MAIDAAN is getting some holiday benefit over the weekdays in its third week as it is Labour/Maharashtra Day on Wednesday which meant a minor jump on Tuesday as its the day before the holiday. The growth was mainly in Maharashtra; also, the film is best in Mumbai city that showed best gains which should continue on Wednesday.

This now takes the third week to 6.25 crore nett and the film will be looking at a 7.50 crore nett plus third week which means the drop in the third week will be in the 20% range. This is a pretty good trend but there are no collections for the film.

If the film can continue to trend with 20-30% range weekly drops over the next few weeks then at least the final number can look reasonable in terms of how low the opening day number was but it cant change the fate of the film.

The collections of MAIDAAN till date are as follows.

Friday - 1,00,00,000 apprx

Saturday - 1,75,00,000 apprx

Sunday - 2,25,00,000 apprx

Monday - 60,00,000 apprx

Tuesday - 70,00,000 apprx

Mumbai: In a major embarrassment to the city crime branch, one of the alleged weapons suppliers in the actor Salman Khan home firing case, Anuj Thapan (32), was found dead in the lockup of the city police headquarters at Crawford Market a little after noon Wednesday.

A senior police officer said it is suspected that he died by suicide, but his family alleged foul play. Joint commissioner of police (crime) Lakhmi Gautam said the state CID will conduct an inquiry into the death.

The lockup, split across two floors of an old building on the premises, had 11 inmates, but crime branch officials said two of them—Vikas Gupta and Sagar Pal, who allegedly fired at Khan’s residence on April 14 — were taken away for interrogation on Wednesday. They were mum on why Thapan alone was left behind.

The second alleged guns supplier, Subhash Chander, is in judicial custody owing to an old injury. The building is covered by CCTV cameras.

It is the first case of custodial death inside the police HQ in recent years.

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Mumbai: The state CID will conduct an inquiry into the death of the alleged weapons supplier in Salman Khan home firing case, Anuj Thapan (32), in the Mumbai police headquarters’ lockup, said JCP (crime) Lakhmi Gautam.

Police said around 12.30pm, an officer in charge of the lockup was conducting aroutine check on the first floor when another inmate told him that Thapan hadn’t returned from the toilet. The officer found the toilet door ajar and discovered Thapan hanging from the window grille with a string wound around his neck. It is suspected that the string was pulled out of a rug and fashioned into a noose.

Thapan was rushed to GT Hospital, where doctors declared him dead. His body was sent to JJ Hospital for an autopsy. Late on Wednesday, police beefed up security at the lockup. Police registered an accidental death report, and later, CID officials conducted apanchnama and secured the CCTV footage from the site.

Thapan, who hails from Punjab and was nabbed from the state on April 24, was accused of supplying two country-made pistols and 40 cartridges, along with Subhash Chander, to Gupta and Pal in Mumbai on behalf of Anmol Bishnoi, the Canada-based cousin of jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi. Alookout circular has been is sued against Anmol and police are hoping to gain custody of Lawrence from the Gujarat jail he is lodged in.

Police fear Thapan’s death could dilute the stringent MCOCA charge that was invoked on Monday after the case was transferred from crime branch unit 9 to ACP S Nade. For a MCOCA charge to hold, police need to show that an accused had been named in another chargesheet within the past 10 years. Thapan has been named in three unrelated offences in Punjab.

Police sources said they suspect that Thapan died by suicide because he was afraid that he would never be acquitted in a MCOCA case. His relatives called that bunkum. “Why would he kill himself? He was a healthy and hearty youngster working for a transporter. We suspect foul play,” one of them told TOI. 

Another source said Thapan wasn’t an amateur gangster and had survived being shot at by Punjab police in 2018. The family is likely to arrive in the city on Thursday to claim the body.

Advocate Vicky Sharma demanded a high-level inquiry into the death, and alleged that police could have tortured Thapan to quickly solve the high-profile case. “We will move HC to seek justice... Anuj Thapan had looked pale and scared when he was produced before the special MCOCA court on Monday.”

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Anuj Kumar Thapan, a 23-year-old resident of Punjab who was arrested by the Mumbai Crime Branch in connection with the firing case outside Bollywood actor Salman Khan’s residence, was found dead on Wednesday afternoon inside the Crime Branch lockup located at the Mumbai police’s headquarters at Crawford Market.

The Azad Maidan police have registered an Accidental Death Report (ADR) in the case, and the state CID is also investigating as the accused died in the Crime Branch’s custody.

The Crime Branch stated that since they had invoked MCOCA against the accused, he was depressed, knowing that it would be difficult to obtain bail in the next 10 years.

According to the Crime Branch, the incident occurred on Wednesday between 12 noon and 1 pm. The accused went to use the washroom on the first floor of the lockup and allegedly used a rope, suspected to have been torn from a mat inside the lockup. He used a bucket inside the bathroom, tied the rope to the small net windows, and then pushed the bucket.

“There were six accused of different cases inside the lockup and he too was there with them. When he went inside the washroom and didn’t return after some time, the other accused of a different case alerted the security guard who went inside the washroom and found him hanging,” an officer said.

The officials also stated that they were unsure if the rope used for hanging was from the mat provided to the accused inside the lockup. “The CID is going to investigate how he procured the material that was used for hanging,” an officer said.

“We have conducted our investigation, and we didn’t find evidence of foul play. As there is CCTV camera surveillance inside the lockup, his medical examination was also carried out according to the regulations before he hanged himself,” the officer added.

Thapan was rushed to the GT hospital where he was declared dead. The Crime Branch has informed his family and the post-mortem is likely to be conducted at JJ hospital in camera; the family will be kept in the loop at the time of the post-mortem. Thapan was arrested from Fazilka district of Punjab on April 26 for allegedly providing weapons to the accused who fired five rounds outside Salman’s residence on April 14.

Thapan’s role surfaced during the interrogation of the main accused Vicky Gupta and Sagar Pal. Thapan along with another accused, Sonu Kumar Bishnoi, provided the weapon to Pal and Gupta. According to sources, Thapan was a close associate of Lawrence Bishnoi and had three more cases against him, including another firing one. Before he was apprehended, he was working as a truck driver.

The official said that he was cooperating during the investigation and provided some information about Bishnoi since he was booked under MCOCA. “He knew that procuring bail under MCOCA is very difficult and he was going to spend his life inside the prison. He sounded a little depressed and had discussed it with other inmates as well,” said an officer.

Politician Raghav Chadha, who underwent an eye surgery in London, is on the road to recovery. He is with his wife, actor Parineet Chopra. Still on rest, Chadha is expected to return to India with Chopra, once doctors give a go-ahead.

On Tuesday, Delhi health minister Saurabh Bhardwaj addressed the reason behind the Aam Aadmi Party leader and Rajya Sabha member’s absence during the crucial election period. Bhardwaj shared that it was due to a critical eye complication.

Talking to HT City, a source close to the family says, “So many people have been misinterpreting and misreporting the statement given by the health minister that Raghav could have lost his eyesight. Yes, he had a condition due to which he was advised to undergo a surgery to avoid any complication, one of which could have been losing his eyesight. So, to prevent this risk, he got the surgery, and it was done successfully. He is back home (from the hospital) and is recovering now, and shall be back to work in a couple of weeks. There is nothing to worry or exaggerate things.”

Chadha has been stationed in the UK capital since March 8. “At the time of his surgery, Parineeti was with him, and has been visiting him on a regular basis. In fact, she promoted Chamkila shuttling between London and Mumbai,” says the source.

Actor Abhilash Thapliyal is over the moon after receiving positive feedback for his role as a sharp-witted sports commentator in Maidaan. Post this success, buying a house in Mumbai comes as a cherry on top for him.

Making Mumbai his home, the 36-year-old actor, who is known for his roles in Kennedy (2023) and Blurr (2022), recently moved to Andheri with a 3BHK sea-facing apartment. After purchasing the property, Thapliyal, along with his wife Anubhooti Panda (corporate professional), decided to turn the complex into “an extension of themselves”.

Taking charge of the decor, the couple has copiously decorated their home with caricatures and favourite art, including a DIY coffee table which was recycled from an old scooter that belonged to Thapliyal’s late father.

“It (Mumbai) has been my karmabhoomi for quite a few years. Buying a place in the city give me an anchor to stay here for a longer period of time. Now, this has become my home,” Thapliyal tells us, adding how the couple wanted to buy a property with a balcony. He days, “I come from Delhi where balconies are not uncommon. But this is not the same in Mumbai. So, our only benchmark for buying a house was a balcony.”

The actor, who took out a loan for the purchase recalls feeling “anxious”. But he adds how it’s not the be-all and end-all of his endeavours: “People are reacting to the news [of buying a house] as if I’ve climbed the final ladder of success. But I don’t think that buying a good car, house or phone reflects the success of an artiste. However, good projects do reflect success, and that’s what I’ll strive for.”

Tamil musician Ilaiyaraaja’s legal battle with Echo Recording Company, that bought the rights to his compositions, has sparked the question — who owns a song? Is it the film producer who pays the music composer, lyricist and singer, the music director who composes a song or the lyricist who writes it? According to the Copyright Act 1957, the producer is the first owner.

On April 24, the Madras High Court came to the conclusion that the musician cannot claim the sole rights to his discography that includes over 4,500 songs, because lyrics are an integral part of a song too. The two-judge bench stated that the 80-year-old only has a right on the melody.

When we speak to composers and lyricists from the Indian music industry, they agree with the court’s decision, stating that a song is a collaborative effort and cannot belong to just one artiste.

I don’t have a take on the case. I also can’t comment on who gives the companies the copyright in this case. I share a good rapport with Ilaiyaraaja. The intellectual property remains with the creator and the producer uses it for their film. What the court has done is reiterating the Copyright Act and stated that everyone needs to follow the law.

I feel everyone involved in creating a song is indispensable. A music director makes the tune for the lyrics that is written by the lyricist and the singers get to sing it. When an award is given, three people are always talked about — the composer, the lyricist and the singer. I feel a song is made by these three together and it’s hard to decide who has more stake in a song.

India has a Copyright Act and everything has been written very clearly so that there is no misunderstanding between the author, composer or producer. The rights belong to the producer. If somebody is claiming they have got 100% rights, I don’t think this is the right approach. It’s okay if Ilaiyaraaja is ready to fight, but you have to follow the law. You can’t not obey the law of the land. I always stand by the court’s decision.

When you are working on a movie, you’ve been hired to do the music for it. You can, as the composer and lyricist, claim royalties. Unless there is documentation to show your own rights, a producer automatically sells the rights of the song to record companies. So, unfortunately, the complete ownership of a song is not possible when doing a film contract. Whether in India, or the US, it’s the same.

Now, Ilaiyaraaja has sent a legal notice to Sun Pictures, the producers of Rajinikanth-starrer Coolie, over unauthorized use of his song, according to a report by India Today. The notice states that a segment from the song Vaa Vaa Pakkam Vaa from the 1983 Tamil film Thanga Magan has been used without his permission.

You know the auditorium will echo with laughter and lessons when you have director Rajkumar Hirani and actor Boman Irani together. The duo who treated audiences to Munna Bhai franchise, and 3 Idiots, were in town on Monday for a talk show organised by the Ladies Study Group, titled All izz well. They spoke about their camaraderie, their hits and misses in showbiz and more. Excerpts...

When asked about the defining moment of his life, Boman shared an interesting incident. “When I was eight or nine years old, I met a wonderful artiste who was a family friend and whom I sang for. She told me that I’d performed reasonably well. She also advised me to be unique as there couldn’t be anyone like me. This advice I took really seriously and honoured it. That artiste happens to be Usha Uthup.”

At the event hosted by the Ladies Study Group, Hirani said he wanted to be an engineer and then went on to study chartered accountancy upon his uncle’s advice. “The scene from 3 Idiots where R Madhavan tells his father he wants to be a wildlife photographer, that is one scene out of my life. I gathered the courage and told my father that CA was not my calling and he asked me to join him with his work. I can’t tell you the joy and relief I felt. That’s when I started working with my father in the morning and doing plays in the evening,” Hirani exclaimed.

For Boman Irani, it was his mother who helped him find his passion and empowered him. “My mom really empowered me. I used to struggle with studies and rarely spoke because of a speech problem but I found confidence on stage and my mom sensed this,” said Irani.

“One day we had a customer at her shop and he wanted to know which movie was running in the nearest theatre. My mother asked me to take him to the theatre. This man was blind and my mum told me to narrate the story as the movie played. I can’t express how empowered I felt as a child,” said Boman.

Hirani shared the kind of curriculum he believes in. “Education should be in a particular way, where we let children do what they like. They should be allowed to do things that they are not just passionate about but are also obsessed with.”

Speaking about the need for tenacity, Irani said, “We should hang on to people who chose to do or write what they believe in because such people are rare.” The actor went on to add, “Youngsters today want to be famous yesterday but they should learn not to compromise on their worth.”

He advised people to learn to hang on to the ones who believe in every word they write and portray a character the way they have written it, because they know what they are doing. “Latch onto them because the journey will be worth it and one that you will forever cherish,” the actor concluded.

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'I make funny films but life at home is drama and action. My wife is a pilot. When people ask her to quit, she tells them that she’ll quit the husband, not flying' – Rajkumar Hirani

'All of Raju’s films are personal as they originate from his belief system. He takes years to write a movie. This man believes what he writes is the Bible' – Boman Irani

'Ones who write what they believe in are rare' -Boman Irani

As Darsheel Safary picks up a wand to pose for our cameras, he playfully points it forward and pretends to cast spells like Alohomora, Wingardium Leviosa and Harry Potter’s favourite Expelliarmus. The actor grew up watching the franchise and was so enamoured by the magical world of the boy wizard that in one of his interviews back with us in 2008, he said, “I would love to play Harry Potter and have Aamir Khan as Dumbledore.” On International Harry Potter Day, we catch up with the Potterhead as he talks about his love for the magical world.

Darsheel made his Bollywood debut at the age of 10 with the critically-acclaimed film Taare Zameen Par (2008), which was directed and produced by Aamir Khan and had the two sharing screen space. “I reiterate what I said earlier. I wanted to play Harry and wanted Aamir Khan to be cast as Dumbledore because he has been my guiding force in my life. It has been my childhood dream to play Harry Potter, especially because the story is so relatable. For a Potterhead, it was wonderful to escape into Harry’s world,” says Darsheel, who first learnt about the character when he saw the Harry Potter books in his school library.

As a kid, Darsheel started collecting Harry Potter merchandise. He says, “I had a collection of all the seven books, but I gave them away except Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince because that is the first book I read. The books are so different from the films as they are so detailed. I am sure Potterheads would relate to this. I even turned my sister into a Potterhead.”

Talking about his obsession with Harry Potter, Darsheel, who was last seen in the film Hukus Bukus, shares, “It was like, if I wanted to be a part of a school, I wanted to be a part of Hogwarts. If I wanted to be a part of a group, it had to be with Ron (Ronald Weasley) and Hermione (Granger). I remember my father tried teaching me chess for a long time. I refused until I saw the scene with a life-size chess board and pieces that could move in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. After that, I asked my dad to teach me to play the game. Harry Potter has been a part of my life for a good 15 years. I am glad that I was able to grow with Harry himself.”

Talking about how he is inspired by Harry Potter’s character arc, Darsheel says, “Harry Potter seems a little lost at the beginning, and others guide him. But at the end of the series, he took the decision to break the Elder Wand, which is the most powerful wand. So, from being lost to finding himself – his character goes through such a fascinating journey. From Hermione and Ron to Severus Snape and Albus Dumbledore, there is so much to take away from each of these characters.”

Venue Courtesy: Epitome - Global Dining & Bar

Sidharth Malhotra, who won accolades for his performance in Shershaah, has never shied away from taking up roles that make him push the envelope. Irrespective of the movie’s reception at the box office, the actor continues to make interesting career choices. After two years, he had a theatrical release with Yodha in March. Though there was a lot of anticipation around the action-drama, the movie didn’t do wonders at the box office.

In a conversation with us, Sidharth spoke about how he’s still proud of the film and that the fate of a movie doesn’t lead to self-doubt.

Despite the movie's fate, Sidharth still stands by it. Ask him how he is processing the ramifications, and he replies, “There is nothing to process. It starts with giving out a quality product. Whenever I do a film, I want to be sure – is it a product that I am proud of. Do you bring the quality to it? Is there a narrative? Is there a storytelling? Is this something new that you are portraying and putting out? And for me, Yodha has ticked all those boxes. Whether it's portraying this action hero character, whether it's having a little bit of a cheekiness to him in certain sequences, or it's the compliments that one gets for the action, that one has done – that is the first aspect that a filmmaker or an actor looks for. The other aspect (the business), we don't have any control over it. We've had the best of the best in the business for over 30 plus years who still can't predict what's going to happen on that Friday. So, I'm just one of them and (just) happy that we have a quality product – whether it's the action, the tonality, or the music that worked for us in our favor.”

This is Sidharth’s fifth film in a row that has not worked at the box office. During such time it can be difficult to continue sticking to one’s conviction. How does he ensure that the self-doubt doesn’t creep in? Ask him that and pat comes the response, “It's 10 years too late now for self-doubt to kick in. I have been here for more than a decade and I think it is part of the process. One is just looking to put out a quality product which Yodha, for me, ticks those boxes. That's the best an actor can do to present the film in the best way. There are many other factors that one doesn't have control over - the film was supposed to be released at a certain time – a lot of aspects which are beyond somebody's creative control.

Currently, Sidharth has no movies announced. The actor is taking time to access his next one and is ensuring that he does not rush. "There's lots (in the pipeline), whether which one will be first is the question. We're now getting the creators in place. I like to be more prepped and get the quality in place, which requires time. I think it's better to take your time than to rush into stuff," he shares.

Earlier in January last year, Sidharth had also confirmed a rom-com with his now actor-wife Kiara Advani. Ask him for an update about that one and he states, “Oh yeah, that's very much on the table. We can't say for sure, but we were very interested in working together and finding the correct script combination, where both of us justify our roles. Also, the audience gets to see us after Shershaah, which we got a lot of love for. It is about getting the correct elements in place.”

Bollywood stars Shah Rukh Khan and Ajay Devgn top the list of celebrity-endorsed ads that are airing during the Indian Premier League (IPL) with a cumulative 19% share of the TV ad volumes during the first 37 matches, according to data from TAM Sports.

Among sports celebrities, Virender Sehwag tops the list with a 7.5% share of the ad volumes, followed by Hardik Pandya with a 7.4% share.

In IPL 2023, Aamir Khan dominated the ad volumes for celebrity-endorsed commercials on TV, while Virat Kohli was the top sports celebrity.

The TV volume share of ads featuring celebrities has declined by 23% for the first 37 matches of the tournament compared to the previous edition for the same number of matches.

TAM Sports is the sports division of TAM Media.

The research company also stated that the share of celebrity-endorsed ads to the overall TV ad volume stood at 61%, down from 75% in the previous edition. The share of non-celebrity ads jumped to 39% from 25%.

Almost 50% of the celebrity-endorsed ads featured sports personalities, while film stars had a 36% share of these ads. The combined share of film actresses and TV actors stood at 14% of the total celebrity-endorsed ads.

Ecom-Gaming, Pan Masala, Aerated Soft Drink, Face Wash and Paints were the top five categories for celebrity-endorsed ads, grabbing 75% of the ad volumes.

Among advertisers, Sporta Technologies, Vishnu Packaging, K P Pan Foods, Playgames 24*7 and Coca-Cola India dominated the list of celebrity-endorsed ads with a 65% share of the ad volumes.

Paramount Global’s sale of its 13.01% stake in Viacom18 to Reliance Industries (RIL) has provided the company with an opportunity to exit the Indian joint venture (JV) with an attractive return on investment, a top company executive said.

13.01% stake to RIL for Rs. 4,286 crore ($517 million). The company will continue to licence its content to Viacom18.

Its Paramount+ streaming service is available on Viacom18’s Jio Cinema as a content block under the premium subscription tier. Viacom18 will continue to operate TV channels under Paramount-owned brands like MTV, Vh1 and Nickelodeon.

“Selling our stake in Viacom18 provided an opportunity to exit our ownership position with an attractive financial return on our investment while preserving our ability to monetize our content in India through ongoing licensing arrangements,” Paramount Global CFO Naveen Chopra told analysts during the company’s Q1 earnings call.

He also said that the after-tax proceeds will further benefit leverage when the transaction closes at the end of 2024 or early 2025, subject to regulatory approval.

The RIL-Paramount transaction is subject to the closure of the merger agreement between RIL, Walt Disney’s Star India and Viacom18.

Last year, Paramount saw its stake in Viacom18 get diluted to 13.01% following a Rs. 15,145 crore fund infusion by RIL and Bodhi Tree Systems. Subsequently, Viacom18 became a subsidiary of RIL with Bodhi Tree also holding a16% stake.

The company’s stake got diluted since it didn’t want to infuse growth capital into Viacom18 for investments in sports and digital businesses. Before the fund infusion, the American entertainment company held a 49% stake in Viacom18.

Paramount realised a non-cash gain of $168 million from the dilution of a 36% stake in Viacom18.

In February, RIL, Disney and Viacom18 decided to merge Viacom18 into Star India to create a $8.5 billion media giant. RIL and its subsidiary Viacom18 will own a 63% stake in the proposed merged entity, while Disney will hold the rest.