Hindi
I&B ministry appoints expert committees to upgrade NFA, IFFI
NEW DELHI: Following an assurance given earlier this year, the I&B ministry has set up two expert committees for upgradation of the National Film Awards (NFA) and the International Film Festival of India (IFFI).
I&B Minister Ambika Soni had reiterated her promise at the inauguration on 23 November of the IFFI 2009 that concluded in Goa last week.
For the National Film Awards, the Expert Committee consists of filmmakers Shyam Benegal, Ashoke Vishwanathan, Vishal Bhardwaj, Nagesh Kukunoor, Mohan Agashe, Jahnu Barua, Shaji Karun, Ms. Sai Paranjape, Ms Waheeda Rehman, Central Board of Film Certification Chairperson Sharmila Tagore and Rajiv Mehrotra (of Public Service Broadcasting Trust). The Ministry would be represented by the Joint Secretary (Films) V B Pyarelal, as Member Secretary and Directorate of Film Festivals Director S M Khan.
This Committee will make recommendations for changes to be made in the Regulations for the Awards as well as the Dadasaheb Phalke award. The Committee will elect its own chairperson in its first meeting.
The IFFI Expert Committee will have film personalities like Govind Nihalani, Karan Johar, Pritish Nandy, Prasoon Joshi, Kamal Haasan, A K Bir, Laxmikant Shetgaonkar, Ms. Shabana Azmi, Ms Pooja Shetty Deora, Kishwar Desai, mediaperson Maithili Rao, Children’s Film Society, India, Chairperson Nandita Das and Maharashtra Legislative Council member Charanjit Singh Sapra. The Ministry will be represented by Joint Secretary (Films) V B Pyarelel as Member Secretary, and Mr S M Khan, apart from the Chief Secretary of Goa Sanjeev Srivastava.
This Committee will also recommend changes on the lines of other reputed International Festivals. It will also make recommendations regarding the changes to be made in the selection of Indian Panorama films. The Committee will elect its own Chairperson in the first meeting.
The National Film Awards were instituted by the Government in 1954 and need to be changed to keep pace with technological growth in filmmaking. Soni wants IFFI to be profiled higher to be recognized as one amongst the best film festivals of the world comparable to the Cannes Film Festival and the Berlin Film Festival etc.
Hindi
Dhurandhar the revenge storms past Rs 1,000 crore in a week, rewrites box office records
Aditya Dhar’s spy thriller sets fastest run to Rs 1,000 crore with record-breaking weekday hold
MUMBAI: The box office has a new juggernaut—and it is moving at breakneck speed. Dhurandhar the revenge has smashed past the Rs 1,000 crore mark worldwide in just a week, clocking a staggering Rs 1,088 crore and resetting the rules of the blockbuster game.
Backed by Jio Studios and B62 Studios, and directed by Aditya Dhar, the spy action sequel opened to the biggest weekend ever for an Indian film globally—and then refused to slow down. Unlike typical tentpole releases that taper off after Sunday, this one powered through the weekdays with rare muscle, posting Rs 64 crore on Monday, Rs 58 crore on Tuesday, Rs 49 crore on Wednesday and Rs 53 crore on Thursday.
The numbers stack up to a formidable first-week haul. India collections stand at Rs 690 crore nett and Rs 814 crore gross, while overseas markets have chipped in Rs 274 crore, taking the worldwide total to Rs 1,088 crore in just eight days.
The film’s opening weekend alone delivered Rs 466 crore, laying the foundation for what is now being billed as the fastest climb to the Rs 1,000 crore club in Indian cinema. Every single day of its first week has set fresh benchmarks, from the highest opening weekend to the strongest weekday hold—metrics that typically separate hits from phenomena.
A sequel to the earlier hit Dhurandhar, the film has not just built on its predecessor’s momentum but obliterated previous records, emerging as the biggest global blockbuster run by an Indian film to date.
At this pace, the film is not merely riding a wave—it is creating one.
