Hindi
Swine flu hits movie biz hard
MUMBAI: After Pune, the Maharashtra government has ordered multiplex and theatre owners of Mumbai, Thane and Navi Mumbai to keep their shutters down till Monday due to the swine flu scare.
Movies that were slated to release this Friday – UTV Motion Pictures‘ Kaminey and Indian Film
Says UTV Motion Pictures CEO Siddharth Roy Kapur, “We are going ahead with the worldwide release of Kaminey as per schedule. In Mumbai, we are following the government directives and will release the film as and when cinemas are permitted to screen.”
This weekend would have been ideal for box office as the collections may have soared with the two big films and national holiday on 15 August. Love Aaj Kal has been already ruling at the box office.
As per industry estimates, this shutdown would translate into a loss of approximately Rs 310- 350 million.
“Since the swine flu scare, footfalls had started reducing but since the last two days, we have seen just between five to seven per cent occupancy,” Fun Cinemas CEO Vishal Kapur tells Indiantelevision.com.
Meanwhile, shares of listed multiplex companies dipped on news that cinema theatres would down their shutters due to swine flu scare. Shares of PVR declined by 7 per cent to close at Rs 111, Inox fell 3.22 per cent to Rs 51.05, Cinemax by 2.81 per cent to Rs 51.95 and Fame India 1.80 per cent to Rs 19.10 on the BSE.
Hindi
Kuku enters theatrical cinema with Indian Institute of Zombies
Audio and micro-drama giant launches first Hindi feature film on 8 May.
MUMBAI: Kuku just added brains to its bite because when an audio and micro-drama powerhouse decides to make a zombie comedy, even the undead had better watch their step. Kuku, one of India’s largest digital entertainment companies and the force behind Kuku FM and Kuku TV, has announced its foray into theatrical cinema with its debut Hindi feature film, Indian Institute of Zombies (IIZ). Billed as India’s first campus zombie comedy, the film is set to release in cinemas on 8 May 2026.
Set inside an elite engineering campus, IIZ blends zombie horror, youth comedy and sharp social satire, promising a high-energy big-screen experience. The film stars an ensemble cast including Jessie Lever, Anupriya Goenka, Mohan Kapur, Ranjan Raj, Shivani Paliwal, Shantanu Anam, Rose Sardana, Sachin Kavetham and Tanishq Chaudhary. It has been developed in-house at Kuku, scripted by Hussain Dalal and Abbas Dalal (known for Brahmāstra and Farzi), and directed by Gaganjeet Singh and Alok Dwivedi of Low Gravity Productions.
Kuku, CEO Lal Chand Bisu said, “Kuku has always been obsessed with how India consumes stories. We built scale in personal consumption through Kuku FM and created a new micro-drama category with Kuku TV. Theatres represent the next frontier, and Indian Institute of Zombies marks the first of many, rooted in youth culture, genre innovation and mass Indian tastes.”
Kuku senior vice president Kunj Sanghvi added, “IIZ is a film for everyone who has ever been on a college campus. We observed the success of horror comedies at the box office, the lack of a breakout Indian zombie film, and the insatiable appetite for campus stories across age groups.”
The project also showcases Kuku’s AI-native approach to filmmaking. Artificial intelligence has been deeply integrated into concept structuring, story architecture, scheduling, budgeting and creative iteration not as a gimmick, but as an amplifier to enable faster development cycles and sharper decisions.
With this move, Kuku is evolving from a leader in audio and vertical storytelling into a multi-format entertainment powerhouse, leveraging its deep audience insights and technological edge to create culturally resonant theatrical experiences.
In a content universe where stories are getting shorter and screens smaller, Kuku is boldly going big proving that even in the age of two-minute episodes, there’s still plenty of room for zombies, campus chaos and full-blown cinematic laughter. Indian Institute of Zombies hits theatres on 8 May 2026.
