konkona Sensharma.
The comedy crime-drama is directed by Abhishek Chaubey, known for his critically-acclaimed movies such as “Ishqiya”, “Dedh Ishqiya” and “Sonchiriya”.
The new shows from the streamer also included Randeep Hooda’s revenge drama series “CAT” and “Class” from director Ashim Ahluwalia.
“CAT” is about Gurnam (Hooda), a former civilian informant who is forced to take up his old job again to save the life of his brother, which forces him to come to terms with his dark past.
It is directed by Balwinder Singh Janjua, Rupinder Chahal and Jimmy Singh.
“Class” is set at a posh school called Hampton International where three new students from a starkly different background enroll for a new term and shake up the status quo.
It features an ensemble cast of Gurfateh Pirzada, Anjali Sivaraman, Ayesha Kanga, Cyaawal Singh, Chintan Rach, Chayan Chopra, Madhyama Segal, Moses Koul, Naina Bhan, Piyush Khati and Zeyn Shaw.
Netflix also dropped the teaser of filmmaker Vishal Bhardwaj’s much awaited film “Khufiya”, starring Tabu in the lead.
Bhardwaj dubbed “Khufiya”, based on the novel “Escape to Nowhere”, written by ex-Chief of Counter Espionage Unit of R&AW Amar Bhushan, as a bundle of secrets.
“It is a bouquet of secrets you can’t see what’s real and what you see isn’t real. The most fun I had in this project was that you will feel you are sitting in the R&AW office. And with that even after the espionage drama, capturing the poetic beauty in it was a challenge to me. I did overcome to a limit,” the director said.
Produced and directed by Bhardwaj, the spy-thriller film also stars Ali Fazal, Wamiqa Gabbi and Ashish Vidyarthi.
A song, featuring Huma Qureshi, was presented from her upcoming film “Monica, O My Darling”, also starring Rajkummar Rao and Radhika Apte.
Directed by Vasan Bala, the neo-noir is an ode to movies about the perfect plan that led to the perfect mayhem of the lives of the people who laid it out.
“I am so happy to be back again (on Netflix) that too with this film because it is a special one. I think this film is a perfect blend of dark comedy, crime and drama. I am really excited for this one,” said Apte, who collaborated with Netflix on three projects “Sacred Games”, “Ghoul” and an anthology film “Lust Stories”.
Teasers of Sanya Malhotra’s dramedy movie “Kathal”, “Qala”, led by Tripti Dimri and Babil Khan, and Yami Gautam and Sunny Kaushal-starrer heist thriller “Chor Nikal Ke Bhaga” were also presented at the virtual event.
PTI