Mallika Sherawat to no longer play Ishaan Khatter's mother
7:57 AM
Vinay MR Mishra (BOMBAY TIMES; April 25, 2024)
Mallika, who made a splash with her debut film Khwahish (2003) and then went on to do films like Welcome and Dhamaal, was last seen in the movie RK/RKay directed by Rajat Kapoor in 2022. The actress was supposed to be a part of Pritish Nandy’s next production The Royals, a web series which stars Ishaan Khatter and Bhumi Pednekar. Apparently, Mallika even did the look test for the project, which would have marked her reunion with Pritish after their last successful collaboration, Pyaar Ke Side Effects in 2006.
However, we hear that Mallika has opted out of the project. She was supposed to play Ishaan’s mother in the series.
A reliable source close to the actress shares, “Mallika was in two minds to play the character of a mother. However, she was okay to play one, if the role was meaty and was at par with her contemporaries. She was promised that the role would be on the lines of Moira Rose (fromSchitts Creek), however, the character had no substance. If she is playing a mother that too of Ishaan she would expect the character to have meat. She walked out of the project."
Meanwhile, another source from the production adds, “Since the show is set in a particular time, we have auditioned multiple actors. The production only picked the actors that were appropriate for the character.”
When we reached out to Mallika, her publicist confirmed the news and said, "Mallika walked out of the project in Feb due to creative differences with the production house. The character wasn’t what they promised her to be. So after rounds of discussions, she eventually took the decision."
The 47-year-old actress was last seen in RK/RKay (2022). Meanwhile, The Royals is already on the floors and the cast is currently filming. The production house chose to not comment on the story till the time we went to the press.
No one can change society with one film-Karan Johar
7:56 AM
Niharika Lal (BOMBAY TIMES; April 25, 2024)
Karan Johar was in Delhi recently to speak at the AIMA’s (All India Management Association) 9th National Leadership Conclave. Addressing the role of cinema in society, Johar said that over time, cinema does bring about change and hopes that filmmakers who fail to grasp this concept now will one day realise how important their voice is.
‘WHAT WE PROJECT, WHAT WE SAY, HAS TO BE CONSIDERED WITH SENSITIVITY’
Karan said, “I believe (as filmmakers), we have tremendous power, and therefore, with tremendous power comes tremendous responsibility. What we project and what we say, we have to consider it with some amount of sensitivity because people take the spoken word very seriously. Of course, no one can change the fabric of society with one feature film. It is not possible. It takes a lot of work and a lot of cinema if you want to drive home a point today. I believe so many films that talk about women empowerment are finally hitting home today. Nothing happens overnight.” He continued, “Of course, there is a flip side to that as well. There have been films that continue to be harmful, but I hope those filmmakers realize with time how important the platform they have is, how important their voices are.”
‘WHAT SOME SAY DUMBING DOWN, I CALL IT MAKING AN ISSUE ACCESSIBLE TO PEOPLE’
Talking about how he blends sensitive issues into mainstream cinema, Karan said, “There are two things – there are some cerebral filmmakers who will be very-very true to their communication and do it in a way that is perhaps not understandable to a large section of society.”
Johar added there are second kind of filmmakers like him who try to make the message more accessible, but which critics call dumbing down of content. However, he doesn’t agree that it is dumbing down the message.
He said, “It is what I call accessibility. Can you talk about the issue in such a way that it is accessible to people who may not understand nuance? We need to communicate it with a certain amount of front-footedness. If you are sensitive about the issue and sensitive about it reaching a vast audience, it will happen organically and that’s what I have tried to do even in Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani.”
‘THERE’S A MOMENT IN ROCKY AUR RANI, WHERE RANVEER ADDRESSES CANCEL CULTURE; THAT’S WHAT HAPPENED TO ME’
“Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna (2006) was about breaking stereotypes and exploring the grey areas of human relationships. As a filmmaker, I feel the need to evolve and explore territories that may not be conventional but are what our society experiences daily. Topics like monogamy and infidelity are often brushed under the carpet in traditional family settings. I thought I have to address it. I have tried to push the envelope. There are certain things that I won’t do anymore. I feel that we have made our errors in the past, but all this I have realized in due time. At that time, I didn’t know any better. There’s a moment in Rocky Aur Rani, where Ranveer addresses cancel culture and says, ‘I didn’t know better, but don’t cancel me, correct me.’ That’s what happened to me.”
My parents say that yeh sookh gayi hai and that I have to live up to being a Punjabi-Vaani Kapoor
7:53 AM
Divya Kaushik (BOMBAY TIMES; April 25, 2024)
In the last few months, Vaani Kapoor has been busy shooting for an upcoming project with Raj Kumar Gupta. In a quick chat with us, the actress shared her travel plans for this year and talked about her childhood in Delhi, surrounded by “dogs, horses, rabbits, monkeys, cows” at the family’s farmhouse. Excerpts:
‘I would love to explore south India more’
Though this summer is mostly about work for Vaani she has her travel itinerary sorted. She says, “We have so much to explore in India and each place has its own charm. I love hills. I have not had time to visit hills, but I have grown up in Delhi and like for Mumbai people short getaways mean Lonavala, Alibaug, for us it is hills, Manali, McLeod Ganj, Nainital, so my entire childhood has been around hill stations. I love south India. I have been to Kerala once, but I would love to explore south India more. From the last two years I have also been inclined towards spiritual destinations. Tirupati and a couple of other places are on my wish list and I hope that I will do that this year.”
‘I had the best childhood at a farmhouse in Delhi, which was like a mini zoo’
Vaani says that as soon as she completes her next shoot, she will be heading to her hometown Delhi. “I already have my list ready with golgappas and what not! My parents are khata-peeta Punjabis and their way of showing love is food. Now my mother has also started to trick me into eating cream etc saying nahi ye toh dahi hai, they always say haye sookh gayi hai, ise koi khilata nahi hai Mumbai mein. They tell me you have to live up to being a Punjabi,” she says.
Talking about her childhood in Delhi, the actress shares, “My childhood was a blast and now I look back and think why was I hoping and wishing to grow up soon. It was so much fun to be a kid. My family used to run an NGO. Our farmhouse was like a mini zoo with dogs, horses, rabbits, monkeys, cows. We had no neighbours, there were times when my schoolmates would make fun of me, but that was the best childhood one could have because it was so unique and different. I am very introverted, I am a big homebody and my house has been my happy place.”
Vaani adds, “My mother had built a swimming pool in our house with the help of a few workers. We would wake up at 8 am and be in the pool till evening. We would have a tub of mangoes and all seasonal fruits around us and this was how we would spend our summer vacations. My mother was strict and would make us eat veggies, but I was always looking for junk. There was a point when I was almost 70kgs (I think when I was 12) and my mom was a bit alert about my health, but I was an active kid who would digest pretty much everything.”
Nawazuddin Siddiqui’s daughter Shora to follow in his footsteps
7:47 AM
Renuka Vyavahare (BOMBAY TIMES; April 24, 2024)
Nawazuddin Siddiqui’s daughter Shora, who is a spitting image of her talented father, is all set to follow in his footsteps. The 13-year-old is keen on taking up acting professionally given her strong liking for performing arts. Nawaz, who has trained actors and conducted workshops with them in his early years, is clear that acting needs to be learned and needs appropriate training.
Talking about his daughter stepping into his profession, the National School of Drama (NSD) alumnus tells us, “I want Shora to follow her dreams. She is 13 and is all set to pursue performing arts. I have enrolled her into an acting school. I want her to be a trained actor if she wishes to take up acting professionally. Acting is an art and it helps to be prepared. I am there for her and will always support her in every way possible, but just that isn’t enough. I will even take her to the best acting schools and workshops. If you want something badly, you need to put your best foot forward and do it with all your heart.”
Jio Cinema may disrupt SVOD market with low pricing plan
7:42 AM
Javed Farooqui (THE ECONOMIC TIMES; April 25, 2024)
Viacom18-owned Jio Cinema is set to disrupt India’s subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) market with one of the industry's lowest pricing plans for premium content.
Beginning April 25, Jio Cinema Premium will offer Indian and Hollywood entertainment content at an introductory tariff of Rs 29/month for a single device and Rs 89/month for up to four devices, the company said. This comes close on the heels of the success of its free strategy in the advertising VOD space.
Live sports and catch-up broadcast content will continue to be available for free, the company said, adding that Jio Cinema, like other broadcast-owned OTT (over-the-top) platforms, will use a hybrid monetization strategy.
The new pricing is a significant drop from its Rs 999/year and Rs 99/month plans, which offered only Hollywood content. Unlike the existing plans, the new plans will be ad-free, the company said.
Jio Cinema Premium will provide users with web originals, movies and content for children, along with Hollywood content from HBO, NBCUniversal and Paramount Global. Viacom18's linear TV content will also be made available before the broadcast premiere.
The company’s new tariff plan will hot up competition with Disney+ Hotstar, Netflix and Prime Video, which collectively have 50–60 million subscribers.
"The new pricing is a sharp reduction for an ad-free experience. They are providing more content over and above the Hollywood content and charging less for this," said Elara Capital’s senior vice president Karan Taurani.
He said Jio Cinema Premium will impact the SVOD industry negatively since the Indian Premier League (IPL), the most premium media property, continues to remain outside the paywall.
"The SVOD players will not be able to increase average revenue per user due to JioCinema's aggressive pricing," he said.
Experts say the move marks Jio Cinema's pivot towards a hybrid monetization model, and the ongoing IPL cricket tournament provides the perfect launch pad for it to implement its new pricing.
Viacom18’s CEO-Digital Kiran Mani said Jio Cinema Premium's goal is to redefine premium entertainment for Indians. “The introduction of Jio Cinema Premium breaks the numerous cost and quality barriers that exist in accessing premium entertainment," he said.
In a recent note, Taurani had said that Jio Cinema’s revenue for FY24 is estimated at Rs 2,700 crore, based on Network18's financials for the last financial year.
Jio Cinema has been offering premium Indian content across entertainment and sports channels for free. The platform has built a strong advertising business on the back of free streaming of impact properties like IPL and Bigg Boss.
Jio Cinema's free sports streaming has had a cascading effect on the industry, with OTT market leader Disney+ Hotstar also offering the Asia Cup, 2023 ICC Men's World Cup, and Pro Kabaddi League for free to mobile users.
Barring Netflix and Prime Video, most of the large OTT players, including Disney+ Hotstar, ZEE5 and SonyLIV, have a hybrid monetization model.
In September 2022, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) approved the amalgamation of Jio Cinema, which was owned by a Reliance Industries subsidiary, into Viacom18.
Viacom18 is in the process of merging with Walt Disney-owned Star India to create a $8.5-billion media behemoth. The merged entity will have Jio Cinema and Disney+ Hotstar, two of the strongest OTT apps in the country.
Fenil's Bollywood Talk # 827
7:34 PM
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. Unfortunately, Bade Miyan Chote Miyan didn’t open well and crashed soon after. At present, it is struggling to reach the Rs. 60 crore mark.
Maidaan, meanwhile, is steady at low levels. But it opened at Rs. 4 crores and has appealed only to the elite audience. It might eventually collect around Rs. 40 crores. And that’s too low for a film with terrific word of mouth and super-high costs.
Last week’s releases also didn’t work. Do Aur Do Pyaar, starring Vidya Balan, Pratik Gandhi, Ileana Dcruz and Sendhil Ramamurthy, seemed like a great romcom. But the excitement was limited. It opened at just Rs. 50 lakhs and had a weekend of just Rs. 2 crores. It dropped sharply from Monday and its lifetime collections will be around Rs. 5-6 crores.
As for Love Sex Aur Dhokha 2, the collections are embarrassing to say the least. There was zero buzz for the film and its trailer ruined all chances. The reports of the film were negative, with many viewers leaving the film midway. It opened at just Rs. 15 lakhs and managed to collect Rs. 50 lakhs in three days. It now remains to be seen if it can collect Rs. 1 crore in its lifetime.
Tomorrow, Ruslaan will be released, starring Aayush Sharma. The film looks cool but the actor is not very popular. Hence, a healthy opening is ruled out. The hope is that it turns out to be a kickass action film so that the audience will flock to the cinemas from Saturday.
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. Unfortunately, Bade Miyan Chote Miyan didn’t open well and crashed soon after. At present, it is struggling to reach the Rs. 60 crore mark.
Maidaan, meanwhile, is steady at low levels. But it opened at Rs. 4 crores and has appealed only to the elite audience. It might eventually collect around Rs. 40 crores. And that’s too low for a film with terrific word of mouth and super-high costs.
Last week’s releases also didn’t work. Do Aur Do Pyaar, starring Vidya Balan, Pratik Gandhi, Ileana Dcruz and Sendhil Ramamurthy, seemed like a great romcom. But the excitement was limited. It opened at just Rs. 50 lakhs and had a weekend of just Rs. 2 crores. It dropped sharply from Monday and its lifetime collections will be around Rs. 5-6 crores.
As for Love Sex Aur Dhokha 2, the collections are embarrassing to say the least. There was zero buzz for the film and its trailer ruined all chances. The reports of the film were negative, with many viewers leaving the film midway. It opened at just Rs. 15 lakhs and managed to collect Rs. 50 lakhs in three days. It now remains to be seen if it can collect Rs. 1 crore in its lifetime.
Tomorrow, Ruslaan will be released, starring Aayush Sharma. The film looks cool but the actor is not very popular. Hence, a healthy opening is ruled out. The hope is that it turns out to be a kickass action film so that the audience will flock to the cinemas from Saturday.
Bade Miyan Chote Miyan collects 51.74 cr in 12 days
8:30 AM
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 such a limited audience in theatres.
The shocks of BADE MIYAN CHOTE MIYAN and MAIDAAN continue to reverberate within the film industry as although this has happened before a couple of times on national holidays, those were bad times at the box office and before the blockbusters of 2023. It seemed those horrible days were gone but then Eid 2024 happened. The worst part is there is a mini Covid period-so-sorts coming for several weeks.
The collections of BADE MIYAN CHOTE MIYAN are as follows.
Week One - 46,29,00,000
Friday - 1,15,00,000 apprx
Saturday - 1,60,00,000 apprx
Sunday - 2,00,00,000 apprx
Monday - 70,00,000 apprx
Second Week - 5,45,00,000 apprx
TOTAL - 51,74,00,000 apprx
Crew collects 73.91 cr in 25 days
8:27 AM
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. TERI BAATON MEIN AISA ULJHA JIYA did 5.25 crore nett in week four and reached 82.50 crore nett.
After week four, TERI BAATON MEIN AISA ULJHA JIYA added 3 crore nett and that is where CREW will hope to do better due to the lack of releases. TERI BAATON MEIN AISA ULJHA JIYA did $5.5 million apprx overseas while here CREW will do around $6 million with the main difference coming in US/Canada. This will make the worldwide total of both films neck to neck. Both films, nevertheless, are solid successes.
The collections of CREW till date are as follows.
Week One - 42,32,00,000
Week Two - 20,96,00,000
Week Three - 7,63,00,000
Week Four - 3,00,00,000 apprx (4 Days)
TOTAL - 73,91,00,000 apprx
Salman Khan firing case: Pistols used in attack recovered from Tapi river
8:21 AM
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 Envitech Marine Consultants, which had earlier helped investigators recover the alleged weapon used in rationalist Narendra Dabholkar’s murder and had offered its services in tracing MBBS student Sadichha Sane, who went missing from Bandra Bandstand in Nov 2021.
The crime branch’s unit 9 team, led by inspector Daya Nayak, reached Tapi river along with one of the alleged shooters, Vikas Kumar Gupta, who showed them the railway bridge from where he and his accomplice, Sagar Kumar Pal, threw the two weapons and the magazines. Five scuba divers, equipped with floodlights and powerful magnetic equipment, scoured the river for the guns.
After a search of nearly eight hours, they found one pistol and four more hours later, they were able to trace the second weapon and the 17 bullets. Police performed the videography of the recovery and made a spot panchnama.
“We used the technology of using powerful magnets underwater to detect the weapons. Our company had similarly removed a weapon in the Dabholkar case for the CBI. In this operation, in some places, the river was 20m deep. It was a big challenge, but our efforts yielded results,” said Vishnu Sharma, an official of Envitech.
Police said the seizure of the two pistols will help them build a watertight case against jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, who is alleged to have ordered the firing. They said they have already established the chain of events and the sequence of crime to show that Lawrence and his Canada-based brother Anmol Bishnoi are wanted accused in the case.
Police are now working out how many bullets were with the alleged hired henchmen. “Anmol Bishnoi had arranged for two weapons and 35 bullets, of which they fired four rounds at Salman Khan’s balcony. One bullet fell to the ground, and now, we have recovered 17,” said a source, adding that police suspect the remaining were used by Gupta and Pal while practising firing in Bihar. The two, hailing from Bihar, were arrested from Bhuj on April 16.
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Crime branch also recovers four magazines, 13 live rounds from river in Gujarat
Shirish Vaktania (MID-DAY; April 24, 2024)
The Mumbai Crime Branch Unit-9 has recovered the two pistols used in the Salman Khan firing incident, along with four magazines and 13 live rounds from the Tapi River in Surat, Gujarat. The two pistols recovered by the crime branch are suspected to be foreign-made weapons, possibly of Chinese or Pakistani origin. The crime branch deployed skilled divers from Mumbai who used magnetic equipment to locate the firearms in the Tapi River. The first pistol was recovered on Monday from the same spot.
Senior Inspector Daya Nayak, leading Crime Branch Unit-9, accompanied one of the accused, Vicky Gupta, to the Tapi River to pinpoint the location where they disposed of the pistol. Gupta identified the pistol and confirmed its use in the firing incident.
The Tapi River in Surat flows through Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Madhya Pradesh. It has a depth ranging from 20 feet to 30 feet during high tide and a variable flow speed of 2-15 kmph, depending on winds. Strong undercurrents in the river made it challenging for divers to retrieve the objects in a stretch spanning approximately 1.2 km. The crime branch launched a search operation to recover the firearms from the river after Gupta revealed during interrogation how they had escaped and discarded the firearms.
According to a police officer, the brother of gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, Anmol who claimed responsibility for the attack, had instructed the shooters to fire at least 10 rounds at Khan’s residence. Anmol had also planned their escape. An officer stated that the Bishnoi gang, with over 700 operatives across five Indian states, is known for its distinctive firing patterns.
The gang operates primarily from Rajasthan, Haryana, and Punjab, with international networks extending to countries such as Italy, Armenia, Canada, Dubai, the Philippines, Pakistan, Azerbaijan, and Turkey. The duo, Vicky Gupta and Sagar Pal used the same firing pattern the gang is known for, including in the assassination of Punjab singer Sidhu Moose Wala and others.
I had narrated Juna Furniture's script to Salman Khan for feedback and he had loved it-Mahesh Manjrekar
8:19 AM
Initially planning Juna Furniture as a Hindi movie, Mahesh says his Marathi film questions society’s attitude towards senior citizens
Upala KBR (MID-DAY; April 24, 2024)
It was nearly 12 years ago that Mahesh Manjrekar had written Juna Furniture—Try Stopping This Old Man. The film’s idea came from a deeply personal space. He recalls, “When I lost my mother, many thoughts went on in my head. One is full of regrets [at such a point]. That’s where the idea came from. Today, there are 1.7 million abandoned senior citizens in India. My story is about the child, who feels he is doing the right thing for his parents, but is he?”
That question forms the crux of Juna Furniture, Manjrekar’s upcoming Marathi movie. He has not only written and helmed the courtroom drama, but also played the protagonist, who questions society’s attitude towards senior citizens. He reveals that he had originally wanted to make it in Hindi.
“I had written the story in Hindi, but things were not moving fast enough [as I approached production houses and figured out the casting]. So, I decided to make it in Marathi. Producer Yatin Jadhav wanted to make it immediately. Since no actor could give me dates at such a short notice, I decided to play the central character.”
While he has directed himself in small roles earlier, it’s the first time he is fronting his own directorial venture. “This film is shouldered by my character. I was apprehensive that if this role falls flat, people will point fingers at me saying that I wanted to play the hero.”
Even as he has to wait for a few days to get the audience’s verdict, the National Award-winning filmmaker’s work has been praised by famed screenwriter Salim Khan. “Salim saab loved the movie. I had narrated the script to Salman [for feedback] and he had loved it. I might show it to him this week.”
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