Earlier this week, mid-day was the first to report that Salman Khan and Sanjay Dutt were set to shoot cameos in an upcoming big-budget international film (Hollywood brings Bollywood’s forces together, Feb 17). Now, we have dug out further details of the project that is being filmed in Saudi Arabia. Sources tell us that the thriller is titled The Seven Dogs, and features Egyptian actors Karim Abdel Aziz and Ahmed Ezz in the lead.

Director duo Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah, known for the summer blockbuster Bad Boys: Ride or Die (2024), are helming the film. While details of Dutt and Khan’s roles remain under wraps, the latter began filming his portions from February 17. A video of his shoot leaked online. A source tells us, “Salman shot some sequences set in a villain’s den, near a market in Riyadh. He wrapped up his sequences on Wednesday and headed out to Dubai for the launch of his nephew Ayaan Agnihotri’s single.”

Khan’s presence in The Seven Dogs is not surprising, considering Turki Al-Sheikh, a friend of the superstar, has written the thriller. One of the key figures in Saudi Arabia’s entertainment industry, Sheikh is also overseeing the project that is touted as one of the most expensive Arabic-language productions to date.

Bad Boys: Ride Or Die is as good as the earlier three parts and has ample action and humour. It is interesting to see how the lives of the protagonists change as they grow older, leading to more entertainment. The dialogues are one of the USPs while a couple of fight scenes stand out. The villain track, however, is the weakest part of the film that affects the impact. This is especially because in the last part, Bad Boys For Life, the antagonist's angle was terrific. Martin Lawrence takes the cake this time as he provides the maximum laughs. Will Smith keeps it subtle and is impressive nevertheless. Eric Dane is okay as the villain and is let down by the writing. Joe Pantoliano (Captain Conrad), Eric Dane (James McGrath), Jacob Scipio (Armando), Ioan Gruffudd (Lockwood), Melanie Liburd (Christine), Paola Núñez (Rita), Alexander Ludwig (Dorn), Vanessa Hudgens (Kelly) and Quinn Hemphill (Callie) lend able support. Dennis Greene (Reggie McDonald) is the surprise of the film. All in all, Bad Boys: Ride Or Die fulfills expectations and is a must-watch for the fans of the series.

My rating - *** ½ out of 5!

MR & MRS MAHI IS IMPRESSIVE; WILL MUNJYA MANAGE TO SCORE AT THE BOX OFFICE?

The box office came back to life last week with the release of Mr & Mrs Mahi, starring Rajkummar Rao and Janhvi Kapoor. The first day was aided by Cinema Lovers Day, when most theatres sold tickets for just Rs. 99. The industry expected the film to open at Rs. 5 crores but we had predicted that the figure could go higher. And that’s what happened. A day before release, the advance booking picked up big time.

Mr & Mrs Mahi ended up opening at a huge Rs. 6.75 crores. Since so many people saw the film on the first day, there was a small drop in the next two days. The Saturday and Sunday collections were Rs. 4.50 crores and Rs. 5.50 crores respectively. The film held well on Monday, collecting Rs. 2 crores and Rs. 1.65 crores on Tuesday. The first week's collections are expected to be around Rs. 23 crores.

If Mr & Mrs Mahi holds strongly on the second Friday, then it can cross Srikanth’s collections. That film’s lifetime earnings are expected to be around Rs. 47-48 crores. Srikanth got three open weeks, which Mr & Mrs Mahi sadly won’t get.

Meanwhile, the big release this week is Munjya. It is a part of the horror comedy universe that also comprises Stree and Bhediya. It stars Sharvari and Abhay Verma along with Mona Singh in a supporting role. The film’s release happened suddenly. Around two weeks ago, the makers announced that the film would be released on June 7. The teaser and trailer were dropped digitally and no event took place of the film at all. Sharvari, however, extensively promoted the film. Her gorgeous avatar during promotions and her sensuous avatar in the song ‘Taras’ from Munjya have been noticed. Munjya is also special as the lead character is completely done through CGI.

However, the awareness of the film is very limited. The trailer hasn’t clicked well and the reason why people are somewhat excited is because of the horror genre and also as it's connected with Stree and Bhediya. The opening is expected to be around Rs. 1 crore.

The Hollywood release of the week is Bad Boys: Ride Or Die. The previous film of the series, Bad Boys For Life, collected around Rs. 10 crores in its lifetime in India, which is a healthy total. But the buzz for this film seems limited. It might grow if word of mouth is positive. It’s a mass film and hence, its Hindi version also has a chance.