Anurag Kashyap Takes on Different Roles for Zee5’s ‘Ghoomketu’ and Netflix’s ‘Choked’

Naman Ramachandran
·2 min read

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While Indian cinemas remain closed due to the coronavirus pandemic, Sony Pictures Networks and Phantom Films’ “Ghoomketu” will become one of the first Bollywood films to release directly on an OTT platform when it begins streaming from May 22 on Zee5.

Indian filmmaker Anurag Kashyap (“Sacred Games”) features as a bumbling cop in “Ghoomketu,” a Hindi-language satire starring Nawazuddin Siddiqui (“Manto”) as an aspiring Bollywood screenwriter. Several top Bollywood actors including Amitabh Bachchan (“Badla”), Ranveer Singh (“Gully Boy”), Sonakshi Sinha (“Mission Mangal”), Chitrangada Singh (“Baazaar”) and Lauren Gottlieb (“ABCD”) play themselves in cameos, as does filmmaker Nikkhil Advani (“Batla House”).

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Pushpendra Nath Mishra, who wrote and directed 2020 Netflix series “Taj Mahal 1989”, directs.

Kashyap said: “Every film is a labour of love and I saw the conviction in the director of “Ghoomketu” and hence decided to do something which is my least favourite thing to do, which is act.”

Despite his reluctance, Kashyap has several acting credits most notably playing antagonists in 2016 Hindi-language film “Akira,” and in 2018 Tamil-language film “Imaikkaa Nodigal.”

As revealed by Variety last year, Kashyap’s next venture as director is Netflix Original film “Choked: Paisa Bolta Hai.” It will debut on the service June 5.

“It is the story of a strong-willed middle-class housewife, who finds cash flowing out of her kitchen sink every night, and how this changes her life,” Kashyap said. “It is about relationships – and the precarious balance between truth, power and money. Saiyami Kher (“Mirzya”) and Roshan Mathew (“The Elder One”) star.

Several other Bollywood and other Indian language films including “Gulabo Sitabo,” and “Shakuntala Devi: Human Computer” will stream in the coming weeks directly on Amazon Prime Video. More direct to OTT title announcements from Disney Plus Hotstar and Netflix are expected imminently.

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