Bollywood Movies That Are Going Straight To Streaming This Season

Like many industries, the Bollywood film industry has been brought to a standstill by the Coronavirus lockdowns. Although lockdowns have been a necessary step to help prevent the spread of the pandemic in Australia, there are many that have been missing their Friday night cinema fix. Fortunately for Bollywood fans, this year’s anticipated big movie, Gulabo Sitabo, is bypassing the cinemas and instead will be available for streaming. There are plenty of other films that will also be hitting the streaming services this summer as well. This represents a brand new era for Indian entertainment, as Bollywood is brought to new audiences across the world.

Gulabo Sitabo

Gulabo and Sitabo are a local art form — a pair of glove puppets who represent a pair of argumentative sisters on the crowded streets of Lucknow. The story is a parable about the effect of greed and the desire for a better life. Gulabo Sitabo follows the fates of Mirza, a grouchy landlord played by Amitabh Bachchan, and his tenant Bankey, played by Ayushmann Khurrana. In this satire they squabble endlessly over money and rent, it is a classic summer movie that can be enjoyed by family and friends. It is a movie you will want to break out the snacks for. There is a gentle humour running through the film and some quirky characters that are flawed yet lovable. One of the most charming things, is that you won’t always recognise Bachchan — the character of Mirza is far from his usual roles. It’s certainly refreshing to see him go for something different and challenging.

Shakuntala Devi

The biopic of the mathematician Shakuntala Devi is another great Bollywood movie that will be hitting Amazon Prime this summer, although the release date is yet to be revealed. The movie, which stars Vidya Balan, Amit Sadh, Sanya Malhotra, and Jisshu Sengupta, already has a vast following. This is primarily because Shakuntala Devi is a feminist icon with a strong voice, who completely embraced her individuality and is well-regarded worldwide. “The human computer” proved all the naysayers wrong and forged her own path in a male-orientated industry. Although the movie was originally scheduled for cinema release, in the next couple of months, you will be able to stream it from the comfort of your own home.

Dil Bechara 

Dil Bechara is due to be screened on Hotstar towards the end of July 2020, just make sure that you have your tissues at the ready. This coming-of-age romantic drama features two cancer patients that fall in love. It is based on the John Green novel The Fault in Our Stars. The movie stars Sanjana Sanghi as Kizie and Sushant Singh Rajput as Manny and was directed by Mukesh Chhabra — it is his directorial debut. Chhabra is an experienced casting director, so you can expect sparks to fly in the chemistry between the characters.

Gunjan Saxena – The Kargil Girl

Gunjan Saxena is scheduled to appear on Netflix in August. It’s a Hindi language biographical movie starring Janhvi Kapoor as the first female airplane pilot in the Indian Air Force. The movie also stars Angad Bedi and Pankaj Tripathi. The filming of Gunjan Saxena was completed in October 2019 and was due to hit the cinemas in March 2020. The release was postponed to the end of April, however, when it became apparent that the coronavirus pandemic would be ongoing. Now, Netflix has acquired the distribution rights.