Zee Studios releases line up of 28 titles featuring Ajith Kumar, Salman Khan

Indiarsquos leading media conglomerate Zee Studios has revealed a massive 2023 slate of 28 titles across languages featuring some of the bestknown names in their respective industries The lineup includes 26 films for theatrical release a directtodigital film and a streaming series which are Zee Studios productions coproductions or acquisitionsMega releases include H Vinothrsquos Tamillanguage heist thriller Thunivu starring megastar Ajith Kumar that is due for January 2023 release during the Pongal festival frame Amit Sharmarsquos longawaited Hindilanguage soccer epic Maidaan starring Ajay Devgn due in February Farhad Samjirsquos Hindilanguage actioncomedy Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan starring superstar Salman Khan due in April during the Eid festival frame and Gadar 2 a sequel to Anil Sharmarsquos 2001 blockbuster Gadar starring Sunny DeolThe titles which include 26 films for theatrical release a directtodigital film and a streaming series are Zee Studios productions coproductions or acquisitionsBig ticket films include H Vinothrsquos Tamillanguage heist thriller Thunivu starring megastar Ajith Kumar that is due a Jan 2023 release during the Pongal festival frame Amit Sharmarsquos longawaited Hindilanguage soccer epic Maidaan starring Ajay Devgn due in February Farhad Samjirsquos Hindilanguage actioncomedy Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan starring superstar Salman Khan due in April during the Eid festival frame and Gadar 2 a sequel to Anil Sharmarsquos 2001 blockbuster Gadar starring Sunny Deol Deol also stars alongside fellow veterans Sanjay Dutt Mithun Chakraborty and Jackie Shroff in Vivek Chauhanrsquos Baap Other Hindilanguage highlights include Rani Mukerji in Ashima Chibberrsquos Mrs Chatterjee vs Norway Richa Chaddha in Abhishek Acharyarsquos Covid Stories Yami Gautam in Aniruddha Roy Chowdhuryrsquos streamingbound Lost and Rahul Bose Ishwak Singh and Aparshakti Khurana in Atul Sabharwalrsquos BerlinZee Studios has also announced an extensive array of bigticket releases in Hindi Anurag Kashyaps Almost Pyaar With DJ Mohabbat that premiered at Marrakech in November and Kenedy starring Sunny Leone which is bound for an Alist festival in 2023 along with auteur Devashish Makhijarsquos Joram which shall have its world premiere at Rotterdam in 2023 It stars Manoj Bajpayee who also headlines Apoorv Singh Karkirsquos Bandaa Another one features Nawazuddin Siddiqui essaying a transgender role in Haddi who also stars in Love is Blind Karishma Kapoor headlines Abhinay Deorsquos streaming series BrownZee Studios Tamillanguage slate include Muthaiyarsquos ldquoKather Basha Endra Muthuramalingamrdquo starring Arya a landmark film from the superstar actor details of which are under wraps and Kishor Pandurang Belekarrsquos dialoguefree film ldquoGandhi Talksrdquo with music by AR Rahman featuring Tamil cinema stars Vijay Sethupathi Arvind Swami and Aditi Rao Hydari Apart from this Dulquer Salmaan headlines Abhilash Joshiyrsquos Malayalamlanguage ldquoKing of KothardquoMarathilanguage films include Paresh Mokashirsquos ldquoVaalavirdquo with Swapnil Joshi and Ashish Bendersquos ldquoAatma Pamphletrdquo while Nagraj Manjule stars in Hemant Awtadersquos ldquoGhar Banduk Biryanirdquo and Vikram Patwardhanrsquos ldquoFramerdquoJaggesh stars in Kannadalanguage Ranganayaka and in Telugulanguage Vimanam Zee Studiosrsquo Punjabilanguage films include Pankaj Batrarsquos Uchiyan Ne Gallan Tere Yaar Diyan and Godday Godday Chaa starring Gippy Grewal and Sonam Bajwa respectivelyAlso ReadThunivu Ajith Manju Warrierstarrer second single Kasethan Kadavulda out nowIn an exclusive conversation with Variety Shariq Patel CBO Zee Studios added ldquoAs a pan India media company Zee is a leading broadcaster across geographies and languages In 2020 the studios strategy pivoted to dovetail into the larger organization play We were already leaders in Marathi films we added Tamil Telugu Kannada Malyalam and Punjabi into the regional mix The initial response has been very encouraging with films like Valimai Tamil Bangarraju Telugu Dharamveer Marathi performing well not just at the box office but also in driving subscriber growth on the OTT streaming platform and delivering healthy ratings on televisionrdquo Zee Studios chief business officer Shariq Patel told Variety ldquoThe strategy remains to make films across languages We have a mix of tentpole and art house films and each film will have a unique marketing and release plan I am often asked by directors and producers as to what kind of films I am looking to greenlight at any point of time My answer is always the same First is I have no idea what will click in this business no one does despite claims of knowing Secondly as a studio I have to do it all so for every lsquoThunivursquo starring Ajith Kumar or a lsquoKing of Kotharsquo with Dulquer we will have a lsquoMrs Chatterjee vs Norwayrsquo with Rani Mukerji or lsquoJoramrsquo with Manoj Bajpayeerdquo Patel added ldquoWe need to make it all we work with Anil Sharma lsquoGadar 2rsquo and also with Anurag Kashyap lsquoKennedyrsquo We just have to ensure each film we are working on is budgeted correctly and the economics make sense In addition we also have a series lsquoBrownrsquo directed by Abhinay Deo starring Karisma Kapoor which is in post production and we propose to make more such premium series in the coming yearrdquoHe further stated ldquoWe have segmented our films according to sizescalegenre And each filmrsquos marketing and release strategy is crafted in a unique way While a majority of them are for India theatrical release we have made conscious investments in a set of films which we hope to take to the world via festivals ie lsquoJoramrsquo by Devashish Makhija lsquoGandhi Talksrsquo a silent film starring Vijay Sethupathy and Arvind Swami lsquoKennedyrsquo by Anurag Kashyap are a few examples We aspire to establish Zee Studios as the preeminent studio for Indian filmsrdquo Patel said