Hindi
Nondescript films got much coveted play time
It is unimaginable. The week had 10 new Indian films releasing along with two foreign films. Yet, it was not the time for the exhibitors to rejoice. These 10 films included a variety from thriller to horror adapted from Hollywood, to a kid’s film.
No major film is released during the Muslim holy month of Ramzan. Once upon a time, these film lovers made a major film going population. However, the things have changed since the advent of multiplexes.
Yet, this year, the fasting month also coincides with the Champions Trophy 2017 being played in UK where the eight major cricket playing nations are participating. And, cricket has long replaced films as the most popular medium of entertainment.
In this event, small, nondescript films got their much coveted play time at the cinema halls which, otherwise, is rationed out to them as gap fillers during shows when the footfall is scarce.
*To start with, A Death In The Gunj boasted of a familiar star cast. It starred Om Puri, Tanuja along with Ranvir Shorey, Tillotomma Shome, Kalki Koechlin alongwith lesser known but talented names such as Gulshan Devaiyah and Vikrant Massey. The film was directed by yet another well-known name, Konkona Sensharma. What failed the film was its sadistic idea for a story and poor promotion. There was no awareness about the film. As a result, the film failed to attract footfalls.
*The other noticeable film was Dear Maya if only for it being a comeback film for the yesteryear star, Manisha Koirala. It was a feeble attempt, concentrating at the limited histrionics of Koirala again, with nil promotion. The result was disastrous.
*The animation film, Hanuman Da’ Damdaar was one more film trying to cash in on the childhood exploits of Hanuman (the other popular character being childhood stories of Ganesh). Here, Hanuman was made to mouth today slangs through the voice of Salman Khan. The film also boasted of voices of Raveena Tandon, Javed Akhtar, Makrand Deshpande and Kunal Khemu. This kind of stuff works in Hollywood. Here, in India, it has yet to work. The film was lost in the crowd.
*The other releases were Sweetiee Weds NRI, Dobaara- See Your Evil (which boasted of a Hollywood film adaptation), Bachche Kachche Sachche), Lakme, Little Sholay, Mirror Game-Ab Khel Shuru, Black Future, etc were all losers.
*Sachin: A Billion Dreams, coming as it did in the footsteps of another cricketer biopic, M K Dhoni: An Untold Story, failed to make a mark. It turned out to be just a dull documentary. The film depicted Sachin, the cricketing legend, as a man full of self-pity, whining about his struggles rather than success. The film failed to be an example for the new generation
The film, which collected Rs. 23.4 crore for first three days, managed to finish its first week with just another 10 crore accounting for its first week total of Rs. 33.5 crore. . The film’s second weekend is not encouraging.
*Hallf Girlfriend does little to improve its lot as the film manages to add Rs. 8.1 crore in its second week to take its two week total to Rs. 52.9 crore. The film still stands to lose on Indian domestic market.
*Hindi Medium goes on to become a mini budget major hit. The film matched its first week collections by almost 80% which is a rare feat. The film collected 19.1 crore in its second week, the film took its two week total to Rs. 42.6 crore.
*Bahubali 2: The Conclusion (Hindi-Dubbed) is not yet fading away. The film added Rs. 12.2 crore in its fifth week to take its five week total to Rs. 492.1 crore.
Hindi
Jio Studios unveils AI-powered Krishna teaser at NAB Show 2026
Global first look of Krishna uses Galleri5 AI pipeline on Azure, Historyverse slate as Jio’s Dhurandhar crosses Rs 3,000cr worldwide.
MUMBAI: Krishna has just dropped a divine teaser and this time the gods are powered by silicon, not just scripture. Jio Studios and Collective Studios’ Historyverse stole the spotlight at the NAB Show 2026 in Las Vegas with the world’s first teaser for their upcoming theatrical feature Krishna, directed by Manu Anand. The big reveal happened during Microsoft’s keynote “Powering Intelligent Media, From AI Experimentation to Real-World Impact,” where the film’s AI-native production pipeline took centre stage alongside Collective Artists Network’s in-house platform, Galleri5.
At the heart of this mythological spectacle lies a fresh cinematic workflow built by Galleri5 on Microsoft Azure’s advanced AI and cloud infrastructure. Forget bolting AI onto traditional VFX or animation, this is an end-to-end, production-grade system woven into every layer: world-building, character creation, shot design and final output. Yet the storytelling remains firmly director-led, emphasising emotional depth, stillness, music and performance rather than pure spectacle. The result? Large-format theatrical cinema rooted in Indian history and culture, but conceived in ways that were simply not possible before.
Collective Artists Network runs Galleri5 natively on Azure, leveraging Microsoft Foundry and cutting-edge AI tools to handle film, episodic and advertising workflows in a secure enterprise environment. Microsoft highlighted Collective as a “Frontier” organisation successfully moving AI from pilot projects to real production-scale deployment in cinema. The technology is also on display at Microsoft’s NAB booth in the West Hall (Booth W1731).
Jio Studios (Media & Content Business, Reliance Industries), president Jyoti Deshpande said the project advances the studio’s mission to take Indian stories global with scale, ambition and authenticity, “With Krishna, we are embracing cutting-edge AI-led filmmaking while democratising these tools to make them more accessible, intuitive and cost-effective for storytellers everywhere.”
Collective Artists Network founder & group CEO Vijay Subramaniam added, “We’re using technology developed in India to carry our culture and history to audiences worldwide at a scale never seen before.”
Microsoft, vice president for telco media & entertainment, gaming Silvia Candiani noted that the media industry has reached an inflection point, “AI is no longer about experimentation but delivering real impact at production scale… By building AI-native creative systems on Microsoft Azure, Collective exemplifies how storytellers can unlock new formats, move faster and realise a true return on intelligence while keeping human creativity at the centre.”
Krishna forms part of Historyverse, Collective Studios’ ambitious slate of history and culture-driven IPs. The slate draws from iconic figures and traditions that shaped the Indian subcontinent, including stories inspired by Kali, Karna and Durga. It builds on the already-released Mahabharat: Ek Dharmayudh series, showing how ancient narratives can be reimagined for modern screens.
Jio Studios, India’s leading content studio and the media and content arm of Reliance Industries, continues its blockbuster run. The studio’s Dhurandhar franchise led by Dhurandhar and Dhurandhar: The Revenge has become the first Indian film series to cross Rs 3,000 crore worldwide. It also delivered three consecutive years of India’s highest-grossing Hindi films: Stree 2 (2024), Dhurandhar (2025) and Dhurandhar: The Revenge (2026). In just eight years, Jio Studios has assembled a library of over 160 films and series, with more than 60 titles winning over 500 awards. Other notable successes include Laapataa Ladies (India’s official Oscar entry 2025), Stree, Article 370, Shaitaan and Mrs.
The NAB unveiling marks another step in Jio Studios and Collective’s push to blend Indian storytelling talent with frontier technology proving that the future of cinema may well be both ancient in spirit and thoroughly modern in execution. For audiences who love epic tales with a fresh twist, Krishna promises to deliver divine drama, this time with a little help from the cloud.
