Sunny Deol to play a family man in upcoming OTT release tentatively titled Safar

Much excitement is being drummed up around Sunny Deol’s April release, Jaat, which marks his next big-screen outing after the mammoth success of Gadar 2: The Katha Continues (2023). But few know that the actor has another movie, tentatively titled Safar, in the pipeline. mid-day has learnt that director Shashank Udapurkar’s family drama sees Deol in an avatar far removed from his macho image—he plays a family man who, through circumstances, learns to live life to the fullest. Given the nature of the subject, the makers are apparently skipping the theatrical route and pursuing an OTT release.     
 
Also starring Simran Bagga and Darshan Jariwala, Safar’s shoot was wrapped up in 2024. Currently, producer Vishal Rana is in talks with a few streamers for its direct-to-OTT release. A source reveals, “After the success of Gadar 2, Sunny signed many actioners as the audience likes to see him in larger-than-life roles, where he single-handedly takes on the baddies and doles out punchy dialogues. Safar is a departure from that image. There is no action in the film; it revolves around Sunny’s middle-aged family man, who realises that one can find happiness only by helping people and learns the true meaning of life. When Vishal and Shashank approached him with the story, he loved it and said yes immediately, despite knowing that it’s nothing like what his fan base expects from him.”

Udapurkar, who previously helmed the Hindi film Anna (2016) and the Marathi offering Prawaas (2020), wanted to explore a different facet to Deol’s on-screen persona with Safar. One would expect the makers to eye a theatrical release, considering their leading man is riding the success wave. 

The source, however, notes, “The makers decided to have an OTT release because it’s an intimate and heartfelt story about a family. They felt such subjects are more conducive for a digital platform. The team should be able to lock an OTT platform by June and hopes to release it by the year-end.”

Sunny Deol in the widely circulated clip

Remember that viral video?

In December 2023, a video, which saw Sunny Deol roaming the streets of Juhu in a seemingly inebriated state, had gone viral. When fans expressed concern, the actor had clarified on social media that he was not intoxicated, but shooting for a film. The sequence was, in fact, part of the upcoming Safar.