Hindi
‘Fitoor:’ Confusing and dry
Fitoor is projected as ‘Based on the 19th century writer, Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations.’
A story of an orphan, his phases in life and his manipulation by various people unknown to him. Being a 19th century saga, it is about star-crossed lover and all the formulae like rich poor romance, evil forces, invisible benefactors that exists in our movies even now. The makers choose the scenic Kashmir for the Kent marshlands to tell their story.
Aditya Roy Kapur is an orphan under the care of his sister and brother-in-law living in Kashmir when the trouble is at its peak in the valley. He helps his brother-in-law who is an iron smith but has a knack for art as in drawing as well as sculpting. Then the film goes back into Dickens’ 19th century. Aditya is summoned by the Begum, Tabu. The film takes the liberty of introducing a Begum to Kashmir, the land of Maharajas. Tabu holds sway over the township and has a backstory to tell.
Tabu lives in a palatial house with her cute young daughter, Tunisha Sharma (to grow up as Katrina Kaif) who is enamoured by young boy Aditya. Her love for him happens after bossing over him for a time. Earlier, while only young Aditya was in love with her, now it is mutual. On the birthday of Tunisha, Aditya’s sister is felled by a bomb. When he reaches her home next day, she has already been dispatched to London for further studies by Tabu.
Tabu has an agenda. She also sends Aditya to London to study art in which he shows talent. Otherwise, in a slow moving saga, the story moves fast here. Aditya becomes a celebrity in London and also comes across Katrina (grown up Tunisha). He is very much in love with her, she is partly in love with him because, she has, by now, found a suitor in Rahul Bhat, a Pakistani guy who studied with her in London.
The script’s resistance ends here because it goes haywire here onwards. What follows is what you would have seen in hundreds of Indian movies from the industry’s inception till last week. Katrina is set to marry her Pakistani suitor, Rahul. Because, even if she loves Aditya, Rahul, a politician in Pakistan would mean status. As it happens in such love stories, Aditya goes berserk.
Actually, it is about Tabu, who was betrayed and playing with the lives of Aditya and Katrina for her personal reasons.
Actually, the whole narrative is so confusing and messed up, it is injustice to Dickens. Often during a film, you don’t fathom all things till they are unfolded at the end; trick with Fitoor is that you don’t understand what the film and issues were about even when you leave the cinema hall and reach home!
Fitoor is poorly put together script, which unfolds like a mismatched jigsaw puzzle. A simple old fashioned Dickens’ story remixed for MBA aspirants. Direction is aimless. Good editor would have cut down this film to about 45 minutes. Musically, there is one number to like. The only highlight is the cinematography of the film, which is excellent.
Talking of performances, only Tabu stands out besides the young kids playing Katrina and Aditya. Aditya seemed to show some improvement but carried the same expressions throughout. Katrina has lost her charm and fails to appeal.
Fitoor, a love story, despite its opportune Valentine weekend will not be able to cash in.
Producers: Abhishek Roy Kapoor, Siddharth Roy Kapur
Director: Abhishek Roy Kapoor
Cast: Aditya Roy Kapur, Katrina Kaif, Tabu, Aditi Rao Hydari, Rahul Bhat, Akshay Oberoi, Lara Dutta.
‘Sanam Re:’ Juke box!
With few writers around, filmmakers seem to be going back into past for film themes. Sanam Reresorts to an old-fashioned love triangle, sort of about cursed lovers never meant to come together.
Pulkit Samrat is a small town lad who has landed in Mumbai to make it good. His grandpa, Rishi Kapoor, used to be a photographer, afflicted by Alzheimer’s, he is incapable of running his shop anymore and wants the property to be appropriated by his wards. Pulkit is summoned back home for the purpose.
Back home, Pulkit is full of the memories of his childhood love, Yami Gautam, who he has not seen since he left for Mumbai.
In this script of convenience, Pulkit has to visit Canada on an urgent assignment. There, he cultivates Urvashi Rautela purely for personal reasons. But, as it happens in such love triangles, Yami surfaces just then.
Actually, there is no story in this love story. But, being a T-Series home production, the film has some very popular numbers and the film seems just like an excuse to package them.
Performances are generally routine as the roles offer no depth. Rishi Kapoor is the star talent in this film but has little to offer. The location being scenic, the film looks good visually. Direction is purely functional. The film could have done with some trimming. Musical score is an asset which can help the film to an extent through its Valentine’s Day opening weekend.
Producers: Bhushan Kumar, Krishan Kumar
Director: Divya Khosla Kumar
Cast: Pulkit Samrat, Yami Gautam, Urvashi Rautela, Rishi Kapoor
Hindi
Abundantia and invideo join hands for Rs 100 crore AI films
Studio Aion and global video tech leader join forces for 5 AI-driven films over 3 years.
When Hollywood meets artificial intelligence, the credits might soon read “Directed by Algorithm” but Abundantia Entertainment wants to keep the human spark in the frame. The Mumbai-based studio’s AI-powered division Aion has teamed up with generative-video pioneer invideo in a Rs 100 crore strategic partnership, billed as India’s largest structured commitment to AI-driven filmmaking to date.
Announced at the India AI Film Festival (IAFF) beside the historic Qutb Minar in New Delhi on the sidelines of the India AI Impact Summit 2026, the alliance pools Abundantia’s creative and production muscle with invideo’s cutting-edge AI video tech. The duo will channel the Rs 100 crore development and production corpus into a slate of five AI-driven films over the next three years, blending human imagination with machine-powered tools to craft stories that aim to be both emotionally rich and technologically bold.
Abundantia Entertainment founder & CEO Vikram Malhotra framed the move as cinema’s next big leap, “AI in film-making is now real! Every major leap in cinema from sound to colour to digital has expanded storytelling possibility. AI represents the next inflection point. With Abundantia Aion, we are building a future where AI strengthens and amplifies the filmmaker’s voice, not substitutes it.”
Invideo founder & CEO Sanket Shah echoed the sentiment: “At invideo our mission has always been to democratize high-quality video creation through AI. Partnering with a top-notch studio like Abundantia Entertainment enables us to extend this capability into the world of high-quality filmmaking by building tools and workflows that allow creators to move from idea to cinematic expression faster and more freely than ever before.”
The collaboration already has momentum. Abundantia Aion is developing India’s first AI-generated Hindi feature film, Chiranjeevi Hanuman, slated for release in 2026, alongside its next AI-powered project, Jai Santoshi Mata, as part of a broader slate. The partnership will explore OpenAI-style workflows, advanced generative pipelines (bolstered by invideo’s recent Google Cloud tie-up), and new ways to accelerate everything from concept to final cut.
Backed by Tiger Global and Peak XV, invideo brings deep generative-video expertise to the table, while Abundantia’s track record in storytelling ensures the tech serves the narrative rather than stealing the show. In a year when AI is rewriting rules across industries, this Rs 100 crore bet signals India’s ambition to shape not just follow the future of cinema. Lights, camera, algorithm… action.
