Much excitement is being drummed up around Sunny Deol’s April release, Jaat, which marks his next big-screen outing after the mammoth success of Gadar 2: The Katha Continues (2023). But few know that the actor has another movie, tentatively titled Safar, in the pipeline. mid-day has learnt that director Shashank Udapurkar’s family drama sees Deol in an avatar far removed from his macho image—he plays a family man who, through circumstances, learns to live life to the fullest. Given the nature of the subject, the makers are apparently skipping the theatrical route and pursuing an OTT release.

Also starring Simran Bagga and Darshan Jariwala, Safar’s shoot was wrapped up in 2024. Currently, producer Vishal Rana is in talks with a few streamers for its direct-to-OTT release.

A source reveals, “After the success of Gadar 2, Sunny signed many actioners as the audience likes to see him in larger-than-life roles, where he single-handedly takes on the baddies and doles out punchy dialogues. Safar is a departure from that image. There is no action in the film; it revolves around Sunny’s middle-aged family man, who realizes that one can find happiness only by helping people and learns the true meaning of life. When Vishal and Shashank approached him with the story, he loved it and said yes immediately, despite knowing that it’s nothing like what his fan base expects from him.”

Udapurkar, who previously helmed the Hindi film Anna (2016) and the Marathi offering Prawaas (2020), wanted to explore a different facet to Deol’s on-screen persona with Safar. One would expect the makers to eye a theatrical release, considering their leading man is riding the success wave. 

The source, however, notes, “The makers decided to have an OTT release because it’s an intimate and heartfelt story about a family. They felt such subjects are more conducive for a digital platform. The team should be able to lock an OTT platform by June and hopes to release it by the year-end.”

In December 2023, a video, which saw Sunny Deol roaming the streets of Juhu in a seemingly inebriated state, had gone viral. When fans expressed concern, the actor had clarified on social media that he was not intoxicated, but shooting for a film. The sequence was, in fact, part of the upcoming Safar.

Continuing her trend of embracing diverse and impactful roles, Huma Qureshi, fresh off her portrayal of a politician in the third season of Maharani, is set to play an auto-rickshaw driver in the upcoming film Gulabi, directed by Vipul Mehta in a start-to-finish schedule, which began in April this year.

Producer Vishal Rana, who last produced the Taapsee Pannu-starrer Blurr, claims that with films like Gulabi, he hopes to pave the way for female actors to portray strong characters that speak about “women empowerment and education of the girl child”.

“The story is inspired by real-life incidents, not a particular person. Huma’s character Gulabi, a brave auto-rickshaw driver in Ahmedabad, aspires to be educated. [In her journey of empowerment], she inspires others to get educated too,” says Rana, adding, “As a producer, I believe in female-centric movies with a powerful female protagonist. I want the heroines of my movies to play women who stand against all odds and give back to society.”

Qureshi’s involvement in the project stems from her deep resonance with Gulabi’s character and the film’s theme. “Every actor looks for a role that they have never played before. When I approached Huma with the script, she told me that she loved the story and was excited about her character’s journey,” shares Rana, adding that the actor embodies Gulabi’s strength and resilience with authenticity. 

He always believed that female actors were “stronger, self-controlled, and more disciplined than male actors,” but witnessing it during a shoot with 500 people on set left him impressed. “We are shooting in live locations, with real people, in extremely hot and challenging conditions, but Huma, being our powerful hero, has been braving the weather and shooting for more than 12 hours a day without any complaints. Huma shot for a lengthy, powerful scene, and nailed it in one take. We were stunned by the range of her emotions as it moved us to tears.”

After producing Blurr with Taapsee Pannu, Vishal Rana has swiftly moved on to new projects. One of them has caught our attention, and with good reason — the producer has picked up the adaptation rights of the Hollywood action thriller franchise, The Transporter. While Jason Statham led three films in the franchise, Ed Skrein stepped into the role in the fourth and final instalment. 

So, how will the story of a mercenary-driver play out in India? Rana reveals that the team is currently writing the script, keeping Indian sensibilities in mind. “The Transporter is the favourite action film [franchise] of many in India. We are trying to take the franchise forward here, by keeping the film’s [core intact], while designing a different script altogether. We will have an international action team on board, as we want to retain the [grand] scale of the original. We are currently finalising a director who can do justice to the subject,” says Rana, who is backing the project with EuropaCorp.

Stepping into Statham’s shoes is no mean feat. While Bollywood has its fair share of action heroes, the producer has a few names in mind for the role. “Hrithik Roshan, Tiger Shroff and Kartik Aaryan are on my wish-list to play the lead role, as they are great in action. After the script and director are finalized, we will start approaching actors.”