Hindi
PVR to release Chaurahen on 16 March
MUMBAI: PVR Cinemas is gearing up to release director Rajshree Ojha’s film, Chaurahen (Crossroads), across Delhi Gurgaon, Kolkata, Mumbai, Chennai and Bangalore on 16 March.
The film is based on short stories penned by author Nirmal Verma. An urban film about relationships and set in three cities, the film shows a Mumbai couple going through ups and downs in their relationship, an extra-marital affair in Kolkata and a father coming to terms with his son’s death in Kochi.
Chaurahen stars Zeenat Aman, Victor Banerjee, Roopali Ganguly, Soha Ali Khan and Shayan Munshi in pivotal roles.
Interestingly, Charlie Chaplin’s granddaughter Kiera has an important role in the film. She plays Lea, who has an extramarital affair in Kolkata.
Explaining how she got Kiera on board, Ojha disclosed, “She had watched my first film Moment (1999) which I made as a student in America. It fetched me a Student Academy Award (an Oscar competition for student films initiated by Academy of Motion Pictures, Arts and Sciences). After that she evinced interest in working with me. I informed her that I was shooting in Mumbai. She said she had no issues and that’s how she came on board.”
Hindi
UFO Cine Media Network unveils ‘India’s biggest cinema moment ever’
Dhurandhar 2 and Toxic tipped to deliver rare pan-India scale for brands
MUMBAI: UFO Cine Media Network is pitching an upcoming dual-film release weekend as what it calls the largest advertising opportunity cinema has offered in India, banking on an estimated 100 million cumulative footfalls nationwide.
The initiative, branded “India’s Biggest Cinema Moment Ever”, is anchored around the simultaneous release of Dhurandhar 2 – The Revenge and Toxic, two high-profile action films expected to dominate screens across regions and languages. Trade projections, supported by cinema measurement tool Procat, suggest the combined lifetime theatrical run could deliver one of the widest audience concentrations seen in recent years.
Dhurandhar 2 – The Revenge, an India–Pakistan spy thriller, is set to release in five languages, broadening its appeal across northern and southern markets. The franchise has already built a sizable multilingual following through theatrical runs and streaming platforms. Toxic, fronted by pan-India star Yash, is expected to draw heavy footfalls across southern circuits and beyond, buoyed by the actor’s proven box-office pull.
UFO, which operates an in-cinema advertising network spanning more than 4,100 theatres, is positioning the release window as a rare moment of synchronised national attention. Its footprint covers multiplexes and single screens across over 1,500 towns and cities, allowing advertisers to deploy campaigns at scale during a single weekend.
Executives at the company argue that cinema’s value lies not just in reach but in attention. Unlike digital or television, audiences are captive, emotionally engaged and free from distraction, they say, translating into stronger recall and measurable returns for brands. With advertisers increasingly focused on performance-led media planning, UFO is framing the dual release as comparable in scale to India’s largest broadcast and sporting properties.
Industry observers note that as theatrical exhibition expands deeper into Tier 2 and Tier 3 markets, such tentpole weekends are becoming anchor moments for annual media strategies. If Dhurandhar 2 – The Revenge and Toxic deliver as expected, the weekend could set new benchmarks not only for box office numbers, but also for cinema’s evolving role as a high-attention advertising medium.
