Kareena Kapoor Khan and Prithviraj Sukumaran Star in 'Daayra' as Junglee Pictures and Pen Studios Unveil New Slate

Two of India's most established production houses are joining forces, and their first film together lands in cinemas next month. Junglee Pictures and Pen Studios have partnered on a new slate of films, beginning with Daayra, a crime thriller starring Kareena Kapoor Khan and Prithviraj Sukumaran, directed by Meghna Gulzar (Variety).

Daayra is inspired by true events and follows a crime and its aftermath, exploring guilt, punishment and moral accountability. The film is set to reach theatres on 18 September, with its trailer arriving on 31 August (Variety; Taran Adarsh, Facebook).

The partnership brings together two companies with strong track records in Hindi cinema. Junglee Pictures, owned by the Times Group — whose managing director is Vineet Jain — has backed films including Raazi, Talvar, Badhaai Ho and Badhaai Do. Pen Studios, led by chair and managing director Jayantilal Gada, has supported titles such as Gangubai Kathiawadi and RRR, and has Tumbbad 2 on its upcoming slate (Variety).

For Gulzar, the project continues her run of fact-based dramas; her previous film Talvar, also a Junglee Pictures production, examined the 2008 Noida double murder case. Kapoor Khan remains one of Hindi cinema's most consistent box-office draws, while Prithviraj Sukumaran has built a cross-industry career spanning Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu and Hindi-language films.

The timing is notable. Hindi cinema grossed $577 million at the box office in 2025, its biggest year yet, with original Hindi-language films accounting for 93% of that revenue. In the first half of 2026, Indian theatres logged their best opening six months since the pandemic era began winding down, with Hindi films collecting $295 million (Variety).

Those numbers explain why two companies with separate production pipelines would pool resources. A slate deal — where partners co-finance and co-release a series of films rather than backing them one at a time — spreads risk across multiple titles while giving each partner access to the other's development roster. For a market where original Hindi scripts are driving nearly all of the box office, the bet is on stories grounded in real events rather than franchise IP.

The first test comes in three weeks. The trailer drops 31 August; the film opens 18 September.