In 2019, Zee released 10-12 movies, which plunged to half that number in 2020 before rising to 20 films in 2021. In 2022, it plans to produce nearly 40 films. The strategy is to balance tent-pole films with mid-sized productions and small content-driven offerings across Hindi and regional languages, it had said.
The slate has several Bollywood titles such Ajay Devgn’s sports drama Maidaan, Akshay Kumar’s Rakshabandhan, Rani Mukerji-starrer Mrs Chatterjee vs Norway and the sequel to its 2001 blockbuster, Gadar. Other films are planned in Tamil, Telugu, Marathi, Punjabi and Kannada.
Nayanthara, often referred to as the Lady Superstar of south Indian cinema, made her acting debut in the 2003 Malayalam film Manassinakkare and entered the Tamil and Telugu cinema industries with Ayya (2005) and Lakshmi (2006), both commercially successful. This was followed by a string of Tamil, Malayalam and Telugu hits like Chandramukhi (2005), Rappakal (2005), Ghajini (2005), Billa (2007), Bodyguard (2010), Babu Bangaram (2016), Iru Mugan (2016), Dora (2017), Velaikkaran (2017), Kolamavu Kokila (2018), Immaika Nodigal (2018), Viswasam (2019), Love Action Drama (2019), Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy (2019) and Bigil (2019).
She is remembered for her portrayal of Goddess Sita in Sri Rama Rajyam (2011) and has also won accolades for her performances in Raja Rani (2013), Naanum Rowdy Dhaan (2015), Aramm (2017) and Puthiya Niyamam (2016).
During the covid-19 pandemic, her film Mookuthi Amman streamed directly on Disney+ Hotstar. The year 2021 saw her fifth collaboration with Rajinikanth with the film Annaatthe besides Netrikann, a remake of the 2011 South Korean film Blind. So far this year, she has been seen in Kaathu Vaakula Rendu Kaadhal, alongside Vijay Sethupathi.
She is next slated to appear in Malayalam film Gold, alongside Prithviraj Sukumaran, in the Telugu film Godfather and the Bollywood film Jawan opposite Shah Rukh Khan which will mark her Hindi debut.
