OTT emerges as a saviour again for the Hindi film industry. With theatres indefinitely closed and no clarity on when they will reopen, the filmmakers have started taking the digital route once again for their films that are shot and ready. Many films such as Akshay Kumar's Bell Bottom, Farhan Akhtar's Toofaan, Vidya Balan's Sherni and Saif Ali Khan, and Arjun Kapoor's Bhoot Police among others have already headed to OTT while many others are soon expected to follow the suit. Peepingmoon.com has been constantly updating about the Hindi films venturing into OTT and it's time we reveal the new one that's skipping the theatrical release.
We've exclusively learned that Emraan Hashmi's supernatural horror thriller Ezra will directly release on OTT. The streaming giant Amazon Prime Video has bought the film for a direct-to-web release and will premiere it sometime around July 2021. The film that also stars Nikita Dutta, Darshana Banik, Manav Kaul, and Vipin Sharma is the fourth Bollywood title Amazon Prime has acquired in the last three months after the biggies like Bell Bottom, Toofaan, and Sherni. The remake of a 2017 critically-acclaimed Malayalam film of the same name, Ezra will be Emraan's third web venture after Tigers (2014) and Netflix espionage thriller series, Bard of Blood, produced by Shah Rukh Khan's Red Chillies Entertainment.
IT'S OFFICIAL... Emraan Hashmi to star in #Hindi remake of #Malayalam supernatural thriller #Ezra... Directed by Jay Krishnan [he directed the original]... Will be shot in #Mumbai and #Mauritius... Produced by Bhushan Kumar, Kumar Mangat Pathak, Krishan Kumar and Abhishek Pathak. pic.twitter.com/izIsA14JKB
— taran adarsh (@taran_adarsh) April 17, 2019
Backed by Abhishek Pathak, Kumar Mangat Pathak, and Bhushan Kumar, Ezra brings back Emraan Hashmi to his favoured horror genre. The actor who's known for spreading shrills and thrills with the Raaz series was last seen experimenting with this genre five years back in Raaz Reboot. The Ezra remake with its extensive paranormal research and visuals is expected to push boundaries and promises one hell of a spooky ride. Directed by Jay Krishnan who also helmed the original starring Prithviraj Sukumaran and Priya Anand, the film revolves around a newly married woman who brings an antique Jewish box into her home unaware that the box contains a ghost.
Ezra will be Emraan Hashmi's second release of this year after Sanjay Gupta's Mumbai Saga that pitted him against John Abraham on screen. The actor also has an intriguing psychological thriller Chehre ready for release once cinemas re-open. On the lineup front, Emraan will next shoot for Salman Khan's Tiger 3 as soon as shootings in Mumbai resume. He will then move to Balwinder Singh Januja's slice-of-life film, Sab First Class Hai followed by Vijay Ratnakar Gutte's Vayusena based on the life of IAF Officer KC Kuruvilla.