‘GUNJAN SAXENA: THE KARGIL GIRL’ TO RELEASE ON NETFLIX

In the movie, Janhvi will play the lead character of IAF combat pilot

Ditching traditional theatrical release amid the COVID-19 crisis, Janhvi Kapoor-starrer ‘Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl’ will be getting a direct-toOTT release. The news was officially confirmed by the makers and the streaming platform ‘Netflix’.

Release date is yet to be announced.

‘Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl’ is inspired by the life of ‘Indian Air Force’ combat pilot Gunjan Saxena, and stars Janhvi in the titular role. Saxena entered the war zone during the 1999 ‘Kargil War’.

The makers shared a short video showcasing the journey of the real-life Gunjan Saxena with an introduction by Janhvi to her character in the film.

“‘Gunjan Saxena’ is a defining film based on a true story about a woman who showed unparalleled courage, and inspiration to many in the coming years. We are excited to share this fearless story about following your heart and your dreams with millions around the world,” said Karan Johar, who backed the film through his production house, ‘Dharma Productions’.

Directed by Sharan Sharma, the cast also features Pankaj Tripathi, Angad Bedi, Viineet Kumar, Manav Vij and Ayesha Raza.

“‘Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl’ is a story of pure courage and determination and we can’t wait to premiere it,” said Monika Shergill, Vp-content at ‘Netflix’.

Filmmaker Karan Johar took to ‘Twitter’ to post a one minute-long clip, chronicling the life of Saxena.

“Her inspirational journey made history. This is her story. ‘Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl’ is coming soon on ‘Netflix’. #Gunjansaxenaonnetflix,” he captioned the video.

Presented by ‘Zee Studios’ and ‘Dharma Productions’, the film was earlier slated to be released on April 24.

There were rumours about the film going for a digital release and now the movie officially joins a list of other Bollywood titles, including Amitabh Bachchan-ayushmann Khurrana starrer ‘Gulabo Sitabo’ and Vidya Balan’s ‘Shakuntala Devi’ biopic which are slated to debut on ‘Amazon Prime Video’, to directly head to a streamer during the Coronavirus pandemic.

Kapoor, who plays the titular role in the movie, said ‘Gunjan Saxena’ was much more than a film for her.

“This isn’t just a film for me. It is a journey that taught me to believe in myself. A journey I can’t wait to share with you all. About a girl who set out to do something simple, follow her dreams,” she wrote on ‘Instagram’.