Hindi
Is B’wood moving towards equality?
MUMBAI: It has been spoken about many times, but this year seems to attest that Bollywood is actually shunning gender-biases and is moving towards equality. That is what is evident from the movies releasing this year. Many movies of the year are giving prominence to its female actors.
While Parineeti Chopra’s character in Hasee Toh Phasee is a well-etched out role with eccentricities that makes it stand out among all the other characters in the film (even the hero Siddharth Malhotra), in this week’s release – Highway – Alia’s character has been written with similar fervor as well. In fact, Alia’s father and one of the most lauded filmmakers of the country – Mahesh Bhatt – thinks that Alia has ‘lived’ the role of her lifetime.
“Thank you Imtiaz Ali for making Alia ‘live’ the role of her life time. The women of our country will empathise with this heartfelt tale,” wrote Bhatt on Facebook.
In the months to come, Bollywood is going to spring up many such surprises where women will get a chance to not just live their lives but raise the bar too. Many movies with strong women characters and centered around women are going to make a mark at the big screen.
There’s Queen starring Kangana Ranaut that tells the story of a girl whose wedding is called off when her fiancé passes away and she, instead of crying over her situation, decides to move on. The focus of the film is on the character growing up as an individual.
Another one in the pipeline is Gulaab Gang starring Madhuri Dixit and Juhi Chawla among host of other female actors. Again a woman-centric film based around the activist group Gulaabi Gang, shows how women have started getting prominence in the film industry with diverse being written for them.
One of the other movies being looked forward to is Bobby Jasoos starring Vidya Balan in which she portrays the character of a sleuth. The film is not just being anticipated as Indian cinema’s answer to detective films but probably is also one of the first in India to be bringing in a female actor to play a sleuth.
Mary Kom’s biopic with Priyanka Chopra portraying the sportstar in the film is another addition to the list. While biopics are any way not too regular in India, one on a female sportstar is something very rare. And thus this is one movie that every movie buff is waiting for, especially after Irrfan and Farhan Akhtar have raised the bar of getting in to the skin of the real life people they portrayed in Paan Singh Tomar and Bhaag Milkha Bhaag. Priyanka is surely being watched out for in this upcoming movie.
Doesn’t it seem to be a great year for women in the film industry?
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.
