15th March, Mumbai: ZEE5, India’s largest home-grown video streaming platform, announced its latest direct-to-digital film, ‘Am I Next’. Directed by Rahat Kazmi and written by Kritika Rampal and Rahat Kazmi, the movie has won several awards and received international recognition at various film festivals. Starring Anushka Sen, the free-to-air film is based on a 14-year-old teenage girl, Honey who is a rape victim and has to fight a long legal battle for her right to terminate her pregnancy.
With an IMDB rating of 8.5, the critically acclaimed film has received a stupendous response at several film festivals and has won various awards. From ‘Best Film – Social Cause Award’ at Indian Film Festival of Boston and ‘Best Feature Film’ at Sweden Film Awards to ‘Outstanding Achievement Award – Narrative Feature’ at World Film Carnival, Singapore and an Honourable Mention at New York Movie Awards, the film has been widely appreciated. Additionally, Anushka Sen has won Best Actress at Indian Film Festival of Boston, New York Movie Awards and Desiblitz Film Fusion Birmingham. After doing the international rounds, Am I Next will be free-to-stream on ZEE5 from 17th March.
Produced by Rahat Kazmi Films, Tariq Khan Productions, and Zeba Sajid Films, ‘Am I Next’ is inspired by true events and is based on a 14-year-old teenager who is a rape survivor. The film follows her struggle to seek her right to terminate her pregnancy and clear the dirty allegations levelled against her. She fights for her right without thinking twice about what the world would say and marches forward with a brave heart so that history doesn’t repeat itself and the criminal is not let loose. However, the world is not so fair so will justice be served? Will the country step towards becoming a better and safer country for women?
Manish Kalra, Chief Business Officer, ZEE5 India said, “As the multilingual storyteller of India and Bharat alike, we take pride in partnering with storytellers who have diverse, impactful and entertaining stories to tell. ‘Am I Next’ has a very strong narrative that has won multiple accolades and we are glad to platform this movie on ZEE5. Available on AVOD, we are sure that the movie will not only connect with the audience but will also motivate and inspire a lot of brave hearts to make a difference to the society.”
Producer turned Director Rahat Kazmi said, “This film is extremely special to me because of the powerful story that we have. With a lot of research, we managed to make a film that will connect with the audience. After multiple accolades, we are glad that ZEE5 will platform the movie and it will reach out to the audience in 190+ countries. Anushka Sen has done a splendid job with her character, and I am sure it will make the audience emotional but at the same time inspire a lot of individuals. People will connect with this film, and I hope that it makes a little difference to our society as well”.
Actress Anushka Sen said, “The film – Am I Next is very close to my heart. I believe we are addressing a very important issue via this film. Doing this film and playing this character was not very easy, it had its own set of challenges but I’m glad that finally the audience will get a chance to see it on ZEE5. I urge everyone to come forward and watch this film as it will inspire and motivate young girls to fight for justice. It will give them strength to fight their individual battles. I am grateful to ZEE5 for platforming this film and I hope it reaches as many people as possible”.