Hindi
Venice Intl Film Fest to honour Mani Ratnam
MUMBAI: The 67th Venice International Film Festival will honour filmmaker Mani Ratnam with the Jaeger-LeCoultre ‘Glory to the Filmmaker‘ award when it goes underway from 1 to 11 September.
This year, Swiss watch manufacturer Jaeger-LeCoultre that is celebrating its six years of partnership with the Venice International Film Festival, has instituted the Jaeger-LeCoultre ‘Glory to the Filmmaker‘ award.
After being presented the award, Ratnam‘s name will be added to the likes of Takeshi Kitano, Abbas Kiarostami, Agnes Varda, and Sylvester Stallone who have been past winners of the award.
Speaking on the choice of Mani Ratnam for the honour, Venice Film Festival director Marco Mueller said, ” Mani Ratnam used to initially make movies only in his native tongue, Tamil, but has now been one of a handful of filmmakers to successfully handle the transition to the All-India market.
One of the great innovators in contemporary Indian cinema, he helped introduce the auteur concept to contemporary Bollywood. His movies display precision and poise and have always been removed from the bombast and bluster of mass-produced regional cinema. Ratnam‘s most celebrated films have become part of the cinematic imagination of the sub-continent.”
On the occasion, Ratnam‘s Raavan will premiere which would be graced by the cast and crew of the film including Abhishek Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Vikram and music maestro A.R. Rahman.
Raavan has been produced by Ratnam‘s Madras Talkies in association with Reliance Big Pictures. The film will be distributed globally by Reliance Big Pictures and IM Global.
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.
