Hindi
Piracy net: Adlabs denies involvement; UFO sacks employee
MUMBAI: In Saturday‘s raid to unearth piracy of the to-be-released film What‘s Your Rashee?, six people were apprehended by the social service unit of the Mumbai Crime Branch.
The pirates revealed the names of some distributors who gave them information on the soon-to-be-released films and even helped procure copies of master prints.
Crime Branch chief Rakesh Maria had reportedly said that this is the handiwork of people within the industry but they are still verifying their exact role and involvement. Maria thought didn‘t disclose their names.
During investigation, names of two personnel, one from Adlabs and the other from UFO Moviez had cropped up. One of them was Adlabs business development manager Durgadas Bhakta while the other was UFO Moviez vice president (operations and digital mastering), Rajesh Chowdhry.
While Adlabs processed What‘s Your Rashee?, UFO was entrusted with the job of digitising the film and releasing it in multiplexes by uplinking it to the satellite. Chowdhry allegedly made a copy of the film on his laptop and wrote it on a DVD.
Ruling out any foul play from their end, a spokesperson of Adlabs said, “Adlabs‘ Film Processing Lab, Digital Lab, Digital Cinema Mastering facility as well as Adlabs‘ preview theatre are the only facilities in India to be accredited by FACT (Federation Against Copyright Theft). Our security measures and FACT‘s recognition, place Adlabs as one of the most protected and safe environments for motion picture handling.
“The incident regarding What‘s Your Rashee is not attributable to us in any manner. The film prints are recorded for and under the best possible security measures.”
Taking a harder look at the string of incidents involving its name, UFO Moviez India Ltd. has dismissed Chowdhry from its services with immediate effect.
UFO Moviez spokesperson Charuhas Satam, in a release, has thanked crime branch officials for nabbing the criminal element from his company and extended his company‘s full co-operation to the police in further investigations.
The release states that it is significant to note that one of the pirated movies Aage Se Right was never released on UFO platform indicating that there are lapses elsewhere. “Nevertheless, it appears that this individual who was responsible for the content processing and had access to content before encryption prior to ingestion on UFO platform, may have misused his authority and betrayed the trust entrusted by the company on him.”
According to Satam, UFO has communicated to the producers‘ fraternity separately and assured them that their business interests and intellectual property are of paramount importance to the company. “This unfortunate incident is in no way a challenge to the robustness of the fortress like digital security established by the UFO digital delivery platform.”
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.
