Zee Studios has laid out its biggest multilingual bet yet, unveiling a 2026-27 slate that spans eight languages and pulls together some of the biggest names in Indian cinema — from Sunny Deol and Sanjay Dutt to Nandamuri Balakrishna and Nayanthara. The announcement, reported first as a Variety exclusive, signals that the studio is done thinking in terms of a single flagship industry and is instead betting on a genuinely pan-India content pipeline.
A Zee Studios spokesperson framed the strategy plainly: the belief driving the slate is that India cannot be represented through one kind of story, one language or one cinematic lens. Every market, the studio says, has its own audience, talent and creative sensibility, and the new lineup is designed to reflect that diversity rather than chase a single formula across languages.
The Hindi slate is the most star-studded of the lot. Leading the pack is Baap, a large-scale entertainer starring Sunny Deol, Sanjay Dutt, Jackie Shroff and Mithun Chakraborty, directed by Vivek Singh Chauhan — a rare four-way veteran ensemble that alone makes this one of the most watched titles on the list. Alongside it sits Silaa, headlined by Harshvardhan Rane, Sadia Khateeb and Karanveer Mehra under Omung Kumar's direction, continuing the studio's push into commercial action entertainment.
Mythology and history get their own space with Shri Ram Bhoomi, starring Anupam Kher, Ritwik Bhowmik and Amruta Khanvilkar and directed by Kamakhya Narayan Singh. The genre mix rounds out with three thrillers: Delhi 2021 with Richa Chadha, directed by Abhishek Acharya; Blind Babu, led by Nawazuddin Siddiqui and directed by Ravi Varma; and Blind Game, starring Arjun Rampal and Priyamani under Sangeeth Sivan. Zee Studios is also collaborating with the Anil Kapoor Film & Communication Network for the first time on Paaltu, marking a new production partnership for the studio.
The South Indian arm of the slate is just as loaded. In Telugu, the studio is backing a project currently known only as NBK111, starring Nandamuri Balakrishna and directed by Gopichand Malineni, alongside Indraputra with Kiran Abbavaram, directed by Srikanth Puppala. Also on the Telugu list are Kanaka Durga, Anasuya General Stores, and January 12 Vidudala — a film notable for bringing together Venkatesh Daggubati, Keerthy Suresh and Kalyan Ram under director Anil Ravipudi.
In Tamil, Zee Studios is backing Hi, starring Nayanthara and Kavin and directed by Vishnu Edavan, along with Sathyavan Savithri, featuring Keerthy Suresh and Mysskin under director Praveen S. Vijaay. The Kannada slate features Anna From Mexico, starring Dhananjaya, Reeshma Nanaiah, Umashree, Rangayana Raghu and Sadhu Kokila, directed by Shankar Guru.
Perhaps the most notable expansion is into Gujarati cinema, a market Zee Studios hasn't operated in before. The studio's debut Gujarati production, Tom and Cherry, stars Siddharth Randeria and Dhanya Doshi and is directed by Dharmessh Mehta — a first step into a regional industry that's been quietly growing its own theatrical footprint in recent years.
Marathi cinema remains another pillar of the strategy. Building on the national-award recognition earned by Aatmapamphlet, the studio's upcoming Marathi slate includes Jhep, Phulwara, Maan, Jogai and several other projects still in the pipeline, keeping the language a consistent part of the studio's output rather than a one-off addition. The spokesperson summed up the underlying philosophy: entertainment, for Zee Studios, is meant to serve as the backbone for multilingual and multi-genre cinema, blurring the geographical and colloquial boundaries that have traditionally kept India's film industries siloed from one another.
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