Hindi
Zee Studios to co-produce Akshay Kumar’s ‘Rustom’ with Neeraj Pandey
MUMBAI: Zee Studios will be co-producing the Akshay Kumar starred Rustom along Neeraj Pandey & Shital Bhatia’s Friday Filmworks and KriArj Entertainment, which is slated to release worldwide on 12 August, 2016.
Inspired by real life incidents, the film is written by Vipul Rawal and also marks the directorial debut of Tinu Suresh Desai.
Pandey will also pen the dialogues of the film, co-write the screenplay with Rawal as well as contribute towards the film’s edit.
Apart from Kumar, the film will also star two actresses. However, their names have not yet been finalised.
After Special 26 and Baby, the romantic thriller Rustom will be the third project in which Akshay Kumar and Pandey’s Friday Filmworks have teamed up.
Kumar said, “Having worked with Neeraj on two fabulous projects, I am excited to start work on our new film. I am happy that Zees Studios is putting its might behind this film along with KriArj Entertainment and Friday Filmworks. It gives me and the entire team confidence of this launched worldwide using the global might of Zee.”
Pandey added, “When Tinu narrated Rustom to us, we immediately got hooked to the quality of the narrative and its potential and instantly decided that it was something that we would like to produce. We also really felt that given the nature of the story, Akshay would be the perfect fit and him agreeing to come on board will definitely give it the canvas it requires.”
Friday Filmworks producer Shital Bhatia said, “One of the other key elements that was central to our plan while green lighting this film was that to do justice to the story it would need to be an international film traversing multiple countries and for that we would definitely require good partners. To that extent when both Zee Studios and KriArj Entertainment saw the same potential in the story as us and readily agreed to co-produce this film along with Friday Filmworks, it just further vindicated our belief in this project.”
Zee Studios CEO Nittin Keni said, “We are delighted to partner with Akshay Kumar, country’s leading icon, Neeraj Pandey and KriArj Entertainment on Rustom. For us at Zee, this is another key milestone for Zee’s aggressive foray into Bollywood.”
KriArj Entertainment producer Arjun N Kapoor added, “It is a momentous occasion to unveil our association with one of the most prolific entertainers of Hindi film industry, Akshay Kumar and the much recognised film-maker, Neeraj Pandey. With such a great beginning, we are sure this splendid team is headed to create some magic on the big screen.”
The first shooting schedule of Rustom commences by mid-December. The film will travel to multiple locations globally in the course of its production.
The music of Rustom will be released by Zee Music.
Hindi
VAM Summit & The Content Hub to host VFX breakdown of ‘Border 2’
Siddhartha Jayakar to unpack film’s war visuals at Mumbai event
MUMBAI: A making-of session on Border 2, known for its war portrayal, will be held at the VAM (VFX and More) Summit and The Content Hub. The session will be led by Labyrinth Studios co-founder and creative director Siddhartha Jayakar.
Mumbai-based Labyrinth Studios has worked across blockbuster films, television shows, and commercials spanning multiple genres, including projects like IC814 The Kandahar Hijack, Thamma, Kalki, Sitaare Zameen Par and many more.
The VAM Summit and The Content Hub continue their legacy of spotlighting key trends and developments shaping the filmmaking, content and VFX industries. Taking place across 14 and 15 May 2026 at Nesco, Mumbai, the event will conclude with the VAM Awards on the evening of 15 May.
The ceremony will spotlight the best in visual effects, recognising top artistry and technical excellence from VFX studios, freelancers, and production houses.
This year’s combined theme, “AI x Creativity: Redefining Storytelling in 2026” and “Content Acceleration: The Race for Attention,” highlights the growing role of artificial intelligence and the increasing pace of content creation in shaping the future of storytelling.
The event will offer audiences a comprehensive look at the latest trends and developments in content consumption, regional content, visual effects, AI-powered creative workflows and related fields through a curated programme of keynotes, panel discussions, presentations, making-of sessions, and fireside chats, concluding with the awards ceremony.
The event will be graced by big names in the filmmaking and entertainment industry, some of which include Reliance Entertainment CEO Shibasish Sarkar, Red Chillies Entertainment producer Aashish Singh, Black Warrant series co creator Satyanshu Singh, Roy Kapur Films business head Malvika Khatri, Sony south-regional chief content officer Rajaram Sundaram and Google AI head of sales Naren Kachroo. Participating VFX studios include Dneg, Framestore, PhantomFX, NY VFXWaala, philmCGI and more.
The combined platform is set to bring together producers, cinematographers, VFX supervisors, studio heads, technologists, AI developers, content creators, filmmakers, directors and many more.
The event is co-powered by SideFX and Tathastu Techno Solutions. The associate partners include ARK Infosolutions, Autodesk, and Foundry. The industry partners are Chana Jor, Famous Studios and Hoichoi. The community partner is MIDCCA.
For more information, visit here: https://event.animationxpress.com/vam/ and https://www.thecontenthub.in/
To register for VAM Summit & The Content Hub: https://event.animationxpress.com/vam_summit_2026/index.php
