A Decade Later, Ventilator 2 Gets a 2027 Release

Priyanka Chopra Jonas is returning to the film that helped define her banner’s early promise. Ventilator 2, a sequel to the National Award-winning 2016 Marathi drama Ventilator, has been announced with a 2027 release.

The news doubles as a birthday: Purple Pebble Pictures, the production house behind Ventilator, completes ten years. On Instagram, Priyanka framed the sequel as a full-circle moment for a company built on “telling stories that meant something to us,” adding there is now “so much more to tell…”

A decade on, the Kamerkars get another chapter

Original director Rajesh Mapuskar returns to write and direct the sequel. He is producing alongside Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Dr Madhu Chopra under Purple Pebble Pictures and Magij Pictures. That continuity matters: Mapuskar shaped the first film’s fine balance of laughter and ache, and bringing him back signals the sequel is being treated as more than a quick follow-up.

Why the first Ventilator still resonates

The 2016 original followed the Kamerkar family as relatives gathered at a hospital after an elder was put on a ventilator just before Ganesh Chaturthi. What could have been a sombre waiting-room drama became a warm, funny look at family bonds, generational friction, old resentments and eventual reconciliation. It asked pointed questions about mortality without losing its lightness.

The acclaim backed that up. Ventilator won three National Film Awards, including Best Director for Mapuskar, making it a rare Marathi title that travelled well beyond its home audience.

Purple Pebble Pictures at ten

The sequel lands at a useful moment for regional cinema. Over the past decade, Priyanka’s banner has repeatedly backed stories rooted in local languages and cultures, well outside the mainstream Hindi lane. With Marathi, Tamil, Telugu and other regional films now commanding bigger theatrical runs and streaming visibility, a follow-up to a proven title is a sensible, low-context bet for new audiences.

For Total Filmi readers, the announcement is also a nudge: regional film is no longer a side note to Bollywood coverage. It is where some of the most interesting family storytelling is happening, and a sequel arriving a decade on is a good reminder to catch up with the original first.

What we know so far

• The team: Rajesh Mapuskar writes and directs; Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Dr Madhu Chopra and Mapuskar produce.
• The window: Ventilator 2 is planned for a 2027 theatrical release.
• The mystery: No cast, story or exact release date has been revealed yet.

Priyanka’s next big-screen stop

Before Ventilator 2 arrives, fans can catch her in Varanasi, co-starring Mahesh Babu and Prithviraj Sukumaran. That film is dated for April 7, 2027, so the year is shaping up to be a significant one for her on screen.

Source: The Times of India