Hindi
Dev Anand’s funeral on Saturday
MUMBAI: Dev Anand will be cremated at the Putney Vale Crematorium in London on 10 December at 11.40 am. Later, at about 2 pm, a condolence meeting has been organised at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan in West Kensington.
This was decided by the actor‘s wife Kalpana Kartik and daughter Devina. His ashes will later be brought to India, where a ceremony of remembrance will be held at the Mehboob Studios in Mumbai. Later the actor‘s son Suniel Anand will address the media there.
Suniel Anand said in a statement, “In due course, Dev Anand‘s ashes will be taken back to India, where a major ceremony of remembrance will be held in Mumbai. The family of Dev Anand is moved and touched by the outpouring of public sympathy and love emanating from India, South Asia and the rest of the world following the sad news of his passing away.
“Accordingly, we would like to express our sincere gratitude to everyone for their kind words and moral support. These have been of tremendous comfort and support to them throughout this very difficult period,” he said.
Meanwhile, PVR Rare Film Club will pay tribute to Dev Anand by screening his evergreen classic Hum Dono at nine PVR cinemas across the country in its digitally restored colour print.
Hindi
UFO Cine Media Network unveils ‘India’s biggest cinema moment ever’
Dhurandhar 2 and Toxic tipped to deliver rare pan-India scale for brands
MUMBAI: UFO Cine Media Network is pitching an upcoming dual-film release weekend as what it calls the largest advertising opportunity cinema has offered in India, banking on an estimated 100 million cumulative footfalls nationwide.
The initiative, branded “India’s Biggest Cinema Moment Ever”, is anchored around the simultaneous release of Dhurandhar 2 – The Revenge and Toxic, two high-profile action films expected to dominate screens across regions and languages. Trade projections, supported by cinema measurement tool Procat, suggest the combined lifetime theatrical run could deliver one of the widest audience concentrations seen in recent years.
Dhurandhar 2 – The Revenge, an India–Pakistan spy thriller, is set to release in five languages, broadening its appeal across northern and southern markets. The franchise has already built a sizable multilingual following through theatrical runs and streaming platforms. Toxic, fronted by pan-India star Yash, is expected to draw heavy footfalls across southern circuits and beyond, buoyed by the actor’s proven box-office pull.
UFO, which operates an in-cinema advertising network spanning more than 4,100 theatres, is positioning the release window as a rare moment of synchronised national attention. Its footprint covers multiplexes and single screens across over 1,500 towns and cities, allowing advertisers to deploy campaigns at scale during a single weekend.
Executives at the company argue that cinema’s value lies not just in reach but in attention. Unlike digital or television, audiences are captive, emotionally engaged and free from distraction, they say, translating into stronger recall and measurable returns for brands. With advertisers increasingly focused on performance-led media planning, UFO is framing the dual release as comparable in scale to India’s largest broadcast and sporting properties.
Industry observers note that as theatrical exhibition expands deeper into Tier 2 and Tier 3 markets, such tentpole weekends are becoming anchor moments for annual media strategies. If Dhurandhar 2 – The Revenge and Toxic deliver as expected, the weekend could set new benchmarks not only for box office numbers, but also for cinema’s evolving role as a high-attention advertising medium.
