Hindi
UTV ups movie slate, eyes Rs 4.5 bn revenue in FY’11
MUMBAI: UTV has expanded its movie slate for the fiscal and is eyeing a revenue of Rs 4.50 billion from this segment, up 42 per cent from the year-ago period.
A list of 12 movies have been firmed up for 2010-11, a large part of it will be via the co-production route.
Narrowing its risks, UTV will also indulge in a high element of pre-sales activities. In the pre-sale of music, home video and satellite TV rights of each film, UTV hopes to cover up 50 per cent of its production costs.
UTV has already undertaken the pre-sale of some of the TV and music rights for select titles from the slate that amounts to over Rs 800 million.
UTV‘s movie pipeline that opened with Raajneeti will quickly follow with Karan Johar‘s I Hate Luv Stories. The film is set for release on 2 July.
16 July will see the release of Udaan produced by Sanjay Singh, Anurag Kashyap and UTV. Later on 23 July, UTV Spotboy will release Chillar Party.
UTV‘s co-production with Aamir Khan titled Peepli Live will release on 13 August while its home production Paan Singh Tomar, directed by Tigmanshu Dhulia, will open on 27 August.
Another UTV co-production with Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Guzarish, starring Hrithik Roshan and Aishwarya Rai, will release on 19 November. 10 December will see the release of UTV Spotboy‘s No One Killed Jessica. The releases of the year will end with the Farah Khan directed Tees Mar Khan.
The company‘s account for 2011 will open with Vishal Bhardwaj‘s Saat Khoon Maaf. The release dates of We Are Family and Delhi Belly have not yet been declared with the latter still stuck in the production stage.
UTV posted an operating profit of Rs 950.64 million from the segment, as against operating profit of Rs 537.83 million a year ago.
UTV deployed a capital of Rs 4.82 billion towards movies and posted an operating profit of Rs 950.64 million from this segment on a turnover of Rs 3.15 billion for the fiscal ended 31 March 2010.
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.
