1. Shershah(Amazon Prime): Bio-pic on Paramvir Chakra winner Vikram Batra promises to be a moving inspiring edifying tale . Said to be Siddharth Malhotra’s own Gunjan Saxena, the actor has given his career’s best as Batra and gone out of his way to explore the soldier’s world penetrating the heart of the theme , to answer that age-old question: what makes a man give up his life for his country?. The agony of the family on losing its loved one is recorded with a dignity and poignancy that will be long-remembered. Directed by Vishnu Vardhan and produced by Karan Johar, Shershah streams from 12 August.
2. Bhuj: The Pride Of India (Disney-Hotstar): Another true-life tale of a soldier’s valour, this one features the redoubtable Ajay Devgan as IAF squadron Vijay Karnik who during the 1971 Indo-Pak war reconstructed the IAF airbase in Bhuj with the help of the local population. Directed by Abhishek Dudhaiya, this film promises to be another feather in Ajay Devgan’s crowded cap.It streams on 13 August, two days ahead of Independence Day when nationalistic feelings are skyhigh.
3. Mimi(Jio Cinema & Netflix): A crazily fun-filled take on surrogate motherhood with Pankaj Tripathy forming an unlikely partnership with mother-to-be Kriti Sanon. This Laxman Utekar-directed rom-com promises to be a wild exhilarating ride .If you have seen this director’s earlier rom-com Luka Chupi with Kartik Aryan and Kriti Sanon you would know what to expect. Streams on July 30.
4. Dhamaka: Netflix’s most expensive custom-made feature film directed by Ram Madhvani of Neerja fame is a desi adaptation of the Korean thriller Terror Live. However Dhamaka moves far away from the original. Madhvani,I am told, has created his own space,ironed out the rough edges in the original, and made the plot far more taut. Kartik plays a ruthless newshound, the star reporter called Arjun Pathak of a news channel named Bharosa 24 negotiating with a terrorist to save the city from attack. This one is going to be a game-changer for Kartik Aaryan. Director Ram Madhvani has extracted the best out of the young star. Dhamaaka will take Kartik to the next level of stardom. Kartik Aaryan plays a star-news-anchor who negotiates with a terrorist to prevent the city from being blown up, is a far more exciting beast than Kim Byung-woo’s Korean 2013 action thriller Terror Live. Once you see Kartik Aaryan playing the shrewd news anchor you will forget Ha Jung-woo in the original.Expected to stream in September.