Prime Video slate: ‘Citadel Honey Bunny’, ‘Matka King’, ‘Call Me Bae’ and ‘Gangs Kuruthi Punal’

The upcoming Prime Video slate that was unveiled today included announcements of new shows in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu as well as a peek of Hollywood filmmaker’s Jonathan Nolan’s series Fallout. Prime Video also announced new seasons for Paatal Lok, Panchayat, Mirzapur, Suzhal – The Vortex and Bandish Bandits.

Fallout, based on the post-apocalypse-themed video game of the same name, stars Ella Purnell, Aaron Moten and Walton Goggins. Nolan, who was in Mumbai for the Prime Video event, said on the stage: “Like the games, the series is epic in scope, dramatic, emotional, but also satirical, funny and deeply weird.” Fallout will be premiered on April 11.

The Family Man creators Raj & DK’s Citadel Honey Bunny is their contribution to the Citadel series produced by Anthony and Joe Russo. Citadel Honey Bunny stars Varun Dhawan (in his streaming debut) and Samantha Ruth Prabhu as spies in love. The cast includes Kay Kay Menon and Sikander Kher.

“We don’t know when it’s going to release but we are ready to go,” Raj said at the event. The filmmaking duo also revealed a poster for the show Gulkanda Tales. Directed by Rahi Anil Barve (Tumbbad), the satirical series stars Kunal Kemmu, Pankaj Tripathi and Patralekha.

Sooni Taraporevala makes her streaming debut with the Hindi show Waack Girls, starring Mekhola Bose, Rytasha Rathore, Anasua Chowdhury, Chrisann Pereira, Priyam Saha, Ruby Sah, Achintya Bose and Barun Chandra. The synopsis: “Six Kolkata girls create Waack Girls, a dance group in a city unfamiliar with waacking.”

Ziddi Girls, led by Simran, Revathy and Nandita Das, has been created by Rangita Pritish Nandy and revolves around five college-going Gen Zers.

Several shows revolve around crime and the occult. The Hindi series Matka King is directed by Nagraj Manjule, produced by Sidharth Roy Kapur, and led by Vijay Verma.

A press release stated: “In this fictional tale set in 1960s Mumbai, an enterprising cotton trader who craves legitimacy and respect starts a new gambling game dubbed ‘Matka’, which takes the city by storm and democratises a terrain previously reserved for the rich and elite.” The script is by Manjule and Rocket Boys writer Abhay Koranne.

The list of shows and movies, which are scheduled to premiered on the streaming platform over the rest of the year and 2025, include a celebrity talk show by Rana Daggubati and In Transit, a docuseries produced by Zoya Akhtar and Reema Kagti and directed by Ayesha Sood.

The reality series Follow Karlo Yaar, about social media sensation Uorfi Javed, which will be produced by Karan Johar’s digital media company Dharmatic Entertainment.

Dharmatic has a few other productions. The Hindi-language Call Me Bae stars Ananya Panday, Gurfateh Pirzada and Varun Sood. The synopsis: “Downsized from heiress to hustler, Bae discovers that her most valuable assets aren’t her diamonds, but her street smarts and style. Broke but refusing to be broken, she navigates the newsrooms of Mumbai, finding beaus, behens, and her better self.” The show is directed by Collin D’Cunha and created by Ishita Moitra.

Daring Partners stars Tamannaah Bhatia and Diana Penty as founders of an alcohol start-up. Nishant Nayak and Mithun Gangopadhyay have created the Hindi series directed by Archit Kumar.

The fictional series The Tribe, created by Aneesha Baig, is about a group of Indian influencers who land up in Los Angeles. The Hindi show stars Alanna Panday, Alaviaa Jaaferi, Srushti Porey, Alfia Jafry, Aryaana Gandhi and Hardik Zaveri.

Johar was the anchor for the glitzy event held over several hours in Mumbai. “We are presenting nail-biting dramas and palm-searing thrillers – you will have a manicure while bingeing,” Johar promised.

Mike Hopkins, Head of Prime Video & Amazon MGM Studios, said at the event, “More people in the world are signing up for Prime in India outside of the US. And Prime Video is the number one reason they sign up in India.”

Hopkins cited Poacher, Farzi, Indian Police Force, The Family Man and Made in Heaven as the Indian shows that have resonated with Prime Video subscribers around the world. “Indian content trended for 43 out of 52 weeks in 2023,” Hopkins stated.

Other shows include the Tamil-language Inspector Rishi, created and directed by Nandhini JS, is a supernatural horror series in which “sceptical crime branch Inspector Rishi Nandhan investigates a string of peculiar murders intertwined with supernatural occurrences”. Inspector Rishi stars Naveen Chandra, Sunainaa, Kanna Ravi, Malini Jeevarathnam, Srikrishna Dayal and Kumaravel and will be premiered on March 29.

The Hindi series Andhera, created by Raaghav Dar, stars Priya Bapat, Karanvir Malhotra, Prajakta Koli and Surveen Chawla as characters battling a malevolent force.

Khauf, created by Smita Singh, is a Hindi supernatural series starring Monika Panwar, Rajat Kapoor, Abhishek Chauhan, Geetanjali Kulkarni and Shilpa Shukla. The show is set in a haunted hostel in Delhi.

Pushkar-Gayatri’s Suzhal – The Vortex will have a second season. The synopsis: “When a senior activist lawyer, Chellappa, who defended Nandini, is found murdered, Sakkarai is called in to help the family. Set against the backdrop of the massive Ashtakaali Festival in the small town of Kaalipattanam, the case unravels deeds from the past that cast long shadows on the present.” The cast includes Kathir, Aishwarya Rajesh, Lal, Saravanan, Manjima Mohan, Gouri Kishan, Monisha Blessy and Samyuktha Vishwanathan.

Pushkar-Gayatri have also co-written the upcoming Don 3, the third film in Farhan Akhtar’s series. The new Hindi film, starring Ranveer Singh, will be streamed on Prime Video after its theatrical run.

The Tamil crime series Gangs Kuruthi Punal, directed by Noah, stars Sathyaraj, Ashok Selvan, Nasser, Nimisha Sajayan, Ritika Singh and Easwari Rao. The synopsis: “Replete with smugglers, dealers, pornographers, film stars, aristocrats, and politicians, this larger-than-life series weaves a gripping narrative of ambition, betrayal, and a relentless struggle for power.”

Kartik Subbaraj has produced Snakes and Ladders, about “four reckless kids” who, “while trying to cover up an accident, find themselves caught in dangerous situations – chased by cops, dim-witted thugs, and their own bad choices”.

In the Hindi show Daldal, adapted from Vish Dhamija’s crime novel Bhendi Bazaar, directed Bhumi Pednekar plays a police officer chasing a serial killer. The show is directed by Amrit Raj Gupta.

The Telugu-language Arabia Kadali, on which Krish Jagarlamudi serves as creative producer, stars Satya Dev, Anandhi. The synopsis: “A fictional suspense drama series that revolves around a group of fishermen from rival villages who inadvertently trespass into international waters and find themselves imprisoned in a foreign jail.”

The Hindi show Bandwaale stars Shalini Pandey as a poet who finds new audiences with the help of a music band and a DJ. Bandwaale has been created by Ankur Tewari and Swanand Kirkire.

In Debbie Rao’s Dil Dosti Dilemma, a young woman pretends to be in Canada rather than at her grandparents’ home in order to keep up appearances. The Hindi series stars Anushka Sen, Tanvi Azmi, Shishir Sharma and Suhasini Mulay.

The relationship-themed series include Ma Kasum, directed by Nicholas Korgaonkar and about a maths whiz kid’s attempt to find his mother a romantic partner. The Hindi show stars Mona Singh, Angira Dhar, Mihir Ahuja, and Ranveer Brar.

In the Hindi-language Rangeen, created by Amardeep Galsin and Amir Rizvi, a middle-aged husband is compelled to “re-evaluate his ideas of manhood and morality”. The show stars Vineet Kumar Singh, Rajshri Deshpande and Taaruk Raina.

The original films that will be streamed directly on Prime Video include Vishal Furia’s sequel to Chhorii, starring Nushrratt Bharuccha and Soha Ali Khan.

The Telugu film Cheekati Lo is an investigative thriller about the hunt for a serial rapist. Suresh Triveni’s Hindi film Subedaar, about a former Army soldier navigating civilian life, stars Anil Kapoor.

Reema Kagti’s Supermen of Malegaon explores the cottage film industry in the Maharashtrian town. Written by Kagti and Varun Grover, the Hindi movie stars Adarsh Gourav, Vineet Kumar Singh and Shashank Arora.

Remo D’Souza’s Hindi-language Be Happy stars Abhishek Bachchan and Inayat Verma. The synopsis: “A poignant tale that unfolds the journey of a single father and his talented daughter who aspire to perform on the country's biggest dance reality show.”

Boman Irani’s Hindi movie The Mehta Boys stars Irani, Avinash Tiwary and Shreya Chaudhary in a comedy about a father and son forced to spend two days with each other.

In Ani IV Sasi’s Telugu satire Uppu Kappu Rambu, the village cemetery runs out of space. The cast includes Keerthy Suresh and Suhas Pagolu.

While TVF’s Panchayat, led by Jitendra Kumar, will get a third season, the Telugu and Tamil remakes of the show, titled Sivarapalli and Thalaivettiyaan Paalayam respectively, will also be streamed on Prime Video.

The Hindi show Dupahiya stars Gajraj Rao, Renuka Shahane, Bhuvan Arora, Sparsh Srivastava, Shivani Raghuvanshi, and Yashpal Sharma. The synopsis: “In a village that is on the cusp of celebrating 25 years of being crime-free, chaos ensues when a coveted motorbike gets stolen!” Directed by Sonam Nair, the show is written by Avinash Dwivedi and Chirag Garg.

The licensed films across languages that will be streamed on Prime Video after their theatrical runs include Amar Kaushik’s sequel to his 2018 horror-comedy Stree, Krish’s Ghaati (starring Anushka Shetty), Siva’s period drama Kanguva (starring Suriya, Bobby Deol, Disha Patani, Jagapathi Babu and Yogi Babu), Kabir Khan’s Chandu Champion (starring Kartik Aaryan), Anand Tiwari’s pregnancy comedy Badnewz (starring Vicky Kaushal, Tripti Dimri and Ammy Virk) and Shankar’s Game Changer (starring Ramcharan, Kiara Advani and SJ Suryah).

Also on the list of licensed titles: Rishab Shetty’s Kantara – A Legend Chapter 1, Sriram Raghavan’s war drama Ikkis (starring Dharmendra and Agastya Nanda), Rohit Shetty’s Singham Again (starring Ajay Devgn, Akshay Kumar, Ranveer Singh, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Deepika Padukone, Tiger Shroff, and Arjun Kapoor), Nalan Kumarasamy’s Vaa Vaathiyaar (starring Karthi and Sathyaraj), Rahul Dholakia’s Agni (starring Pratik Gandhi and Divyenndu), Sree Harsha Konuganti’s Om Bheem Bush (starring Sree Vishnu, Priyadarshi and Rahul Ramakrishna), Sachin Ravi’s Shahid Kapoor-led Ashwatthama – The Saga Continues, Family Star (featuring Vijay Devarakonda and Mrunal Thakur), Harish Shankar’s Ustaad Bhagat Singh (starring Pawan Kalyan), Krish Jagarlamdi’s Hari Hara Veeramallu (also starring Kalyan) and Venu Sriram’s Thammudu (starring Nithiin, Sapthami and Laya).

Dhanush’s Raayan (in which he also stars alongside SJ Suryah and Aparna Balamurali), Tejas Prabha and Vijay Deoskar’s Ground Zero (starring Emraan Hashmi, Zoya Hussain and Sai Tamhankar), Adnan A Shaikh and Yasir Jah’s Sanki (starring Ahan Shetty and Pooja Hedge) and Ravi Udyawar’s Yudhra (starring Siddhant Chaturvedi and Malavika Mohanan) are also headed to Prime Video after ending their theatrical run.

The streaming platform has bagged the post-release rights of Shoojit Sircar’s new untitled film, starring Abhishek Bacchan Ahilya Bamroo, Johnny Lever and Jayant Kripalani.

The documentary Women of My Billion, directed by Ajitesh Sharma, is co-produced by Priyanka Choprs Jonas. The synopsis: “Women of My Billion tells the heart-wrenching and heart-warming story of the struggles, dreams, rights, and fight against all forms of violence that unite women in today's India. The film follows Srishti's journey of 3800 km over 240 days, from Kanyakumari in South India to Kashmir in the North.”

The Revolutionaries, based on Sanjeev Sanyal’s book of the same name, profiles the relatively unknown young men and women who fought for freedom from British rule.

The Great Indian Code is “about a bunch of humble and visionary middle-class engineers led by a meek looking gentleman in the eighties to create a company that led the biggest wealth generating industry India had ever seen: the IT industry”. It’s not clear yet whether the Hindi series is based on Infosys and its co-founder, NR Narayana Murthy.