After an impressive run at various film festivals, Saali Mohabbat is set to premiere on ZEE5 later this year.
The highly anticipated ZEE5 Original Film has been directed by Tisca Chopra. It boasts an incredible cast, featuring Radhika Apte, Divyenndu Sharma, Anurag Kashyap, Anshumaan Pushkar, Sauraseni Maitra and Sharat Saxena. It marks Radhika Apte`s return to the platform after her much-loved performance in Mrs. Undercover.
The film premiered at IFFI last year and at the Chicago South Asian Film Festival this year.
Saali Mohabbat invites viewers into a world where love blurs into obsession and buried secrets slowly unravel. It follows Smita (Radhika Apte), a small-town housewife whose seemingly ordinary life descends into a labyrinth of infidelity, deceit, and moral ambiguity. What begins as a tale of domestic routine soon unfolds into a gripping exploration of betrayal, revenge, and the thin, treacherous line between truth and illusion.
Manish Malhotra on production
Produced by Jio Studios and Manish Malhotra’s Stage5 Production, the thriller-drama marks the celebrated designer’s digital debut as a producer — seamlessly blending his signature visual finesse with a deeply emotional narrative.
Producer Manish Malhotra delved into his intent behind founding a production house. The designer said, “Stage5 Production was founded with a clear intention — to back stories that are original in thought and strong in craft. In that same spirit, I’m pleased to announce our second film, Saali Mohabbat — a layered, character-driven drama that examines power, silence, and the invisible cost of human choices. This project has been built with deep involvement at every stage — from development to the final cut — because at Stage5, we don’t just produce films, we stand by them. Every creative and strategic decision has been shaped with purpose, rigour, and responsibility.”
Speaking about the cast, Malhotra said, “We’ve had the privilege of working with an ensemble of exceptionally talented actors, each bringing a distinct rhythm, restraint, and truth to their characters — the kind of performances that don’t speak loudly but linger.”
He further praised the visions of the producers and director, stating that “Jyoti Deshpande and Jio Studios have backed the film from day one with clarity and long-term vision — and at the core of this vision stands Tisca Chopra, whose script and direction bring structure, nuance, and an assured creative voice to the story. We’re also proud to partner with ZEE5, a platform that has consistently championed courageous, content-forward cinema.”
Tisca Chopra on directing
Director Tisca Chopra shared, “With Saali Mohabbat, I wanted to tell a story that feels both intimate and unsettling — one that captures a woman’s gaze in a world full of hidden fractures and polite façades. I’ve always been fascinated by the quiet tensions that exist beneath the surface of relationships — the invisible power struggles, the unspoken expectations, the ways in which love can transform into something darker.”
Elaborating on the themes, she stated, “This film explores those fragile boundaries — of trust, betrayal, and identity — but through a deeply female perspective. It’s about what happens when a woman stops conforming to the emotional roles expected of her and begins to own her truth, no matter how uncomfortable that truth might be.
The Taare Zameen Par actress delved into her experience directing a film for the first time. “Directing Saali Mohabbat has been both terrifying and liberating — terrifying because it demanded emotional vulnerability, and liberating because it allowed me to step outside the boundaries women filmmakers are so often placed within,” she revealed.
She also thanked Manish Malhotra and his team for understanding the film and giving her the confidence that it had found its right home.