Hindi
Hindi film industry has just a handful of stars who click with audiences
NEW DELHI: Zoya Akhtar, writer and director of ‘Luck By Chance’, says the new stream cinema reinforces the concept of innovative stories, available technologies, and changing audience preferences.
Taking part in the second NewStream Panel discussion at the ongoing 11th Osian’s Cinefan Film Festival, she said stars could only do a certain number of films every year, and therefore, other producers with innovative stories and treatment often had to pick on other actors in the industry for their films, and this helped the growth of this other cinema. Thus, the prevalent star system indirectly helps the cause of the new wave cinema in India.
The NewStream panel discussion is a new introduction in the festival, where crew members of some off-beat films made in the mainstream genre share their insights with the audience.
Besides Zoya, the others who addressed the session included Farhan Akhtar and Rishi Kapoor, apart from production designer Anuradha Parikh.
All the panelists were unanimous that new stream cinema or not, the entertainment quotient in the film needs to be assured if the movie has to do well commercially. The audience is today discerning enough to respect entertainment, irrespective of the star cast of the movie.
Farhan said writers and directors these days want their movies to be kept real and not show fantasies that their audience cannot relate to. The larger-than-life depiction shown in the past does not connect well with today’s audiences as they are unable to identify themselves with it.
Reflecting on his long journey in cinema, Rishi Kapoor said cinema needs to strike a good balance between economics and sensibilities. He added, “I have witnessed the evolution of Indian cinema and things have grown by leaps and bounds. Cinema to me is both a reflection of society and a potential influencing agent.”
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.
