Tisca Chopra’s directorial debut Saari Mohabbat is set to premiere on Indian streaming platform ZEE5 later this year after film festival screenings at IFFI Goa and Chicago South Asian Film Festival.
The film revolves around Smita, a housewife from a small town. Smita’s seemingly ordinary life unfolds into a story that explores infidelity, deception, and moral ambiguity.
This thriller-drama also stars Radhika Apte, Divyendu Sharma, Anurag Kashyap, Anshuman Pushkar, Sauraseni Maitra and Sharath Saxena. The film marks Apte’s reunion with ZEE5 after previously starring in ‘Mrs. Undercover’.
‘Saali Mohabbat’ is produced by Jio Studios and Manish Malhotra’s Stage5 Production, marking the renowned fashion designer’s digital debut as a producer. This project will be the fourth collaboration between ZEE5 and Jio Studios after ‘Hisav Barabar’ and ‘Mrs’ starring R. Madhavan and Sanya Malhotra respectively and ‘Bhagwat’ starring Arshad Warsi and Jitendra Kumar.
“I’ve always been fascinated by the quiet tensions that exist beneath the surface of relationships: the invisible power struggles, the unspoken expectations, the way love can turn into something darker,” Chopra said. “This film explores the fragile boundaries of trust, betrayal, and identity through a profound female perspective.”
Kaveri Das, Head of Business, Hindi ZEE5 added, “With Saari Mohabbat, we are excited to bring you a thriller that is not just suspense, but a complex emotional thriller that drives human choices.”
Jio Studios President Jyoti Deshpande characterized the film as “an originally crafted thriller that marks a proud collaboration with Manish Malhotra, a producer who seamlessly extends his creative brilliance from fashion to film.”
Malhotra explained that Stage5 Production was founded to support original stories with strong craft. “This project is built with deep involvement in every step of the way, from development to final cut, because at Stage5 we don’t just make movies, we support them,” he said. “All creative and strategic decisions are shaped by purpose, rigor and responsibility.”
Producers said the film features “an ensemble of extraordinarily talented actors, each bringing a unique rhythm, restraint, and truth to their characters, with performances that linger rather than speak loudly.”
Mr. Chopra acknowledged that Mr. Malhotra provided critical support in the early stages of the project. “Hearing Manish’s reaction – just three minutes into the narration – gave me confidence that this story had found the right home,” she said. “He and his team supported this film not only with resources, but with true artistic trust and emotional understanding, allowing the film to retain its raw, unrefined honesty.”
The director described the experience of making the film as “both terrifying and liberating. It was scary because it required emotional vulnerability, but liberating because it allowed me to step outside of the boundaries that female filmmakers are often placed in.”
ZEE5 serves over 190 countries with a language-first platform approach and delivers content in seven languages: Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Bengali, Malayalam, Kannada and Marathi.
