Hindi
India ups Cannes Film Fest presence
NEW DELHI: For 10 years, India has been increasing its presence at the Cannes Film Festival year after year. And now, is seems to have visibly surpassed all the previous years in terms of the films being screened in different sections.
A high-level 45-member team, led by the ministry of information and broadcasting secretary Raghu Menon, will also be at the seaside resort in France which is considered the most important of all International Film Festivals. The fest begins on 12 May while the Indian pavilion will be inaugurated on 13 May by Menon.
Veteran filmmaker S Krishnaswamy of Krishnaswamy Associates, remembered for his film Indus Valley to Indira Gandhi and other short films and series, will be present along with his producer Mohana Krishnaswamy to showcase his latest feature-length documentary, A Different Pilgrimage. The documentary is about the spread of Hindu culture in south east Asia from ancient times. The film has been extensively shot in some Asian countries including Laos, Cambodia, and Thailand. Filmed by the award-winning Madhu Ambat, the film has research by Dr Lokesh Chandra of Delhi.
Senior filmmaker Pulak Mukherjee of Entertainment Creation is also showcasing his documentary The Uncaptured Passion, directed by Mohammed Afzal Khan and Harshvardhan Singh. The 30-minute film has been made by seven final year engineering students of the National Institute of Technology in Durgapur and is the story of Aditya Shrivastav who is a creative person and a passionate photographer since childhood. When he grows up, he is put under a lot of mental pressure from his surroundings which turns him into a psycho. But, his passion lives on.
Veteran Delhi-based distributor Parvesh Mehra, who recently held an exhibition of some of the earliest photographs and posters from Indian cinema in the capital, will also be at the Cannes Fest to purchase some foreign films for the Indian market.
Both the Confederation of Indian Industry and Assocham have made arrangements for Indian film professionals. While the CII has taken two booths in the Palais des Festivals and is providing table space in the market area, Assocham is hosting the official India pavilion in the Village International along the famed Cannes Croisette in association with the ministry of information and broadcasting.
A large number of filmmakers and film distributors from India will also be present at the Festival.
Khandhar, starring Shabana Azmi, Naseeruddin Shah and Pankaj Kapoor, which has been restored by Reliance MediaWorks at the National Film Archives of India, will be screened in the Classics section introduced last year. The film had won awards within the country and also at Montreal and Chicago.
Reliance MediaWorks will also showcase its efforts at restoration of old films during the Festival between 12 and 23 May.
UTV is showcasing five films including Udaan, co-produced by Anurag Kashyap and directed by Vikramaditya Motwane (selected for the ‘Un Certain Regard‘ section), and Aamir Khan’s Peepli Live, apart from a market screening of Paresh Mokashi’s Harischandrachi Factory. The film is about the making of the first indigenous Indian film, Raja Harishchandra, in 1913 by DG Phalke.
I Am Kalam, a feature film by debutante Nila Madhab Panda and inspired by former President APJ Abdul Kalam, is to be screened in Le Marche du Film section while the Naga short film, Last of the Tattooed Head Hunters, by Vikeyeno Zao, has been selected in the short film corner category of the festival.
Hindi
Dhurandhar 2 hit by YouTube leak amid record box office run
Cam-rip surfaces online but blockbuster streak continues at record pace
MUMBAI: It has been a dramatic week for Dhurandhar: The Revenge. Even as the espionage thriller smashes box office records, a piracy scare briefly threatened to steal its thunder after a full-length version surfaced on YouTube.
The leak emerged on March 30 via a channel titled “A2z movie”, which uploaded what appeared to be a cam-recorded print of the film. Clocking in at nearly three hours and 49 minutes, the footage was reportedly blurry but complete enough to spark spoilers and fan outrage online.
Soon after, users on X began flagging the issue, explicitly naming the “A2z movie” channel in their posts while tagging the film’s makers and urging swift legal action. Fans of director Aditya Dhar and lead star Ranveer Singh were particularly vocal, helping the issue gain rapid traction.
Within hours, the video was taken down, likely through a mix of platform detection systems and intervention by producers Jio Studios and B62 Studios.
Despite the leak, the film’s theatrical run remains virtually unshaken. As of March 31, the sequel has raked in an estimated Rs 872.17 crore net in India, with worldwide collections soaring to Rs 1,392.23 crore. Its Hindi opening day alone brought in Rs 102.55 crore, setting a new benchmark.
In a notable milestone, the film has matched Pushpa 2 as the fastest Indian release to cross the Rs 1,000 crore mark globally, achieving the feat in just seven days.
Interestingly, the version leaked online is believed to be an earlier cut. Midway through its theatrical run, the makers issued revised prints after eagle-eyed viewers spotted a fleeting editing error involving a cameraman’s reflection. The corrected version now plays across cinemas, adding an unusual twist to the film’s release journey.
Directed by Aditya Dhar, the high-stakes sequel stars Ranveer Singh alongside Sanjay Dutt, R. Madhavan, Arjun Rampal and Sara Arjun. The film has drawn praise for its scale and action sequences, though some critics have pointed to its intense violence and layered political themes.
For now, piracy may have made noise, but it has not slowed the juggernaut. If anything, the episode underlines the film’s cultural grip, proving that even a leak cannot derail a box office storm already in full force.
