On May 8, 2020, Vidya Balan's biographical Shakuntala Devi was to hit the silver screen. It would have been the actress’ next big screen release after Mission Mangal in August 2019. However, after the COVID-19 pandemic, the theatrical release of the film was pushed. However, PeepingMoon.com had exclusively informed you that Vikram Malhotra’s Abundantia Entertainment and Sony Pictures Networks India have decided not to wait any longer and to instead give Shakuntala Devi an OTT release through net streaming giant Amazon Prime Video.
Now confirming the same, Vidya announced on social media that she is 'thrilled that we will be able to entertain you in these unprecedented times.' Sharing a new poster of the film, she captioned the post as, "Delighted to announce that you will get to see #ShakuntalaDevi very soon."
The film is based on the life of Shakuntala, who is widely revered as the human computer for her innate ability to make incredibly complex calculations within seconds. It also stars Sanya Malhotra, who will be seen playing the role of Shakuntala's daughter Anupama. The movie also stars Amit Sadh and Jisshu Sengupta in pivotal roles.
Helmed and written by Anu Menon, the film has been produced by Sony Pictures Networks Productions and Vikram Malhotra. The screenplay is penned by Menon along with Nayanika Mahtani, while the dialogues are penned by Ishita Moitra. The announcement comes a day after film director Shoojit Sircar along with actors Amitabh Bachchan and Ayushmann Khurrana confirmed that their upcoming film, "Gulabo Sitabo", will directly release on the OTT streaming platform instead of going to the big screen first.
