Deepika Padukone, Hrithik Roshan's 'Fighter' set for a pan-India release
What's the story
Hrithik Roshan and Deepika Padukone's upcoming movie, Fighter, is aiming to go for a pan-India release, if a recent report holds ground.
Siddharth Anand, who is the director and also making his production debut with this film, wants to take this aerial action thriller to another level.
For this, he has signed a deal with studio partner Viacom 18 via his banner, Marflix.
Details
Roshan has strong fan following in Southern belt, says report
A source told Pinkvilla that Roshan has a huge fan base in the Southern film industry.
"The South Indian-dubbed version of his films like Dhoom 2, Jodhaa Akbar, Bang Bang!, Krrish 3 and War did very well and the makers are looking to carry forward the phenomenon with Fighter too," he informed.
Hence, Fighter will release in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada.
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Director, actors wish to 'breach the regional barriers' with 'Fighter'
"Some films are dubbed into multiple languages once the shooting is wrapped up," the source added, "but Fighter is being planned as a pan-India film from the word go. Sid, Hrithik and Deepika are looking forward to breaching the regional barriers with this one."
Production
It's a 'blanket deal' between Anand and Viacom 18
Since the past six months, Anand has been reportedly looking for the right studio to work with on this big budget film, which has been written by Ramon Chibb.
Viacom 18 finally signed the deal.
"It's a blanket deal and the studio giant has a stake in almost all rights - ranging from theatrical to digital and satellite," the source revealed.
Cost
'Fighter's budget makes it 'one of the costliest action films'
Anand and Roshan have worked together in Bang Bang! and War.
With Fighter, the director plans to take the action-angle to a higher level, for which they are shelling out a stunning Rs. 250cr.
This movie will be "one of the costliest and biggest action films" in Bollywood.
Roshan will debut as an air force pilot, while Padukone's character has not been revealed yet.
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The movie is 'big scale action thriller' against Airforce background
At the beginning of this year, a source had told Pinkvilla, "The Hindi film industry has not seen big scale action thriller against the backdrop of Indian Airforce for a while now, and that's exactly the space that Hrithik and Sid are trying to explore."
Shoot
For now, both Padukone and Roshan have multiple projects
Earlier, the action-packed movie was supposed to go on floor this year, but the ongoing pandemic and the actors' busy schedules delayed the shoot.
Now, it will commence in 2022.
This year, Roshan is set to make his OTT debut with a Hindi remake of Tom Hiddleston's The Night Manager.
Meanwhile, Padukone is busy with many projects, including The Intern and Pathan.