Hindi
Bollywood to get ‘Transformed’
MUMBAI: Touted to be the year’s most awaited, high octane action film, Transformers – Age of Extinction is the fourth edition of the epic Transformers franchise. With an ever growing fan base, this Hollywood flick seems to have transformed B–town celebs who attended the industry screening on Monday night at PVR Cinemas in Juhu.
Celebrities that graced the occasion were Darsheel Safary, Resul Pookutty, Gaurav Chopra, Siddharth Shukla, Manish Paul, Salman, Lauren, Rithvik Dhanjani, Smita Bansal and Vishal Malhotra. MTV’s Ranvijay an ardent Transformers fan turned up in a super-cool Transformers belt and specially designed Transformers watch.
The current movie will witness an all new star cast and a new twist. Directed by the maverick Michael Bay, the film includes a star studded cast with superstar Mark Wahlberg playing Cade Yeager, a single father who will go to any extremes for his daughter Tessa, played by Nicola Peltz and her handsome boyfriend Shane played by Jack Steynor.
The film also introduces a series of new elements like the Dinobots, the dangerous intergalactic bounty hunter-Lockdown and the revival of the fire breathing T-Rex Grimlock.
The returning Transformers include the courageous warrior and leader of the Autobots – Optimus Prime, the much loved Bumblebee who takes the most risks and will be seen in a new avatar and Drift, an Autobot tactician and a former Decepticon amongst others.
Another first in the series, are human made transformers that join the evil forces of the Decepticons. Galvatron is a human-made Transformer who becomes the Decepticon overlord while Stinger becomes a Decepticon spy and sabotage specialist. The Army of the Dinobots is yet another challenge that Optimus Prime will have to overcome in this epic battle.
Shot in 3D technology, Transformers – Age of Extinction is a spectacular cinematic experience in Dolby Atmos. Embellished with breathtaking VFX, it is also partly shot in IMAX.
Hindi
Kuku enters theatrical cinema with Indian Institute of Zombies
Audio and micro-drama giant launches first Hindi feature film on 8 May.
MUMBAI: Kuku just added brains to its bite because when an audio and micro-drama powerhouse decides to make a zombie comedy, even the undead had better watch their step. Kuku, one of India’s largest digital entertainment companies and the force behind Kuku FM and Kuku TV, has announced its foray into theatrical cinema with its debut Hindi feature film, Indian Institute of Zombies (IIZ). Billed as India’s first campus zombie comedy, the film is set to release in cinemas on 8 May 2026.
Set inside an elite engineering campus, IIZ blends zombie horror, youth comedy and sharp social satire, promising a high-energy big-screen experience. The film stars an ensemble cast including Jessie Lever, Anupriya Goenka, Mohan Kapur, Ranjan Raj, Shivani Paliwal, Shantanu Anam, Rose Sardana, Sachin Kavetham and Tanishq Chaudhary. It has been developed in-house at Kuku, scripted by Hussain Dalal and Abbas Dalal (known for Brahmāstra and Farzi), and directed by Gaganjeet Singh and Alok Dwivedi of Low Gravity Productions.
Kuku, CEO Lal Chand Bisu said, “Kuku has always been obsessed with how India consumes stories. We built scale in personal consumption through Kuku FM and created a new micro-drama category with Kuku TV. Theatres represent the next frontier, and Indian Institute of Zombies marks the first of many, rooted in youth culture, genre innovation and mass Indian tastes.”
Kuku senior vice president Kunj Sanghvi added, “IIZ is a film for everyone who has ever been on a college campus. We observed the success of horror comedies at the box office, the lack of a breakout Indian zombie film, and the insatiable appetite for campus stories across age groups.”
The project also showcases Kuku’s AI-native approach to filmmaking. Artificial intelligence has been deeply integrated into concept structuring, story architecture, scheduling, budgeting and creative iteration not as a gimmick, but as an amplifier to enable faster development cycles and sharper decisions.
With this move, Kuku is evolving from a leader in audio and vertical storytelling into a multi-format entertainment powerhouse, leveraging its deep audience insights and technological edge to create culturally resonant theatrical experiences.
In a content universe where stories are getting shorter and screens smaller, Kuku is boldly going big proving that even in the age of two-minute episodes, there’s still plenty of room for zombies, campus chaos and full-blown cinematic laughter. Indian Institute of Zombies hits theatres on 8 May 2026.
