Hindi
’99’ grosses Rs. 49.6 mn in opening weekend
MUMBAI: People Pictures‘ 99, released last week to an overwhelming response. The film had the true word-of-mouth effect that resulted in doubling of ticket sales on 16 and 17 May that saw the box-office collection soar to Rs 49.6 million.
The mid-budget film was released across approximately 400 screens in India.
Says producer Aditya Shastri, “The film is doing well in Mumbai, Delhi, UP, East Punjab, Nizam, Mysore and West Bengal.”
According to co-producer Anupam Mittal, 99 was tracking well in every test screening. “We knew that the film would surely grow on a strong word-of-mouth. We had to overcome the inertia that audiences had with no new Hindi films releasing in cinemas,” he quips.
Mittal notes that the film played true to script and now with the connect and audience reactions being borne out by the box-office results, the performance of the film should keep building.
“We released a few prints in the smaller centres to see the outcome, but 99 being an urban, slick flick has yielded us a better response from multiplexes and bigger cities. We hope this run will continue with smaller cities in the near future. The film started off on a slow note on the first day, but it has picked up pace at the box-office and I think it will continue to do so. That is why we‘re increasing the marketing spends too,” states Mittal.
99 is a story inspired by real events of 1999 and 2000. Directed by Raj Nidimoru and Krishna DK and produced by Anupam Mittal and Aditya Shastri, 99 promises to be an original concoction of crime, comedy and coolness.
Hindi
Rashmika Mandanna, Shanaya Kapoor and Naila Grrewal climb IMDb’s Indian celebrity rankings
Upcoming films and returning shows are driving fan interest across Bollywood and streaming
MUMBAI: Bollywood’s popularity contest has a new weekly scorecard, and the numbers are telling. IMDb’s Popular Indian Celebrities list for this week places Shanaya Kapoor at number six, buoyed by buzz around her film Tu Yaa Main. Naila Grrewal slots in at seven on the back of the returning comedy series Maamla Legal Hai, while Rashmika Mandanna climbs to eighth, riding mounting anticipation for Cocktail 2.
The list, available exclusively on the IMDb app for Android and iOS, tracks trending Indian entertainers and filmmakers each week, drawing on data from more than 200m monthly visits to the platform worldwide.
Further down the rankings, Raaka is keeping two of its biggest names in the spotlight. Deepika Padukone holds 11th position, with Allu Arjun close behind at 13th, as the film continues to find traction with audiences.
The list offers fans a weekly pulse on who is breaking through, who is holding steady, and who is fading. It is a barometer as unsparing as the box office itself.
