Bollywood actor Emraan Hashmi is all set to make his streaming comeback with a controversial series named Showtime. Hotstar Specials Showtime will be released on Disney Plus Hotstar on March 8, 2024. Hotstar Specials Showtime is the next big thing in the world of OTT as it has multiple big actors & actresses in it. Talking about starcast, Showtime features Emraan Hashmi, Mahima Makwana, Mouni Roy, Rajeev Khandelwal, Shriya Saran, Vijay Raaz, Naseeruddin Shah, Lilette Dubey, Vishal Vashishtha, Neeraj Madhav, Gurpreet Saini, Denzil Smith and more in the leading roles. Interestingly, Showtime is produced by Karan Johar and the series revolves around the burning debate of nepotism. Recently, Emraan Hashmi came in support of Karan Johar during an interview for a YouTube channel.
During his interview, Emraan Hashmi said, "Let's address the elephant in the room. It's a lot more than just that (nepotism). We just wanted to address that from the word go. If you have a show about Bollywood there has been one heated debate going on in our country for almost like 7 years now and Karan is helming things but he is the one on the receiving end. Unfairly so I feel. Because he has given equal opportunities to people who are outsiders."
"At first, a synopsis came to me two years ago. I just felt that this is the world that I have been a part of for the past 25 years. The perception of Bollywood at least in the last 3 years has been very skewed. It's a more negative, cynical perception."
Is Hotstar Specials Showtime a true story?
The answer is yes and no at the same time. Showtime is an original story written by Sumit Roy, Lara Chandni, Mithun Gangopadhyay, however, its concept of nepotism in Bollywood is inspired by true stories. Hotstar Specials Showtime is a drama that showcases the nepotism politics that prevail in Bollywood and the epic saga of legacy and ambition in the world of cinema especially in the Hindi film industry.
For the unversed, Bollywood filmmakers and production houses have been accused by multiple actors and actresses of favoritism and nepotism. Among the most famous ones is Kangana Ranaut calling Karan Johar 'the flag bearer of nepotism'. Nepotism in Bollywood debate intensified after actor Sushant Singh Rajput was found dead under mysterious circumstances at his Mumbai apartment. Many big and newcomers accused film-makers and production houses of isolating Sushant Singh Rajput. Multiple videos went viral on social media in which Karan Johar was seen deliberately asking questions about Sushant Singh Rajput to other actors in his chat shows. Interestingly, Showtime is produced by none other than Karan Johar.