Citadel: Honey Bunny stars Varun Dhawan and Samantha reveal global ambitions for Indian spin-off

Bollywood pair lead offshoot of American hit, following the origin story of Priyanka Chopra Jonas's character

Varun Dhawan and Samantha at the trailer launch of Citadel: Honey Bunny in Mumbai. Photo: Prime Video

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.