Hindi
MP follows Rajasthan, bans UTV’s Jodhaa-Akbar
MUMBAI:The problems facing UTV‘s Hrithik Roshan-Aishwarya Rai starrer Jodhaa-Akbar are spreading. Madhya Pradesh joined the neighbouring state of Rajasthan in banning the film after demonstrations against it by the Rajput community at cinema theatres.
The ban on Jodhaa-Akbar in the two states have essentially killed the film‘s prospects from middle India. If that were not enough, the district administration of Ambala in Haryana state have also imposed a ban on the screening of the film following similar protests by the Rajput organisations.
“The government has suspended the screening of the movie in the (Madhya Pradesh) state with immediate effect as protests at cinema halls have posed a threat to maintenance of peace,” commercial tax department additional secretary DPS Parihar was quoted as saying after the ban was invoked.
In his order banning the screening of the film, Parihar said the decision was taken in accordance to provisions under the Madhya Pradesh Cinema (Regulation) Act, 1952.
Speaking to Indiantelevision.com, UTV Motion Pictures director Siddharth Roy Kapur said: “Talks are going on with the respective authorities and we expect the film to resume very soon in the theatres.”
There are also some reports that if the ban is not revoked, exhibitors may institute a shutdown in protest. However, there have been no confirmations made from the exhibitors‘ end on this as yet.
“The multiplexes will earn huge revenue losses if such bans keep taking place. Once the films are passed by the censor board there is no reason as to why such incidents should take place. The issue should be taken up at the district or state level depending upon where the ban has taken place,” said Cinemax VP marketing and programming Devang Sampat.
Meanwhile in a text message to Indiantelevision.com, UTV Software Communications CEO Ronnie Screwvalla confirmed that he would be moving the courts if the ban was not revoked.
The film‘s director Ashutosh Gowarikar was quoted as saying, “I am very sad that people are appreciating the movie in cities but the film is not being screened in some places. We are getting a good response from overseas. I want people to watch the film first and then express their views.”
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.
