Bollywood stars Varun Dhawan and Samantha Ruth Prabhu unveiled the trailer of their ambitious new show Citadel: Honey Bunny at a glitzy event in Mumbai on Tuesday.
It is a spin-off of the Prime Video show Citadel, starring Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Richard Madden. The Indian series is one of many offshoots planned, including the Italian show Citadel: Diana, which had its premiere last week.
Created by the Russo brothers Anthony and Joe, who are best known for their Marvel movies, Citadel is one of the most expensive series made, with a reported budget of more than $300 million.
The Indian version is directed by acclaimed duo Raj Nidimoru and Krishna DK, famously known as Raj & DK, with the Russo brothers serving as producers. It will have its global premiere on November 7.
Amazon Prime Video executive Gaurav Gandhi describes Citadel: Honey Bunny as "an Indian story that has the power to captivate audiences around the world".
Set in Mumbai in the 1990s, the show serves as a prequel to the American show and focuses on the origin story of Chopra Jonas's character Nadia Sinh.
Dhawan plays Bollywood stuntman Bunny who moonlights as a spy. When he recruits struggling actress Honey (Samantha) for a simple mission, things do not go as planned, and they are hurled into a high-stakes world of espionage and betrayal. Years later, the now estranged Honey and Bunny must reunite and fight to protect their young daughter Nadia.
Dhawan recalled a phone call he had with DK in which the director mentioned he was working on something with the Russo brothers. "I told him: 'You had me at Russo,'" Dhawan says, laughing.
"Bunny is unlike any role I’ve played before. As a spy, he not only leads a double life, but every aspect of his personality has two distinct sides, which was very exciting for me as an actor."
Samantha, who uses just her first name, said she relished the opportunity to get in on the action. "I get to kick some ass, for a change," she said. "I love that a lot of the heavy lifting in the show is done by the female characters, as we do in real life."
Known for their experimental and quirky filmmaking style, Raj & DK are known for films including their debut feature 99, India's first zombie film Go Goa Gone and the action comedy A Gentleman. They've also created two hit shows for Prime Video – spy drama The Family Man, now in its second season, and the action thriller Farzi.
"Citadel: Honey Bunny is nothing like anything we've ever done before and a complete genre shift for us," Raj says.
DK adds the show was made "locally, with global ambitions". He adds: "Our experience has taught us that for anything to be successful internationally, it has to work locally. So, it's a very Indian show at heart."
But it was young actress Kashvi Majmundar, eight, who stole the show at the trailer launch. The schoolgirl in Dubai is making her acting debut with Citadel: Honey Bunny.
"I loved playing a younger version of Priyanka Chopra. She's an all-rounder, an actress, a singer and a dancer, just like me," she said to huge applause. "I was also lucky to have such good-looking on-screen parents."
Chopra Jonas and Madden are set to return for season two of Citadel, which is currently in production, to be directed by Joe Russo.
Why seagrass matters
- Carbon sink: Seagrass sequesters carbon up to 35X faster than tropical rainforests
- Marine nursery: Crucial habitat for juvenile fish, crustations, and invertebrates
- Biodiversity: Support species like sea turtles, dugongs, and seabirds
- Coastal protection: Reduce erosion and improve water quality
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
PROFILE OF HALAN
Started: November 2017
Founders: Mounir Nakhla, Ahmed Mohsen and Mohamed Aboulnaga
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: transport and logistics
Size: 150 employees
Investment: approximately $8 million
Investors include: Singapore’s Battery Road Digital Holdings, Egypt’s Algebra Ventures, Uber co-founder and former CTO Oscar Salazar
The specs: 2018 Chevrolet Trailblazer
Price, base / as tested Dh99,000 / Dh132,000
Engine 3.6L V6
Transmission: Six-speed automatic
Power 275hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque 350Nm @ 3,700rpm
Fuel economy combined 12.2L / 100km
Tamkeen's offering
- Option 1: 70% in year 1, 50% in year 2, 30% in year 3
- Option 2: 50% across three years
- Option 3: 30% across five years
More about Middle East geopolitics
Thank You for Banking with Us
Director: Laila Abbas
Starring: Yasmine Al Massri, Clara Khoury, Kamel El Basha, Ashraf Barhoum
Rating: 4/5
Match info:
Wolves 1
Boly (57')
Manchester City 1
Laporte (69')
Day 1, Abu Dhabi Test: At a glance
Moment of the day Dimuth Karunaratne had batted with plenty of pluck, and no little skill, in getting to within seven runs of a first-day century. Then, while he ran what he thought was a comfortable single to mid-on, his batting partner Dinesh Chandimal opted to stay at home. The opener was run out by the length of the pitch.
Stat of the day – 1 One six was hit on Day 1. The boundary was only breached 18 times in total over the course of the 90 overs. When it did arrive, the lone six was a thing of beauty, as Niroshan Dickwella effortlessly clipped Mohammed Amir over the square-leg boundary.
The verdict Three wickets down at lunch, on a featherbed wicket having won the toss, and Sri Lanka’s fragile confidence must have been waning. Then Karunaratne and Chandimal's alliance of precisely 100 gave them a foothold in the match. Dickwella’s free-spirited strokeplay meant the Sri Lankans were handily placed at 227-4 at the close.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The specs
Engine: Dual 180kW and 300kW front and rear motors
Power: 480kW
Torque: 850Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh359,900 ($98,000)
On sale: Now
FIXTURES
All times UAE ( 4 GMT)
Saturday
Fiorentina v Torino (8pm)
Hellas Verona v Roma (10.45pm)
Sunday
Parma v Napoli (2.30pm)
Genoa v Crotone (5pm)
Sassuolo v Cagliari (8pm)
Juventus v Sampdoria (10.45pm)
Monday
AC Milan v Bologna (10.45om)
Playing September 30
Benevento v Inter Milan (8pm)
Udinese v Spezia (8pm)
Lazio v Atalanta (10.45pm)
The%20specs
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Fixtures
Tuesday - 5.15pm: Team Lebanon v Alger Corsaires; 8.30pm: Abu Dhabi Storms v Pharaohs
Wednesday - 5.15pm: Pharaohs v Carthage Eagles; 8.30pm: Alger Corsaires v Abu Dhabi Storms
Thursday - 4.30pm: Team Lebanon v Pharaohs; 7.30pm: Abu Dhabi Storms v Carthage Eagles
Friday - 4.30pm: Pharaohs v Alger Corsaires; 7.30pm: Carthage Eagles v Team Lebanon
Saturday - 4.30pm: Carthage Eagles v Alger Corsaires; 7.30pm: Abu Dhabi Storms v Team Lebanon
CREW
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ERajesh%20A%20Krishnan%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ETabu%2C%20Kareena%20Kapoor%20Khan%2C%20Kriti%20Sanon%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%203.5%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
La Mer lowdown
La Mer beach is open from 10am until midnight, daily, and is located in Jumeirah 1, well after Kite Beach. Some restaurants, like Cupagahwa, are open from 8am for breakfast; most others start at noon. At the time of writing, we noticed that signs for Vicolo, an Italian eatery, and Kaftan, a Turkish restaurant, indicated that these two restaurants will be open soon, most likely this month. Parking is available, as well as a Dh100 all-day valet option or a Dh50 valet service if you’re just stopping by for a few hours.
Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere
Director: Scott Cooper
Starring: Jeremy Allen White, Odessa Young, Jeremy Strong
Rating: 4/5
