Hindi
Dhurandhar storms box office; sets new records
MUMBAI: Aditya Dhar’s espionage thriller has done what spies do best: infiltrated enemy territory and extracted maximum value. Dhurandhar, the Ranveer Singh-led action spectacular, has raked in Rs 552.70 crore worldwide in just ten days, making it the fastest Hindi film to breach the half-billion mark since records began keeping track.
The film notched up Rs 58.20 crore net on its second Sunday (15 December)—the biggest Sunday ever for a Hindi film—taking its total India net haul to Rs 364.60 crore. India gross stands at Rs 430.20 crore, with overseas markets chipping in Rs 122.50 crore. That’s a lot of popcorn.
Released on 5 December, the film opened with Rs 218 crore net in its first week, then refused to slow down. Second Friday brought Rs 34.70 crore, second Saturday Rs 53.70 crore, and then came Sunday’s monster haul. The makers boast that every day has been bigger than the previous from the first Monday onwards—a claim that suggests audiences are either spreading the word or buying multiple tickets.
Dhurandhar has now registered the biggest second Friday, second Saturday and second Sunday in Hindi cinema history. Packed houses, midnight screenings and round-the-clock shows continue unabated. “The Dhurandhar wave has now become a worldwide phenomenon,” crowed the makers, “driven by unprecedented word of mouth.”
The high-octane thriller, directed and written by Dhar, follows covert intelligence operations against a backdrop of real events: the Kandahar plane hijack, the 2001 Parliament attack and the 26/11 Mumbai attacks. Singh leads a cast that includes Sanjay Dutt, Akshaye Khanna, Arjun Rampal, R Madhavan and others. Set largely in Lyari, a rough neighbourhood in Karachi known for gang wars and turf battles, the film has sparked polarising reactions from critics and audiences alike.
Produced by Aditya and Lokesh Dhar’s B62 Studios with Jio Studios, the film proves that in Indian cinema, nothing succeeds like excess. Whether Dhurandhar can sustain this blistering pace or will eventually run out of ammunition remains to be seen. For now, it’s conquered the box office with military precision.
Hindi
Hansa Entertainment launched to produce across OTT, TV and film
New venture from R K Swamy Hansa Group eyes multi-language stories for digital-first audiences.
MUMBAI: Hansa Entertainment has just stepped into the spotlight because when a legacy media house decides to script its next act, even the credits get excited. Hansa Entertainment Private Limited has been incorporated to develop and produce original programming across digital, television, OTT platforms and theatrical features. The company will create short-running series, long-running series and original films for OTT, alongside standout theatrical ventures. It will also launch a podcast platform called Hansa Spotlight and produce content for the fast-growing vertical drama format. Stories are initially planned in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Bengali and Kannada.
The venture is founded by Sruti Swamy and Siddharth Swamy, drawing on the rich legacy of Hansa Vision and the broader R K Swamy Hansa Group. Sruti brings creative expertise with a master’s in architecture, interiors and design from Milan and a postgraduate degree in business management from the Indian School of Business. Siddharth contributes a data-driven perspective, having studied data science at Imperial College London.
Sujatha Narayanan has been appointed CEO of Hansa Entertainment. With over two decades of experience in creative content curation and production across film and OTT, she is also a well-known film columnist and media entrepreneur.
R K Swamy Hansa Group executive chairman Srinivasan Swamy said, “The launch of Hansa Entertainment marks an exciting new chapter. The new entity is the brainchild of the next generation and will be independently managed by Sruti Swamy, who is the Director and the newly appointed CEO.”
Hansa Entertainment director Sruti Swamy added, “I am very optimistic about the future of Hansa Entertainment, given the content explosion and the opportunities offered by new technologies for production.”
Hansa Entertainment director Siddharth Swamy noted, “The idea is to grow a contemporary production house that creates compelling stories for today’s multi-platform audiences while drawing inspiration from the rich storytelling traditions that audiences have appreciated over the years.”
Hansa Entertainment CEO Sujatha Narayanan said, “Hansa Entertainment will evolve as a story-first, IP-driven entity. We have already put together a smart team of interesting and dynamic creators who will helm our vertical dramas, shows and films.”
In the ever-evolving world of Indian entertainment, where stories now travel faster than the scripts that birth them, Hansa Entertainment is stepping onto the stage with fresh ink and big ambitions proving that even the best legacies know when it’s time for a compelling sequel.
