Bollywood Star Vidyut Jammwal Teams With Reliance, T-Series to Produce ‘IB 71’

Bollywood star Vidyut Jammwal is debuting as a producer via his Action Hero Films outfit and is teaming with Reliance Entertainment and T-Series for espionage thriller “IB 71.”

Jammwal, best known for his “Commando” action film franchise, will also star in the film as an Indian intelligence officer deployed in the run up to the 1971 India-Pakistan war. Working from a real incident, the film is based on a story by Aditya Shastri and a screenplay from Storyhouse Films LLP.

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Sankalp Reddy, who debuted with Indian national film award winning “Ghazi” that was also set during the 1971 war, will direct.

“IB 71″ is co-produced by Abbas Sayyed and will commence production at the end of 2021.

“Some of the most interesting episodes in Indian history have inspired ‘IB 71.’ With this film, Action Hero Films pursues the endeavor to unravel a riveting story envisaged by gifted writers,” Jammwal said. “I have full faith in Sankalp Reddy’s vision as a filmmaker and it is wonderful to be joining hands with Reliance Entertainment, a banner that has been synonymous with quality filmmaking.”

Reddy said: “ ‘IB 71’ is about what goes on before a triumph and a very different kind of heroism is at play in its story. These are the themes that I connected with when the story was narrated to me. I’m very happy that the producers have shown tremendous belief in my vision. This film is truly special for me.”

Shibasish Sarkar, group CEO, Reliance Entertainment, said: “This subject has not been explored much in Indian cinema and the novelty and significance of this part of Indian history has inspired us to produce this story with Vidyut and Sankalp. We are looking forward to giving the audience a glimpse of history and loads of thrills.”

As revealed by Variety, International Media Acquisition Corp., Sarkar’s special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) targeting the Indian media industry, will have investment from a galaxy of Indian A-list names, including actor/producer Ajay Devgn (“Tanhaji”), filmmakers Mani Ratnam (“Bombay”), Rohit Shetty (“Sooryavanshi”), Imtiaz Ali (“Rockstar”), Luv Ranjan (“Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety”), Neeraj Pandey (“M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story”) and Jammwal.

Jammwal’s next release is action film “Sanak,” produced by Zee Studios and Sunshine Pictures.

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