Thirteen years after its theatrical release, Shahid has finally found a streaming home on Prime Video. However, the arrival of Hansal Mehta’s National Award-winning film has led writer-editor Apurva M Asrani to question why it took so long. In a politically charged note, Asrani reflected on the film’s prolonged absence from OTT, the changing space for stories centred on dissent and the rights of accused people, and whether the prevailing political climate played a role in its delayed digital release.
Apurva marked the film’s streaming debut by questioning the lengthy gap between its theatrical and OTT releases in a post on X. He recalled the story the film sought to tell through lawyer and human rights activist Shahid Azmi.
“Shahid tells the story of Shahid Azmi, a lawyer who defended people accused under terror laws and fought for due process in a climate where Muslims were often presumed guilty before being proven innocent. He was murdered for that courage,” Apurva wrote.
He then questioned why the film had remained unavailable on a streaming platform for so many years. Looking back at the political environment after the film’s release, Apurva linked the challenges faced by people telling stories about dissent, activism and the rights of the accused with the movie’s delayed digital availability.
“I’ve often wondered why Shahid remained without a streaming platform for so long. It was released a year before 2014. Then came a political climate in which dissenters, activists, journalists and those defending the rights of the accused increasingly found themselves under suspicion,” he wrote.
Apurva also mentioned activist Umar Khalid, who has spent years in prison awaiting trial, while making his wider point about the environment in which stories of this nature were being created.
Apurva Asrani on the changing space for such stories
The writer-editor further spoke about filmmakers, actors and writers who, according to him, wanted to tell stories similar to Shahid but found it difficult to get such projects made.
He alleged that some of them were eventually “co-opted by the system” into creating what he called “kosher” stories, which he claimed could win National Awards because of their political conformity rather than their artistic qualities.
Apurva then asked why Shahid had finally secured a streaming platform in 2026.
“So why now? Why does a film like Shahid finally find a streaming platform in 2026? Has the mood changed? Is there growing resistance to the politics of fear?” he wrote.
Despite questioning the reason behind the film’s delayed OTT release, he said he remained proud of the project and the role it played in his career.
“Whatever the reason, I’m proud of this film. It established me as a co-writer/editor and brought me back to the kind of cinema I believe in,” Apurva wrote.
He concluded his post by thanking Prime Video and encouraging audiences to watch the film again.
“This film, made by a wonderful team, is a reminder of the kind of courageous cinema we used to make and celebrate. Thank you @PrimeVideoIN,” he added.
Hansal Mehta had earlier raised questions over Shahid's OTT absence
The film’s lengthy absence from streaming has previously been highlighted by its director Hansal Mehta. In 2022, Mehta had voiced his disappointment over Shahid not being available on any OTT platform.
At the time, he said he was unaware of who held the film’s rights or where its original version was located. He called the situation a “personal tragedy” for everyone involved in the film, as well as for Shahid Azmi.
Mehta also noted that the film had premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival, won two National Awards and been screened at multiple international festivals, but still did not have a streaming platform.
The film’s eventual release on Prime Video thus comes more than a decade after it first reached theatres.
About Shahid
Released theatrically on October 18, 2013, Shahid is based on the life of Mumbai lawyer and human rights activist Shahid Azmi, who was assassinated in 2010. Rajkummar Rao plays the titular character, while Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub, Prabhleen Sandhu and Baljinder Kaur appear in supporting roles.
Directed by Hansal Mehta, the film had its world premiere at the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival as part of the City to City programme. It was later screened at festivals such as the Mumbai Film Festival, New York Indian Film Festival, Indian Film Festival of Stuttgart, Dubai International Film Festival and Chicago South Asian Film Festival.
Shahid subsequently received two major honours at the 61st National Film Awards. Hansal Mehta won Best Direction, while Rajkummar Rao shared the Best Actor award.
The screenplay was written by Sameer Gautam Singh and Apurva Asrani, who also edited the film. Anurag Kashyap, Sunil Bohra, Ronnie Screwvala and Siddharth Roy Kapur produced the film.
