After facing several delays, Sushant Singh Rajput and Jacqueline Fernandez-starrer Drive will premiere on Netflix as the streaming platform’s first original film with Karan Johar’s Dharma Productions. Directed by Tarun Mansukhani, the action-thriller also stars Boman Irani, Pankaj Tripathi, Vibha Chhibber, Sapna Pabbi and Vikramjeet Virk.
Karan Johar had earlier shared a teaser announcing that Drive would be released on 28 June, 2019, but the film was repeatedly delayed. Though the makers never released an official statement explaining why, some speculated that the film was pushed after Sushant’s previous release Sonchiriya was not well-received at the box office. There were also rumours that the producers did not want to risk Drive clashing with Nitesh Tiwari directorial Chhichhore, which hit theatres on 6 September, and was predicted to be a box office success early on.
Speaking about the premiere of Drive on Netflix, Karan Johar said in a statement, “Our vision for Drive was to make a film that elevates the genre of action-heist films. With nail-biting chases and action sequences, fronted by a spectacular cast, Drive combines the best of Bollywood storytelling with international production quality. I’m thrilled to partner Netflix once again in bringing this incredibly fun film to millions of fans of the action genre around the world.”
The news comes a few days after Netflix announced a partnership with Karan Johar’s digital content studio Dharmatic Entertainment to create new fiction and non-fiction series and films exclusively for the streaming platform.
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