Hindi
Bollywood waits for rescue from big releases
MUMBAI: Three hits. That‘s Bollywood‘s scorecard for the year so far. Plagued by bad content, a two-month multiplex strike, cricket and general elections, the industry is waiting to be rescued by the mega releases.
A few of them have already come and, fortunately, fared well at the box-office. The first to escape the slump came as late as June in the form of Yash Raj Films‘ New York, a story about three friends in the backdrop of 9/11 terror attack, that captivated audiences and grossed Rs 870 million. Eros‘ Love Aaj Kal, a long-distance relationship, raked in over Rs 1 billion and UTV‘s Kaminey, a dark comedy, fetched Rs 800 million.
But it is no news to cheer as most of the films just fell by the wayside. Recent films like Aage Se Right, Chintuji, Three- Love, Lies, Betrayal, Mohandas, Fox and Bachelor‘s Party fared dismally. This is reflected by their box-office figures. Fox with 79 prints across the country proved to be a disaster when it grossed Rs 13.73 million.
Aagey Se Right was also rejected. Releasing with 277 prints across the country, the film could muster Rs 21.93 million. Three – Love, Lies, Betrayal didn‘t find acceptance too. With 87 prints, the film grossed Rs 26,05,985.
Rishi Kapoor‘s Chintuji also failed to work its magic with the audience. The film released with 16 prints across the country and could rope in just Rs 213,157 per print. Mohandas also failed, garnering a measly Rs 226,227.
Take last week‘s release of relatively small films – Vaada Raha..I Promise, Shaabash! You Can Do It, Baabarr and Aamras. The initial market feedback is that these films are failing to perform.
There have been over 200 films released in the first nine months, of which we have had only three hits.
Explains noted filmmaker Mukesh Bhatt, “Some of the big-banner films are expected to release in this period. I think if half of these films click, we would have made even.”
The Bollywood film industry is waiting to be rescued by the mega releases. All eyes are set for the release of Yash Raj Films‘ Dil Bole Hadippa and Boney Kapoor‘s Wanted on 18 September.
Says Cinemax COO Devang Sampat, “We are hopeful about the coming few months, when many good films are to release. During the festive season, we can foresee people thronging the theatres. But take it from me, the third quarter will be bigger and brighter than the second.”
With the September quarter about to end and a few good films lined up, the film industry is keeping its fingers crossed. Rolling out will be big-banner and big budget mmovies like What‘s Your Rashee, Wake Up Sid, Blue, London Dreams, Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani, All The Best, Main Aurr Mrs Khanna, Alladin,Three Idiots, Jail, Tum Mile, Paa and De Dhana Dhan.
Says Fun Cinemas COO Vikas Kapur, “Not only will the release of big-banner Bollywood films make an impact, but Hollywood films (UP, Avatar, Sherlock Holmes, 2012 etc) will also work wonders for us, I hope.”
Hindi
Jio Studios unveils AI-powered Krishna teaser at NAB Show 2026
Global first look of Krishna uses Galleri5 AI pipeline on Azure, Historyverse slate as Jio’s Dhurandhar crosses Rs 3,000cr worldwide.
MUMBAI: Krishna has just dropped a divine teaser and this time the gods are powered by silicon, not just scripture. Jio Studios and Collective Studios’ Historyverse stole the spotlight at the NAB Show 2026 in Las Vegas with the world’s first teaser for their upcoming theatrical feature Krishna, directed by Manu Anand. The big reveal happened during Microsoft’s keynote “Powering Intelligent Media, From AI Experimentation to Real-World Impact,” where the film’s AI-native production pipeline took centre stage alongside Collective Artists Network’s in-house platform, Galleri5.
At the heart of this mythological spectacle lies a fresh cinematic workflow built by Galleri5 on Microsoft Azure’s advanced AI and cloud infrastructure. Forget bolting AI onto traditional VFX or animation, this is an end-to-end, production-grade system woven into every layer: world-building, character creation, shot design and final output. Yet the storytelling remains firmly director-led, emphasising emotional depth, stillness, music and performance rather than pure spectacle. The result? Large-format theatrical cinema rooted in Indian history and culture, but conceived in ways that were simply not possible before.
Collective Artists Network runs Galleri5 natively on Azure, leveraging Microsoft Foundry and cutting-edge AI tools to handle film, episodic and advertising workflows in a secure enterprise environment. Microsoft highlighted Collective as a “Frontier” organisation successfully moving AI from pilot projects to real production-scale deployment in cinema. The technology is also on display at Microsoft’s NAB booth in the West Hall (Booth W1731).
Jio Studios (Media & Content Business, Reliance Industries), president Jyoti Deshpande said the project advances the studio’s mission to take Indian stories global with scale, ambition and authenticity, “With Krishna, we are embracing cutting-edge AI-led filmmaking while democratising these tools to make them more accessible, intuitive and cost-effective for storytellers everywhere.”
Collective Artists Network founder & group CEO Vijay Subramaniam added, “We’re using technology developed in India to carry our culture and history to audiences worldwide at a scale never seen before.”
Microsoft, vice president for telco media & entertainment, gaming Silvia Candiani noted that the media industry has reached an inflection point, “AI is no longer about experimentation but delivering real impact at production scale… By building AI-native creative systems on Microsoft Azure, Collective exemplifies how storytellers can unlock new formats, move faster and realise a true return on intelligence while keeping human creativity at the centre.”
Krishna forms part of Historyverse, Collective Studios’ ambitious slate of history and culture-driven IPs. The slate draws from iconic figures and traditions that shaped the Indian subcontinent, including stories inspired by Kali, Karna and Durga. It builds on the already-released Mahabharat: Ek Dharmayudh series, showing how ancient narratives can be reimagined for modern screens.
Jio Studios, India’s leading content studio and the media and content arm of Reliance Industries, continues its blockbuster run. The studio’s Dhurandhar franchise led by Dhurandhar and Dhurandhar: The Revenge has become the first Indian film series to cross Rs 3,000 crore worldwide. It also delivered three consecutive years of India’s highest-grossing Hindi films: Stree 2 (2024), Dhurandhar (2025) and Dhurandhar: The Revenge (2026). In just eight years, Jio Studios has assembled a library of over 160 films and series, with more than 60 titles winning over 500 awards. Other notable successes include Laapataa Ladies (India’s official Oscar entry 2025), Stree, Article 370, Shaitaan and Mrs.
The NAB unveiling marks another step in Jio Studios and Collective’s push to blend Indian storytelling talent with frontier technology proving that the future of cinema may well be both ancient in spirit and thoroughly modern in execution. For audiences who love epic tales with a fresh twist, Krishna promises to deliver divine drama, this time with a little help from the cloud.
