ZEE5 to premiere Punjabi film ‘Mitran Da Naa Chalda’ on 14 April

ZEE5, the video streaming platform owned by Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd, will premiere Punjabi film, Mitran Da Naa Chalda starring Gippy Grewal, Shweta Tiwari, Tania, Raj Shoker, Renu Kaushal, and Anita Devgan among others, on 14 April. It has been directed by Pankaj Batra and written by Rakesh Dhawan.

“Punjab is a significant market for ZEE5, and it is our endeavour to consistently increase our footprint in that market. Till now we have worked with most talented storytellers and presented content that is entertaining with notable performances to our audience. Mitra Da Naa Chalda is another entertainer with a socially relevant message. Our audience is always looking for good content and we are confident that this movie will satiate their appetite,” Manish Kalra, chief business officer, ZEE5 India said in a statement.

Smaller regional film industries such as Marathi, Punjabi and Gujarati are showing signs of recovery post-covid with small-budget movies Daagdi Chawl 2 (Marathi), Fakt Mahilao Mate (Gujarati) and Saukan Saukne (Punjabi) hitting it off with the audiences. Film industry analysts said Hindi cinema is the only one lagging behind now as both southern language film and Hollywood titles are drawing viewers.

Daagdi Chawl 2 that released last August made ₹2.05 crore over its opening weekend, better than the collections of several Hindi language films over the same period, such as sports drama Shabaash Mithu (Rs. 1.65 crore), Nikamma (Rs. 1.39 crore) and Kangana Ranaut-starrer Dhaakad (Rs. 1.96 crore). Saukan Saukne, that had released around the same time as hit horror comedy Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2, made nearly Rs. 22 crore in two weeks, competing with all-time highest Punjabi grossers such as Carry On Jatta 2 and Shadaa, both of which had released before the pandemic.