Yash Raj Films has announced the theatrical release dates of four of its marquee big screen films - Bunty Aur Babli 2, Prithviraj, Jayeshbhai Jordaar and Shamshera. YRF chairman, Aditya Chopra, had reportedly earlier turned down a deal worth crores with OTT streaming giants to stream these movies in the face of no clarity on reopening of cinema halls after the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic. But now with cinema halls in Maharashtra receiving a go ahead to reopen from October 22, the film industry is set to get back on track.
Soon after the announcement, YRF has announced the theatrical release of four of its films. Bunty Aur Babli 2 stars Saif Ali Khan, Rani Mukerji, Siddhant Chaturvedi and debutante Sharvari and is directed by Varun V Sharma. The much-awaited, hilarious out and out family entertainer releases worldwide on November 19, 2021.
YRF’s big budget Prithviraj releases worldwide on January 21, 2022. Directed by Dr Chandraprakash Dwivedi, the film stars superstar Akshay Kumar in and as king Prithviraj Chauhan. Manushi Chhillar debuts as Sanyogita opposite Akshay, and Sanjay Dutt and Sonu Sood have been cast in pivotal roles.
Jayeshbhai Jordaar, starring Ranveer Singh and debutante Shalini Pandey, releases worldwide February 25, 2022. A family entertainer set in Gujarat, Ranveer will be seen playing a Gujarati man, who becomes an unlikely hero. The film has been directed by Divyang Thakkar.
Shamshera is an adrenaline pumping entertainer, which is set to release on March 18, 2022. The film stars Ranbir Kapoor and Vaani Kapoor. Sanjay Dutt plays the merciless nemesis in this visual extravaganza, directed by Karan Malhotra.
A report had earlier suggested that several OTT platforms had reached out to Aditya Chopra to release these films on their respective platforms, given the unpredictable state of the cinema halls, especially in Maharashtra, ever since April this year.
“They understood that Adi is in no mood to sell the big-ticket magnum opus like 'Prithviraj' and 'Shamshera'. Hence, they made a counteroffer of buying relatively small films like 'Bunty Aur Babli 2' and 'Jayeshbhai Jordaar'. But all that they heard from Adi was a no. All YRF films are meant for cinema halls and an announcement on the release dates is on cards any day now,” the report added.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Saturday announced the reopening of the theatres across the state after a meeting with filmmaker Rohit Shetty and other theatre representatives and exhibitors.
Shetty has also announced the arrival of his much-awaited film, Sooryavanshi, starring Akshay Kumar, Ranveer Singh, Ajay Devgn and Katrina Kaif, on Diwali this year.
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