Bastar The Naxal Story OTT release: Here's when and where you can watch Vipul Shah, Adah Sharma's controversial film

Vipul Amrutlal Shah, Sudipto Sen, and Adah Sharma's hard-hitting, controversial film, Bastar: The Naxal Story is now geared up for OTT release. Bastar: The Naxal Story is Vipul, Sudipto, and Adah's second outing after last year's blockbuster The Kerala Story. On Wednesday (May 8), the makers surprised the audiences by dropping a new promo and announced the release of Bastar: The Naxal Story on the digital platform ZEE5. The film will be available to watch from May 17, 2024, and will be released simultaneously in Hindi and Telugu.

The production house, Sunshine Pictures dropped the announcement with the trailer, and captioned the post, "A sincere officer, and an even badass fighter. Naxalwaad ko jadd se mitane aa rahi hai Neerja Madhavan. #Bastar premieres 17th May, only on #ZEE5. Available in Hindi and Telugu." 

Bastar: The Naxal Story was released in the cinemas on March 15, 2024. The film opened to mixed reviews, and couldn't repeat the success of The Kerala Story. Adah's latest film grossed only Rs 3.75 crores worldwide, becoming a flop. 

Adah Sharma on trolls calling her prostitute 

Like The Kerala Story, Bastar was debated for its controversial theme, with many detractors calling it ‘agenda-driven’ and labelling it propaganda. In an interview with DNA, Adah reacted, “When they launched the poster of Bastar, I was not even a part of it. The poster just had the forest and the film’s title, the word Bastar. I was not even cast for it so I was not there. There was not even a synopsis. And under that, all the comments were ‘propaganda’! If you are deciding it is propaganda based on just that, I don’t know what to say.”

Two weeks before Bastar’s release, Adah was seen in the second season of the dark comedy Sunflower. The actress said that even during the promotions for the show, she was trolled. “I see those propaganda comments on each post I make, even ones about Sunflower. There will be that word – prostitute in Hindi. So like I say it’s a free country. You can choose to do what you want. I will not go out and engage every one of you." Produced by Vipul Amrutlal Shah's Sunshine Pictures and co-produced by Aashin A. Shah, Bastar: The Naxal Story is directed by Sudipto Sen and features Adah Sharma in the lead.