Hindi
Dismal weekend at the Box Office
MUMBAI: The past weekend has proved to be dismal for the box office with three releases, which all vie for the worst performer tag. Khamoshiyan turns out to be a drab affair with the Bhatt touch visible only in its soundtrack. The film got poor word of mouth and managed to collect just Rs 5.75 crore in its opening weekend.
Rahashya may be based on a real life, well documented double murder case, but gets just about as much attention from moviegoers as yesterday’s headline. And, this story has become stale by all standards. The film opened to a very poor response with no hope of catching up despite being a well-made film. The film had a poor opening weekend with about Rs 20 lakh.
Hawaizaada, a biopic of a maverick self-styled scientist from Maharashtra, starring Ayushmann Khurrana, from which the trade had some hope, comes a cropper. The film comes across as badly scripted and directed one lacking consistency and having no sense of length. A boring fare, the film suffered further after being slaughtered by critics as well as on social media. The poor collections reflect this as the film could manage mere Rs 1.8 crore over its first weekend. It failed to touch Rs 1 crore figure on any of the three days over the weekend.
Baby has not lived up to the hype created in the media before release. The film had way too much similarity in story and substance with a couple of recent films but was worse than them. The film is too verbose with plans of action rather than action itself which is what people want to see from a spy movie. The film collected Rs 52.1 crore in its first week. With three very poor oppositions in second week, the film gets a chance to reduce its losses.
I (dubbed) has collected Rs 1.2 crore in its second week to take its two week total to 11.3 crore. On the other hand, Dolly Ki Doli is a loser facing rejection from day one. The film manages to end its first week with figures of Rs 11.9 crore. Alone adds Rs 2.25 crore in its second week to take its two week tally to Rs 19.5 crore.
PK nears the end of its run at the box office as the film adds Rs 1.3 crore in its sixth week to take its six week total to Rs 329.6 crore.
Hindi
Dhurandhar 2 trouble: BMC moves to blacklist Aditya Dhar’s B62 Studios
Blacklist move follows torch, drone and permit violations; producers lean on a legal workaround
MUMBAI: Mumbai’s civic bosses have turned up the heat on a big-ticket sequel. The BMC (Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation) has moved to blacklist Aditya Dhar’s B62 Studios after a string of safety and permit breaches during the shoot in Mumbai. The message is blunt. Flout the rules, forfeit the privileges.
Officials cite repeated violations, including lit torches in a high-security heritage zone, a drone flown without clearance, location changes, a terrace used without permits, and two generator vans run without approvals. Mumbai Police stepped in during a night shoot in the Fort precinct, seizing five mashals and warning the crew to avoid flammable props. A separate case was filed at MRA Marg Police Station against location manager Rinku Rajpal Valmiki for flying a drone without permission.
The civic playbook is escalating. A-ward officials have recommended blacklisting the studio from the state’s single-window filming portal, forfeiting a Rs 25,000 deposit and imposing a Rs 1 lakh penalty. The deputy municipal commissioner has cleared the proposal for action, with notices to follow.
Yet the production’s pulse remains steady. A source close to the unit says filming continues and the March 19 release, timed for Eid, Gudi Padwa and Ugadi, remains intact. Co-producer Jio Studios can route fresh permissions through an unblacklisted applicant, a loophole that keeps cameras rolling even if named applicants are barred. The ban bites, but it does not block.
The film, starring Ranveer Singh, arrives with commercial heft. The previous instalment minted over Rs 1,300 crore worldwide, sharpening the incentive to stay on schedule. The sequel also faces competition from Toxic: A Fairytale for Grownups by Geethu Mohandas, headlined by Yash.
For now, the crackdown raises compliance costs, not curtains. Permits can be rerouted, penalties paid and shoots rescheduled. In Mumbai’s film economy, the show rarely stops. It simply finds a new entry point and races to make its date.
