Farhan Akhtar's 'Toofan' takes OTT route, won't release in cinemas
Even though several movies are now securing theatrical release dates for themselves, OTT platforms have still not lost their charm. In what confirms the same, the makers of Toofan have decided to skip the theaters and release the movie on Amazon Prime Video. The movie, starring actor Farhan Akhtar, was originally scheduled to release in October 2020 but was delayed due to the pandemic.
The film's release was put on hold indefinitely: Report
An industry source told Bollywood Hungama that there was no clarity about the movie's release after the lockdown. "With the lockdown in effect, the film's release was put on hold indefinitely. Though it comes as a surprise that the director Rakesh Omprakash Mehra and producers opted for a direct to OTT release rather than a conventional theatrical release," the source added.
This movie marks the second collaboration between Akhtar and Mehra
In the movie, Akhtar will be seen as a national-level boxing player. The film also features actors Mrunal Thakur and Paresh Rawal in pivotal roles. This will mark the second collaboration between director Mehra and Akhtar after the superhit Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, a biopic on the life of star athlete Milkha Singh. The film has been produced by Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani.
Farhan had announced the movie in January, 2020
Akhtar was last seen on big screen in 2019
Apart from acting in and producing Toofan, the actor is also producing the movie Sharmaji Namkeen. The film was stalled due to the unfortunate passing of actor Rishi Kapoor. Reports claimed Paresh Rawal could essay the role now. Akhtar's last on-screen outing was The Sky is Pink (2019), where he worked with Priyanka Chopra Jonas. The film also starred Zaira Wasim and Rohit Saraf.
Last year, a number of movies released on OTT platforms
When cinema halls shut down due to the pandemic last year, many big banner movies took the OTT route. Films like Gulabo Sitabo starring Amitabh Bachchan, Laxxmi starring Akshay Kumar, and Ludo starring Rajkummar Rao, came directly on streaming giants like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video. Keeping up with the trend, Netflix also released a slate of 41 releases across genres and formats.
