Filmmaker Madhur Bhandarkar’s upcoming film Babli Bouncer, starring Baahubali actress Tamannaah Bhatia as a bodybuilder-turned-bouncer, could have been a serious film but Bhandarkar wanted to keep it entertaining and lighthearted, he said on Monday.

“We have not made it (the film) over-the-top or larger than life. It is a good combination of Manmohan Desai, Hrishikesh Mukherjee and Basu da kind of films,” he added.

The film, which will release on Disney+ Hotstar on September 23, is also Bhandarkar’s first film to get an exclusive release on a streaming platform.

The Fashion helmer said Babli Bouncer is ideal for a release on an OTT platform.

“I believe this is the perfect film for OTT. Even the producers felt the same. There is a huge audience on OTT today. People want to watch good films, be it on OTT or in the theatre. The lines have blurred,” Bhandarkar added.

Tamannaah, who predominantly works in Tamil and Telugu-language films and has also acted in few Hindi movies, said the film focuses on the physical strength of women rather than their emotional strengths.

“In our country and even in terms of cinema, a woman's physical strength is not shown much, her emotional strength is. We have seen all of that innumerably like emotionally strong characters but how should she look... There are so many cliches that this film is trying to break in a light hearted way,” she said.

Produced by Star Studios and Junglee Pictures, Babli Bouncer also stars Saurabh Shukla, Abhishek Bajaj and Sahil Vaid in pivotal roles.

Bhandarkar, known for films such as Chandni Bar, Page 3, Jail and Heroine, hoped that the film industry will bounce back soon.

“I have seen this industry very closely since a very long time. Earlier piracy was rampant and it was said that theatres would shut down as people were watching films on video cassettes. Similarly, when cable and OTT came in, people said the same thing again that the industry would shut down,” the 54-year-old said.

“There are some films that have not worked today. But there have been good films in the last six-eight months that have worked commercially. So, a good film works. There is a phase in every industry,” Bhandarkar added.