Hindi
South Asian lesbian film to get digital worldwide release
NEW DELHI: The controversial film ‘When Kiran met Karen’ by America-based Manan Singh Katohora, which has failed to get an Indian release more than two years after its completion because of its controversial theme of lesbianism, has become the first South Asian lesbian film to get digital worldwide release barring India.
This controversial cross-cultural film has already been screened at 52 International Film Festivals after its debut screening in Germany at the 18th Annual Verzaubert International Queer Film Festival.
Written, produced and directed by Manan Singh Katohora, the film explores the theme of lesbianism and pushes the boundaries of a taboo romance within the South Asian culture. It stars Samrat Chakrabarti, Chriselle Almeida, Kelli Holsopple, Sonny Suri, Manish Dayal, Shetal Shah, Iggy Ignatius, and Emmy-nominated Tirlok Malik who is himself an eminent producer-director-actor. The film’s Producer/Cinematographer is Punit Chhabra while the Executive Producers are Iggy Ignatius and Mano Kesavan. The film features the music of Deadbeat Darling and Katherine Almeida.
The story is about a famous Bollywood actress, Kiran, who meets a lesbian journalist, Karen – 3 days before the release of her international film – ‘A Himalayan Love Story‘.
The film can be seen online on https://dingora. com/when- kiran-met- karen. The idea for Dingora came to Pankaj Sikka, a resident of the US, when he drove for eight hours to catch Ram Gopal Varma‘s Company, because no theatre close to him was showing it. This made him realise that only certain pockets of the NRI market were privileged to catch their favourite desi actor in all his glory.
A surprisingly large number of non resident Indian Hindi film fans have no access to Bollywood, he says, adding that “Dingora is a combination of various technologies. Google helped us in mapping and we have tied up with Microsoft.”
He also said there is no chance of the film being stolen while being streamed. Dingora mainly focuses on reaching 30 million NRIs. Big releases reach where the concentration of Indians is large — New York, Chicago.
The film is also the first Indian-American film to be screened at the Pennsylvania State University in a screening organised by the Coalition of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Ally (LGBTA) Graduate Students in the One in Ten film festival. It also featured in the Delray Beach Film Festival, Florida, in May 2009 last year.
Hindi
Dhurandhar 2 hit by YouTube leak amid record box office run
Cam-rip surfaces online but blockbuster streak continues at record pace
MUMBAI: It has been a dramatic week for Dhurandhar: The Revenge. Even as the espionage thriller smashes box office records, a piracy scare briefly threatened to steal its thunder after a full-length version surfaced on YouTube.
The leak emerged on March 30 via a channel titled “A2z movie”, which uploaded what appeared to be a cam-recorded print of the film. Clocking in at nearly three hours and 49 minutes, the footage was reportedly blurry but complete enough to spark spoilers and fan outrage online.
Soon after, users on X began flagging the issue, explicitly naming the “A2z movie” channel in their posts while tagging the film’s makers and urging swift legal action. Fans of director Aditya Dhar and lead star Ranveer Singh were particularly vocal, helping the issue gain rapid traction.
Within hours, the video was taken down, likely through a mix of platform detection systems and intervention by producers Jio Studios and B62 Studios.
Despite the leak, the film’s theatrical run remains virtually unshaken. As of March 31, the sequel has raked in an estimated Rs 872.17 crore net in India, with worldwide collections soaring to Rs 1,392.23 crore. Its Hindi opening day alone brought in Rs 102.55 crore, setting a new benchmark.
In a notable milestone, the film has matched Pushpa 2 as the fastest Indian release to cross the Rs 1,000 crore mark globally, achieving the feat in just seven days.
Interestingly, the version leaked online is believed to be an earlier cut. Midway through its theatrical run, the makers issued revised prints after eagle-eyed viewers spotted a fleeting editing error involving a cameraman’s reflection. The corrected version now plays across cinemas, adding an unusual twist to the film’s release journey.
Directed by Aditya Dhar, the high-stakes sequel stars Ranveer Singh alongside Sanjay Dutt, R. Madhavan, Arjun Rampal and Sara Arjun. The film has drawn praise for its scale and action sequences, though some critics have pointed to its intense violence and layered political themes.
For now, piracy may have made noise, but it has not slowed the juggernaut. If anything, the episode underlines the film’s cultural grip, proving that even a leak cannot derail a box office storm already in full force.
