Hindi
Double death whammy for Kannada filmdom in as many days
BANGALORE: Kannada Sugama Sangeeth and theatre artiste and film music composer C Ashwath‘s death on his seventy-first birthday yesterday was followed by death of Kannada film thespian Vishnuvardhan in the early hours this morning.
Vishnuvardhan, a film actor and a singer died of cardiac arrest.
Born Sampath Kumar, Sahasa Simha, (A lion in fighting/action) as he was called adopted the name Vishnuvardhan at the instance of Puttanna Kanagal who directed him in the Kannada film ‘Nagarahavu‘, a film which gave him recognition and stardom.
Vishnuvardhan acted in over 195 films in his 35-year career. As a singer, he started singing in movies occasionally and of late he had started singing devotional songs for albums.
Some of his famous songs are Hegiddharu Neene Chenna -‘Sahasa Simha, Shashiya Kandu Moda Helithu – ‘Sirithanakke Savaal‘; Thuthu Anna Thinnoke – ‘Jimmi Gallu‘; Beda Annoro Unte – ‘Sididedda Sahodara‘; Kannadave Nammamma – ‘Mojugara Sogusugara‘.
His body was brought to his residence in Bangalore from Mysore and will be cremated shortly.
Ashwath, who learnt Hindustani classical music from Devagiri Shankarrao Joshi became an exponent of Bhavageete and Janapada Geete. Besides singing for a number of his own compositions, Ashwath composed music for 22 films, including a number of award winning movies.
Karnataka Higher Education minister Aravind Limbavali announced that the government would consider beginning a music school for children that Aswath wanted to open under the ambit of the newly established music university in Mysore.
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.
