Entertainment News: Pooja Meri Jaan Finally Finds OTT Home, Randeep Hooda Wins National Award & Baaghi 4 Underwent Major Last-Minute Changes

From a long-delayed film finally finding a streaming platform to Randeep Hooda winning his first National Award as a director and Baaghi 4 facing major VFX changes close to release, here are the latest entertainment updates.

Pooja Meri Jaan to Stream on ZEE5 After Four-Year Delay

Mrunal Thakur and Huma Qureshi’s Pooja Meri Jaan is finally set to reach audiences after remaining unreleased for nearly four years. The film, directed by Navjot Gulati and produced by Maddock Films, will now stream on ZEE5, although its premiere date has not been announced yet.

The thriller was originally planned for a direct-to-digital release on JioCinema, but its release plans were affected after the platform’s merger with Disney+ Hotstar. The film had completed shooting and post-production by the end of 2022 but remained stuck for years.

The delay had also become a personal and professional concern for director Navjot Gulati, who had previously spoken about the difficulties caused by the film’s uncertain release. The film also stars Vikram Singh Chauhan and Vijay Raaz and deals with themes including stalking and cybercrime.

Randeep Hooda Wins Best Debut Director at 72nd National Film Awards

Randeep Hooda has won the Best Debut Director award at the 72nd National Film Awards for Swatantrya Veer Savarkar. The actor made his directorial debut with the 2024 biographical drama, in which he also played the lead role, co-wrote and co-produced the film.

Reacting to the honour, Hooda said that he was “still trying to process” the recognition. He also spoke about the challenges of making the film and the responsibility he felt while portraying the life of Vinayak Damodar Savarkar.

Released in March 2024, Swatantrya Veer Savarkar marked a major shift in Hooda’s career as he took on multiple creative responsibilities for the project. The National Award now adds another milestone to the film’s journey.

Baaghi 4 Saw Major Changes Just 20 Days Before Release

Baaghi 4 reportedly went through a major editorial change just weeks before its theatrical release. Abhyuday Grover, Founder and CEO of Resonance Digital VFX, revealed that around 60% of the film was changed just 20 days before release.

According to Grover, his VFX team was initially working on around 1,500 to 1,600 shots. However, after receiving the revised edit, the team discovered that a significant portion of the film had been changed, including the addition of new shots.

The VFX workload eventually increased to around 2,400 to 2,500 shots. Grover said the team had to complete the remaining work from the original edit while also handling the newly added footage within the final 20 days. He recalled that the last shot from Resonance VFX was delivered only a few days before the film’s release.