Saif Ali Khan is set to headline the upcoming period drama Hum Hindustani, which was announced by Netflix as part of its 2026 slate of releases. The film is centred on the monumental and historic challenge of conducting India’s first democratic election and chronicles the journey of a group of officials striving to carry out the process amid widespread chaos, resistance and overwhelming odds.
The narrative of Hum Hindustani focuses on the extraordinary efforts behind delivering the country’s first elections, portraying how a determined team navigates political unrest, logistical hurdles and social resistance to lay the foundation of the world’s largest democracy.
Speaking about the project at Netflix’s event held on Tuesday in Mumbai, Saif reflected on his long association with the streaming platform. He said, “Honestly, it feels like being at home because Netflix and I started off together 10 years ago... 'Sacred Games' was amazing. And I think it always stood for high quality. And the people that we work with, even in the production, have made sure that we make a lovely kind of good-looking and very interesting product every time.”
He further added, “And this time, to get a chance to do a film like this, to work with Pratik, our production ... has been incredible. We got a subject about how India became the world's largest democracy.”
The film also stars Pratik Gandhi in the role of a police officer. Pratik, who was last seen in Saare Jahan Se Achha on Netflix, spoke about his excitement at exploring varied genres and meaningful stories. He said, “When you’ve compelling stories, smart writing, brilliant directors, and talented actors, you’ve to amp up your game, and a platform gives you freedom to experiment, the least the actor can do is experiment fearlessly and the result will be that people will like it and applaud it. It encourages us to do more experiments. Talking about democracy, this is the best film to come up with.”
During the same interaction, Saif also shared updates about another film he has completed with Netflix titled Kartavya. Talking about the project, he said, “We just finished doing a movie called 'Kartavya' which is really great... Shah Rukh's company, Red chillies, produced it and it's going to be coming out soon. And it's a really lovely piece by a director called Pulkit.”
Kartavya, which also stars Rasika Duggal, is a mystery thriller. The story revolves around a journalist who is murdered while exposing a revered godman, following which a small-town SHO from western Uttar Pradesh is framed and forced to choose between his duty to the law, his family and the pursuit of truth.
Directed by Rahul Dholakia, Hum Hindustani is inspired by true events. The film is produced by Emmay Entertainment, with Monisha Advani, Madhu Bhojwani and Nikkhil Advani serving as producers. Along with Saif Ali Khan and Pratik Gandhi, the ensemble cast includes Deepak Dobriyal, Mimi Chakraborty, Sarika and Shraddha Danger.
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