Mumbai: “Hotel Mumbai” will see the light of day in India, one of its India distributors said on Wednesday. The movie released worldwide on March 29, and was due to hit the screens in India on the same date as well. However, it didn’t make it.
Zee Studios and Prolific Picture Works are now working towards releasing the movie in India soon. Shariq Patel, CEO, Zee Studios, told IANS in a statement: “It’s an extraordinary story of hope, bravery and compassion; a gripping, heart-touching narrative that will stay with audiences long after they have left the theatres. We look forward to releasing the film in India.”
A tweet from the official Twitter handle of Zee Studios read: “Zee Studios and Prolific Picture Works to release a critically-acclaimed film ‘Hotel Mumbai’ in India this summer.” It will release sometime soon, according to trade analyst Taran Adarsh.
“Based on 26/11 terror attacks in Mumbai… Zee Studios and Prolific Picture Works to release ‘Hotel Mumbai’ in India this summer,” he tweeted on Wednesday. Directed by Anthony Maras, the film has been to multiple international film festivals. It is based on the brutal 26/11 terrorist attacks in Mumbai in 2008 at the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel. The film stars Dev Patel, Anupam Kher, Armie Hammer and Nazanin Boniadi.
Anupam has been excited about the movie, and has been spreading a word about it in the US. “Please watch this film about care, courage and compassion,” he tweeted on March 29. He has since been sharing Twitter reviews of the film on his social media timeline.
According to a report, the movie’s “sensitive nature” as well as an ongoing legal tussle have kept it away from theatres in the country. A March 7 report by variety.com said Netflix had dropped its plan to stream the movie in India and other parts of South Asia due to a legal battle.
Netflix, Arclight Films International and four other companies were sued by Dubai-based distributor Plus Holdings over rights to “Hotel Mumbai”. Plus Holdings claimed it acquired the rights for India in a deal with the film’s financier Xeitgeist. It alleges that its deal was illegally cancelled, in order for the rights to be licensed instead to the streaming giant.
