Tehran director Arun Gopalan confirms John Abraham's Malakal and Tariq will be '100 percent' theatrical releases | Exclusive

John Abraham's Tehran was released directly on ZEE5 (OTTplay Premium), skipping a theatrical release. In a chat with OTTplay director Arun Gopalan shared updates about John's upcoming projects.

Arun Gopalan, John Abraham

Tehran directed by Arun Gopalan, stars John Abraham in the lead role. The film received mixed responses from critics and fans. Amid this, OTTplay exclusively reported that Tehran, which had a direct OTT release on ZEE5 (OTTplay Premium), will be available for streaming on Netflix from August 26. In an exclusive chat with Arun Gopalan, the director reacted to the news, discussed working with John, his next Malakal and Tariq, and more.

Arun Gopalan on Malakal and Tariq

During an exclusive chat with OTTplay, Arun Gopalan was asked about his upcoming projects. The filmmaker confirmed that he is again working with John Abraham for Malakal and Tariq. When asked whether these will be theatrical or OTT released, the filmmaker confirmed, "They will be 100 percent theatrical release."

He said, "I have one with John, it's called Malakal, based in South Sudan. It's quite an interesting palette. So I am really looking forward to that one. I also have another one, which is Tariq. They are going to be 100 percent theatrical releases."

Arun Gopalan on Tehran getting mixed responses

When asked how Arun is getting responses about Tehran he said, "I'm not looking into social media. I have received some positive responses from my friends, but yeah."

Also Read: Tehran: OTT giant picks John Abraham's spy thriller days after ZEE5 release—here’s when to watch

Arun Gopalan on Tehran to stream on Netflix after ZEE5

When asked about his thoughts on Tehran getting released on Netflix within a few days of direct release on ZEE5, Arun said, "I am not privy to the decision that the producers take, so I will not be in position to answer this question."

Tehran was compared to western-style spy thrillers. Did you draw inspiration from international cinema while making it?

"No, I actually know what it is not. For me, yes in a way, I am a huge fan of Sicario. So for me Sicario was like, we got the action director from the same guy who did Sicario. So that was my benchmark, you know, just to have just that approach to cinema. Just telling a story, you know, so if you ask me yes, I am a huge fan of Sicario."

Arun Gopalan on working with John Abraham

"John is a very different person for me. I've worked with John about 20 years ago. I think when I started off in advertising and I had to do some films, I always liked the sports car commercials, you know, those are my an action action. So that was my genre, but and so I did a film for ESPN and it was a very cool film. In fact, we did about two or three films that time with John and then we kept bumping into each other. So there's not much of a I didn't know him as a person. So for me when I first narrated Tehran to him which is like 20 years later for me, so I thought it will be another. You know actors would want to know how much of the film is about them and how important are they in the scheme of things and stuff like that. John had nothing for me except for the one thing that he said was in the end in Tehran. I had John killing Afshar which was the most cliche boring thing. So John said that I should not kill him and I was like, wow, that's it's amazing that an actor seeing this and I would love to have that as the ending. He is the king in action.

Arun Gopalan on Tehran was supposed to be a theatrical release

"100 percent, it was planned for a theatrical release. But the most obvious reason, which I would assume is the use of Farsi, the extensive use of Farsi and English. So I think that might have just been the reason, because that's the most logical reason. Because there would have trouble understanding it. And this is a subtitle film, no matter what language you speak, this has to be seen with subtitles."

Do you think Tehran would have worked more efficiently if it was released in theaters?

"I don't know. That's a very tricky question because I am not a producer and it is not my money. I would say yes but I don't know and I am new to Bollywood. So I really don't understand how the industry works, I'm still grappling."

Some argue OTT audiences are more experimental. Did that give you the freedom to make bolder choices with Tehran?

"I didn't look at it as an OTT platform. So for me, yes we did take some really bold decisions on set also. Like for example, there is a scene with Afshar in bed with another boy. That scene was supposed to be with a girl, and we were all ready, we were all waiting for the girl to get ready because she was talking about contracts and how much nudity and stuff like that. And so someone was handling her and she was already late on set and I was just sitting there and I saw this light boy, like a gaffer. Then I was told that he wants to be in the film and I was like god sent and I wanted you to be the boy on the bed. Afsar and I, both loved it. There was a whole scene which was quite nice but it was a little chopped to what it is now, unfortunately. But that was a bold decision for me."

A part of social media claims that Tehran feels repetitive in terms of the plot. What's your take on that?

"The only reason that I feel that it feels repetitive is because, you know, the fact that it is a little complicated in terms of storytelling and to understand that okay, there is a gas leads that is involved. So just to kind of repeat that and hammer it into your head again and again that, okay, parallelly, there is a gas leads that's kind of as important as the mission for Rajiv. So now, which department is going to sway with whom? Things like that need reasoning and I think hence you need to kind of hammer the same thing again and again. So maybe it feels repetitive and I feel that was needed."

FAQs:

Q: When did Tehran release on ZEE5?

A: Tehran premiered on ZEE5 on August 14, 2025.

Q: When will Tehran be available on Netflix?

A: The film will stream on Netflix from August 26, 2025.

Q: Who stars in Tehran?

A3: The film features John Abraham, Neeru Bajwa, Manushi Chhillar, Madhurima Tuli, Alyy Khan, and Elnaaz Norouzi.

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