HORRIBLE TIMES FOR THE INDUSTRY CONTINUE The month of April 2024 has turned out to be one of the worst ever for Bollywood. Of course, business came to a standstill during Covid times. But right now, the Covid effect is zero. Yet, there’s a lack of exciting films up for release. It all began with the twin debacles of Bade Miyan Chote Miyan and Maidaan on Eid. A lot was expected from these movies. Bade Miyan Chote Miyan is a masala action film but it never generated excitement. Yet, there were hopes that the Akshay Kumar-Tiger Shroff starrer would at least collect Rs. 100 or Rs. 150 crores ..read more

Box Office India Trade Network BADE MIYAN CHOTE MIYAN has seen a heavy fall as it heads for second week collection of 7.25 crore nett. The film has just crashed out which was expected going by the trend on the weekdays of the first week. The total collection of the film so far is 51.75 crore nett and it looks like it will fizzle out at under 60 crore nett though the lack of releases will also keep this film in the cinemas. Hence, it still could be in theatres in May despite the total rejection. Actually, rejection is not the main issue; its the fact there was simply no interest and it got ..read more

Box Office India Trade Network CREW is benefitting from from the Eid releases failing at the box office. After two weeks the film was probably on course for a 70 crore nett figure with 63 crore nett up on the board but it now looks a finish at around 77-78 crore and could even reach 80 crore nett.  The trend does not look that of 80 crore nett as its weaker than TERI BAATON MEIN AISA ULJHA JIYA. But all it takes is one steady week to change that. The first two weeks of CREW were very similar to TERI BAATON MEIN AISA ULJHA JIYA but week three and week four have fell short. TE ..read more

The second gun was recovered from Tapi River in Surat on Tuesday. Pic/ANI Ahmed Ali (THE TIMES OF INDIA; April 24, 2024) Mumbai: The Mumbai crime branch probing the April 14 firing on actor Salman Khan’s house has recovered the second gun, along with two magazines containing 17 bullets, that the alleged shooters threw in the Tapi river in Surat in their attempt to cover their tracks. The first gun was found earlier in the river on Monday. The recovery of both the illegal country-made pistols from the riverbed, which in some places was 20m deep, was made with the help of Dubai-based Envite ..read more

Fahadh Faasil explains how Malayalam cinema’s biz model is different from rest of India’s MID-DAY (April 24, 2024) Malayalam star Fahadh Faasil, acclaimed for his recent release, Aavesham, has chalked out the difference between Malayalam cinema and the rest of Indian cinema. The actor, renowned for his roles in Maheshinte Prathikaaram (2016), Kumbalangi Nights (2019), Malik (2021), Joji (2021), and others, highlighted that Malayalam cinema still lacks substantial support from OTT platforms. In an interview, Faasil said, “The trade has grown for Malayalam cinema, but our films even now don ..read more

Navya Kharbanda (HINDUSTAN TIMES; April 24, 2024) Last year’s surprise hit 12th Fail recently completed 25 weeks of its theatrical run, a feat not seen in Bollywood for 23 years since Gadar in 2001. And actor Medha Shankr, who played actor Vikrant Massey’s love interest in the Vidhu Vinod Chopra directorial, couldn’t be more elated. “It’s unbelievable. It is a remarkable feat for any film,” says Shankr, adding that the team had a mini celebration at a theatre recently. “We were given certificates saying ‘25 weeks’, a cake was cut and there were posters all around,” she recalls. The film p ..read more

Navya Kharbanda (HINDUSTAN TIMES; April 24, 2024) Surreal and unbelievable” is how the ‘queen of Indian pop’, singer Usha Uthup describes receiving the Padma Bhushan on Monday. “I couldn’t believe this was happening. The whole ceremony — starting from the rehearsal in the morning when we were told how to walk and go to her and face the camera — was surreal for me,” shares the 76-year-old. The singer recalls the happy feeling washing over her during the ceremony, too: “You just do your work like a zombie and don’t think at that time because you are so overwhelmed. The excitement and nervou ..read more

HINDUSTAN TIMES (April 24, 2024) Actor Chunky Panday has now opened up about his daughter, actor Ananya Panday’s relationship with actor Aditya Roy Kapur. In an interview with Lehren Retro, the Sardar (2022) actor said that he doesn’t mind if Ananya talks openly about her beau. When asked about his daughter’s openness about her relationship with Kapur, Panday said, “I mean it’s fine. I think she is 25, she is earning more money than I did. She is free to do what she wants. How dare I tell my 25-year-old daughter what to do.” Ananya and Kapur made headlines last year when pictures of them ..read more

Akash Bhatnagar (HINDUSTAN TIMES; April 24, 2024) He might have got recognition with the web show The Family Man (TFM) but actor Sharib Hashmi has a deep-rooted passion for theatre. He recently announced that he will be collaborating with TFM co-star Sunny Hinduja for a play. Keeping most of the details under wrap as they are working out the finer details, Hashmi reveals that it will be a two-man play and that both of them will be involved in all aspects of the play. The 48-year-old is quite “excited and nervous” to be returning to theatre. He adds, “Actors move from theatre to films, but ..read more

Debutant director Shirsha blames spate of unmemorable Hindi rom-coms for the genre’s decline in recent times, as she offers the sparkling Do Aur Do Pyaar Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; April 24, 2024) In an industry obsessed with box-office numbers, do we talk enough about the truly good films? Do Aur Do Pyaar opened to great reviews last week, but made only R2.5 crores in its first four days. What is going through the mind of debutant director Shirsha Guha Thakurta, whose work is winning love and yet failing to make big numbers? “Critics have been incredibly kind. I must admit I am thrilled. While ..read more