Hindi
Film on Kashmir to get theatrical release this week
NEW DELHI: Harud (Autumn), the film by debutante Aamir Bashir, which has been winning laurels in international festivals for the past two years, is finally getting a theatrical release on 27 July.
Bashir told indiantelevision that the film will be released with around 15 prints in PVR theatres in some parts of the country.
The Hindi film, which has earlier run into trouble with Central Board of Film Certification forcing the filmmaker to run his promos for the film on social networks instead of in theatres, is a stark picture of Kashmir where the people constantly live under the shadow of the gun.
Funded by the Hubert Bals Fund, the film was in the official selection in London and Toronto apart from the Mumbai International Film Festival. It was screened at the 54th BFI London Film Festival, 30th Fajr International Film Festival in Iran, 29th Munich International Film Festival and 54th San Francisco International Film Festival.
It stars among others Reza Naji, who was born in Tabriz in 1942 and began his artistic career when he was twenty. His breakthrough role was in “Children of Heaven” directed by the renowned Iranian filmmaker Majid Majidi. In 2008 he won the Silver Bear at the Berlin film festival for his performance in the film “Song of Sparrows”.
Others in the film include Shanawaz Bhat, Shamim Basharat, and Salma Asha.
The story of the film revolves around Rafiq and his family. He is struggling to come to terms with the loss of his older brother Tauqir, a tourist photographer, who is one of the thousands of young men who have disappeared since the onset of the militant insurgency in Kashmir. After an unsuccessful attempt to cross the border into Pakistan to become a militant, Rafiq returns home to an aimless existence. Until one day, he accidentally finds his brother‘s old camera.
The CBFC has objected to a promo carrying a scene that has the protagonists against a backdrop that reads: Aazadi. But the film given a U/A certificate has the scene. In the film itself, there were some dialogues that were removed.
Bashir said it is absurd to ban a promo after clearing the film.
Also see:
Harud promo faces Censor hurdle
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.
