Friday belonged to Virat Kohli and Instagram’s newest obsession, LizLaz. The cricketer, who runs the most-followed Indian Instagram account with 276 million followers, briefly liked one of her posts before unliking it, triggering a fresh round of ‘likegate’ chatter online, after a similar incident with actor Avneet Kaur last year. Memes, throwbacks, and speculation followed in minutes.

Caught in the middle of the frenzy, German vlogger-musician LizLaz says the attention caught her off guard. “It was crazy because I woke up and then I was all over the news,” she tells us in an exclusive chat, adding, “I don’t even know when he liked the picture, I learnt through the news. So many people found the articles on me and sent them in my DMs; they were super excited.”

The buzz has also revived an old clip where she admits being a Kohli fan. Her connection to cricket, she says, began during a trip to India last year. “I was born in South Africa but brought up in Germany, where the national sport is only football,” she shares. “Then I started watching IPL with my friends in Bengaluru... It was contagious and I also became an RCB fan. And obviously, if you support RCB, Virat Kohli is the most exciting player to watch. So I was happy about him liking the picture.”

As for the unlike? she isn’t reading too much into it. “No, I felt a bit sorry for him actually! I don’t even know how it became such a big story. But I am grateful for him liking my pic.”

Actor Taniya Chatterjee claims cricketer Yuzvendra Chahal has sent her a defamation notice after a video of her sharing his alleged Instagram DM went viral. Chahal’s team has also confirmed the legal notice. In the clip, Taniya said he called her “cute”, sparking online chatter. Later, she said she didn’t expect it to “go so viral” and called the legal move “ridiculous”, maintaining she did not intend to malign him. She also alleged his PR team asked her to delete the video.

When filmmaker Anurag Kashyap sat down for an unfiltered fireside chat with writer and moderator Suman Kumar at the Bengaluru Art Weekend, what emerged was not a polished masterclass, but a candid, stark conversation on propaganda in cinema, creative frustration, and why Anurag has stepped away from directing — for now. Opening the discussion on propaganda in films today, Kashyap didn’t dismiss the debate, he reframed it. Excerpts from the conversation:

“If a film is propaganda, then the film opposing it is also counter-propaganda. Films that present facts as facts are simply not being made. The ones that hold a mirror are seen as too troubling,” he states. For him, the larger concern isn’t propaganda itself, but the disappearance of honest storytelling. “Today, when you write a script, the first person to read it isn’t the producer or actor — it’s a lawyer who flags what’s ‘problematic’. That culture of caution has fundamentally altered filmmaking,” he believes.

Anurag Kashyap the actor, he admits, is very different from Anurag Kashyap the director. “Every time I act, I think, ‘What did I get myself into?’ The director in me would never cast me,” he says. So why take up acting roles? “I’m not making films right now — I need a source of income. Therefore, if someone I trust offers me something, I say yes,” he says simply.

Today, Anurag points out, “Films are getting dumped, they are not even making it to OTT platforms. As a filmmaker, I find that there is no point. If you make a film only to watch it yourself at home, what’s the point?” For now, he’s choosing to step back. “The reason I’ve put filmmaking on the back burner is that I’m unable to make honest films. I’d rather write and be ready for a time when I can make films safely,” he says.

Anurag’s cinema has often leaned into moral ambiguity — and he embraces that instinct. “I cannot write a character who is absolutely moral. There’s some degree of immorality in all of us. I like to make people uncomfortable, even if it’s just a little.”

Reflecting on audience reactions to morally complex characters, he added: “If you feel sympathy for someone with no redeeming qualities, instead of judging them, judge yourself. That’s what art does — it makes you look inward,” he says.

On writing, Anurag kept his advice simple and practical. “When you start writing, finish the script. Don’t read what you’ve written until you’re done. Overthinking is the biggest creative block. If you keep rereading, you’ll never finish. I still write with a pen and don’t revisit it until the end,” he says.

He also cautioned against chasing market-friendly ideas. “A lot of people get stuck trying to find an idea that will ‘work’. If the need to make a film outweighs the need to be called a filmmaker, it becomes easier. I exorcise myself through writing,” he says.

Drawing from his own journey, Anurag’s advice to aspiring creators is, “It’s not difficult if you want to write, act, or make films. The real challenge lies in expectations. If you want to be a superstar, then timing, luck, networking — everything comes into play. But hunger is what drives you. When you’re hungry, you find food; it’s the same in any field.”

Commenting on the lack of adult animation in India, Anurag states that it remains a major limitation. “The fact that we call it ‘cartoon’ automatically reduces it to children’s content.” He pointed out that even globally successful animation often fails to find theatrical space in India. “It travels the world but doesn’t release here. The next five years are going to be very dangerous for Indian animation. With AI entering the space, creative risks may shrink further,” he states.

Anurag acknowledges both the breakthroughs and the struggles he sees in the Kannada industry. “It’s not a very great state of affairs out here,” he said, noting that while big hits emerge, smaller films continue to face funding and distribution challenges.

“Projects get funded only if certain stars are attached,” he points out. This, he believes, impacts originality. “People start imitating success and lose their own voice,” he says. Yet, he remains hopeful about filmmakers who continue to stay true to their vision.

--------------------------------------

Single screen theatres are banking on re-releases. The re-release of Puneeth Rajkumar’s ‘Appu’ in 2025 and ‘Jackie’ in 2024 witnessed houseful shows and contributed significantly to the revenue. Credit: DH file photo

Bengaluru: Kannada cinema, with a history of 92 years, is grappling with a new dilemma — should it cater to the pan-India expectations generated by blockbuster hits such as KGF and Kantara, or make less expensive cinema with better box office prospects in Karnataka?

In the six years since the gangster drama KGF hit the screens, many filmmakers in Karnataka have attempted richly mounted, big canvas productions, with national and international audiences in mind. Not many have succeeded, and the focus on scale has created a void in an industry otherwise conservative in its spending.

The industry is paying a hidden price for its obsession with pan-Indian cinema, many insiders told DH.

The sequels to KGF and Kantara (in the latter case, the story goes back in time from where the first film began) have continued their winning streak at the box office, but most other ambitious ventures have tanked.

Kabzaa (2023), starring Shivarajkumar, Upendra and Sudeep, and 45 (2025), starring Shivarajkumar, Upendra and Raj B Shetty, are just two of the many films that came in the wake of the big hits and lost their way. Some films have fared so poorly that their producers have sworn off films for life.

Of the 253 Kannada films produced in 2025, only a handful have recovered their investments. The numbers were equally discouraging in 2024, with just 10-12 moderate grossers and almost no big hits. Film production is always a gamble, but when the odds are so bleak, the enthusiasm for creative risks takes a hit.

Ravichandra A J, producer of the sleeper hit Blink (2024), believes production houses with deep pockets — for example, Hombale Films, which made KGF Chapter 1 and 2 — should not remain wedded to lavish spectacles. “They should back young filmmakers,” says Ravichandra, who has distributed Shakhahari and Second Case of Seetharam, films with tight budgets.

The theatrical success of Blink, a sci-fi shot with theatre actors on a shoestring budget, brought hope. While most films pitched to pan-Indian audiences failed, Blink went from being hyper-local to becoming pan-Indian, finding love on OTT. It was dubbed into six Indian languages and released on Amazon Prime.

A producer who requests anonymity believes the gloom can be dispelled by enlightened project choices. “When an industry is in distress, production houses must make films with reasonable budgets, say with Rs 50 lakh to Rs 100 crore. An industry needs films made at different budget points. In Telugu, six or seven production houses are actively making all kinds of films. Mythri Movie Makers, for example, makes a Rs 500 crore film and follows it up with a Rs 5 crore film.”

The production numbers are high mainly because of Karnataka’s subsidy policy. More than 200 films are made every year, many with an eye on the subsidy rather than the box office. The government gives subsidies to 100-125 films a year, with each film getting Rs 10 lakh. Subsidies have hit a road block though. Citing a financial crunch, the government hasn’t given subsidies from 2018-19. Just last week, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah promised to clear the dues, and the talk is that, going forward, subsidies will be discontinued.

Amid the despondency, cinema from the Karnataka coast has driven home many telling points. Su From So (2025), scripted and directed by J P Thuminad, did not bank on big promotions; instead, it went entirely by word of mouth. The comedy, produced by Raj B Shetty’s Lighter Buddha Films, drove home an anti-superstition message, and became the second-highest grosser of the year. Rare hits of the past couple of years, such as Su From So, owe their success to their writing, and not so much to stars or big banners.

Actor-producer Dhananjaya K A believes actors and producers who have reaped the fruits of blockbuster hits should encourage younger filmmakers from diverse backgrounds, and that is the way to keep the industry ticking.

He tasted success as an actor with Tagaru (2018) and the Telugu hit Pushpa: The Rise (2021), and set up Daali Pictures in 2021 with the objective of promoting fresh talent. His productions Badava Rascal (2021) and Tagaru Palya (2023) impressed audiences with their storytelling strength and production compactness.

Some filmmakers such as Rishab Shetty assert, and rightly so, that truly local stories can have universal appeal, but the lens is blurred when an entire industry begins to chase pan-India dreams. As film critic Swaroop Kodur says, stories are no longer rooted when an industry is obsessed with catering to huge, imaginary audiences.

A consequence is that films blindly follow other films, with no attention being paid to original writing. When a film is structured exactly like last year’s hit, it is more redundancy than inspiration. Kabzaa came out of KGF, and so many 'Kantaras' are still in the making. 

Formulaic films have existed since the beginning of cinema, and certain tropes are indispensable in storytelling, but for a film to be fresh, filmmakers trying to break the mould say, it must draw from contemporary realities. “Big films have always captured our imagination, but we are at a point when we are exhausted by the hype. There is so much to deal with in real life, and then we have a visual overload because of social media, and so increasingly, cinema is taking a backseat,” Kodur says.

In Karnataka, unlike in neighbouring Kerala, the literary community has remained distant from the film industry. Some Kannada directors, such as Puttanna Kanagal, were aware of literary works, and often based their films on novels and their songs on the poetry of the greats, but that was another era. With some exceptions, most filmmakers in current Kannada cinema are oblivious to the wealth of possibilities in contemporary literary writing.

Aravind Kaushik, director of offbeat films Nam Areal Ond Dina (2010) and Tughlaq (2012), says the industry lacks filmmakers who see their art as a medium to express their unique perspectives. “Instead, the focus has shifted towards market-driven content, prioritizing entertainment and box office success over meaningful storytelling. This disconnect leads to inflated budgets and a loss of connection between the film and its audience,” he says.

Multiplex culture, with its premium ticket pricing, is designed for big-budget films, and so it is detrimental to smaller, independent cinema, he says, advocating a curated distribution system that works on the lines of film festivals and cinema clubs. A ticket should ideally be priced below Rs 200, and that would make cinema more accessible and democratic, Kaushik says.

Producers are flooded with pitches, and they see a pattern. “Every director wants to make a pan-India film. Out here, Kannada audiences have lost trust in the industry. We have to first gain their trust back. We have to understand the market here and the focus should be on the market here. Instead, everyone is after the ‘pan-India’ market,” says a producer. Talking about the Arjun Janya directorial 45, a multi-starrer produced by Ramesh Reddy that fizzled out at the box office, he says, “Good producers sadly are falling into the wrong hands.”

Ravichandra believes that nothing may come out of the Rs 200 ceiling on tickets in the short term. As a marketing strategy, Second Case Of Seetharam, a slick police procedural starring Vijay Raghavendra, opened preview shows for Re 1. And yet the halls remained empty, he says. Subsequent reports said the film had picked up and was doing well in Tamil Nadu. Ravichandra argues that the ceiling on ticket rates, if implemented, will create a more democratic cinema viewing culture in the future. A production house in Bengaluru is contesting in court the Siddaramaiah government’s decision to cap ticket rates at Rs 200.

Where writing is concerned, Kaushik underlines the importance of the individual voice: “Any form of art including cinema becomes a product later. It is primarily an expression of who the artist is.” The market for mass-produced ‘content’ reaches a point of saturation, and that is where the Kannada film industry is at today, he says.

“We have to up our game as far as storytelling is concerned. Filmmaking in itself is not very difficult today. So the primary question we have to ask ourselves is why we are making a film. Everyone is running behind big budgets, where every actor aims to become a star and every movie aims to become a pan-Indian movie,” he says.

Insiders agree the industry is facing numerous challenges — the inability to invest in writing, the refusal to accept failure, and a focus on short-term gain rather than long-term consistency.

A new problem is the paranoia that has gripped filmmakers when their productions are panned by critics. Many production houses orchestrate a positive reception for their films by paying TV and social media channels for promotions. The first three days after a release are crucial for a film’s success, and many producers set aside money to create a buzz. Sometimes, they end up blaming independent critics for the failure of their films.

A season of misselling may have created a crisis of credibility for Kannada films when it comes to OTT. “They treat calls from Kannada productions like credit card spam calls,” a filmmaker says. When hyped films, sold to OTT in 2023 at fantastic rates, fared miserably at the theatres, the OTT bosses became wary. 

Amazon Prime Video now follows a pay per view model for Kannada films — Rs 4 per hour of viewing. If a viewer watches a full film, the producer gets Rs 10. Netflix buys outright streaming rights for Telugu and Hindi films, and JioHotstar is picking up films in Tamil, Telugu Malayalam and Hindi. Zee buys both streaming and satellite rights of films that have performed well in theatres.

The argument that Kannada cinema has a limited market is often countered by hits that defy the odds, and film buffs recall fondly how, when Rajkumar, Vishnuvardhan, Ananth Nag, Shankar Nag, Srinath and Ambarish were delivering commercial hits, a cinema inspired by literature emerged parallelly. The industry is at such a crossroads all over again.

Director Lakshmipriya Devi’s debut film Boong has made history as the first Indian movie to win a BAFTA Award. Actor Vikram Kochhar, the only Bollywood name in the Manipuri-language film, calls the moment “extremely elating” yet bittersweet.

“It’s a proud moment for all of us, especially with Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulating the team. I’m happy my choice to back indie cinema paid off. But it’s also sad that we’re celebrating the film only after the West recognised it,” he says.

Released last year, the film struggled for screens in India. “My parents in Hyderabad and friends in Bengaluru couldn’t watch it due to no-shows. It did well at festivals and in the UK, but back home, it’s a brutal reality. We watch global content like K-dramas, yet we failed to support our own,” Vikram adds.

The 42-year-old reveals he signed the film while shooting Dunki (2023) where Lakshmipriya was assisting director Rajkumar Hirani.

He shares, “Raju sir even offered me an ad with actors Sanjay Dutt and Arshad Warsi, but I turned it down as I had committed to Boong. I believed in the film, just never imagined it would win a BAFTA.”

After nearly 15 years of navigating auditions, actor Danish Pandor is basking in widespread recognition for his role as gangster Uzair Baloch in Dhurandhar (2025).

The 38-year-old credits the “overwhelming” appreciation in part to his co-stars Ranveer Singh and Akshaye Khanna for fostering an inspiring atmosphere on set. “Ranveer is a rare actor who allows others to shine. His only focus is how to make a scene better. He comes to set completely in character. You get inspired watching him work,” he shares, adding, “Akshaye is a man of very few words. He sits quietly, observes everything, and when the camera rolls, he transforms. It taught me how much acting is about listening and absorbing; it’s an experience no acting school can give.”

The film has courted controversy by a section terming it a ‘propaganda film’ and has been banned in the Middle East. But Danish doesn’t let the criticism weigh him down: “Viewers are intelligent enough to decide what they want to take from it. If you keep focusing on the negative aspects, you won’t be able to move forward. You take what is good and move ahead with a pinch of salt.”

In an unpredictable industry, the actor is now focused on “proving himself again and again”. Recalling a particularly disheartening experience, he says, “The director loved my audition and a contract was sent over to me. Months passed as I waited for shooting to begin, when I realised the movie had been made with someone else. What do you do in that situation? You can’t fight it. You just move on.”

After actor Akshaye Khanna’s dance to Flipperachi’s track FA9LA from the movie went viral in India, the Bahraini rapper has announced a tour here. He posted on Instagram on Saturday night, “First India show date announced! We’re excited to be in Bengaluru on March 14 at @un40fam! More dates to be added soon. Which city should we stop in? Drop your city in the comments! (sic)”

The rapper, whose real name is Hussam Aseem, had earlier told HT City in an interview, “I’m overwhelmed and grateful for all the love FA9LA has been getting everywhere, but specifically in India. It’s another level when people vibe to your song at this scale. My team is working on multiple performance and collaboration projects. I’m very excited to perform live in India soon.”

The morning of a release day for a filmmaker is usually filled with hope, excitement and anxiety about the audience’s response. But for director Kanu Behl, it was marked by struggle and disillusionment. After a wait of almost two years, Behl’s Agra released on Friday on 70 screens across the country. The filmmaker criticised multiplexes on social media over the film’s showcasing. “We’re being denied shows because small films ‘don’t fit into’ multiplex chain programming,” he wrote on X.

On a call with mid-day, Behl shared his frustration over the relentless fight he had to put up until the day before the release. “Till the last minute, we were told [by theatres], ‘We’ll figure, but nothing [happened],” he said.

When told that only four shows were available in Mumbai on the opening day, Behl pointed out the irony. “On Thursday night, we held a screening in Bengaluru. We had to turn away people because it was houseful. We got a standing ovation. I did around 12 pre-release screenings in India and at least 10 were with aam janta. It played to packed halls,” he said.

Agra has also gained recognition on global platforms, premiering at the Cannes Film Festival 2023. The anticipation was heightened because this is Behl’s theatrical comeback after the 2015 acclaimed Titli. It’s why the cold response of theatrical stakeholders has alarmed Behl — not for himself but for the future of young filmmakers.

“If this is their treatment of a film that opened at Cannes, I shudder to think what younger filmmakers and the next generation will go through. Then they [multiplexes] turn around and say, ‘Aisi filme chalti nahi hain.’ And those they run across 2000 screens, play to empty theatres. So when is this system going to change?”

Behl shared that releasing a film on the big screen is becoming a mental health crisis for independent filmmakers. “The illusion that multiplexes were there to accommodate all kinds of films is long gone. Now it is just about fighting for survival. But I am not going to fight for survival anymore. Either this system has to work or I’m out. I don’t want to do this anymore. How long will a filmmaker fight? This is a larger mental health issue within the industry. This happened with All We Imagine As Light and Sabar Bonda. It will keep happening,” he lamented.

Unless, the audience proves the decision makers wrong, Behl said. Even though the director never believed in putting the onus on the audience to make a film breathe on the big screen, this time he could only look towards the viewers for some hope. Behl said that if Agra doesn’t find audience support, he would quit filmmaking.

“I really want to reach out to the audience and say, ‘It’s in your hands. You come and watch this film and show these guys how much money a film like this can earn or I'm quitting filmmaking. Mujhe nahi karna. I cannot struggle anymore. I will not keep pushing anymore. I will leave filmmaking. (In any other scenario) I would never put this sort of a responsibility on the audience. It's not their responsibility. It is of the gatekeepers. It is these guys who should be doing their job. But in the absence of that, I think the responsibility finally comes upon the audience, including me. This has to be a protest and some sort of a coming together for the audience. So, if there’s only one show available, it should run houseful. If the audience wants to give them an answer and tell them what it wants, this has to come out of the social media echo chamber. Only that will wake these guys up.”

Shouldn’t the industry also unite against the crisis, we asked the filmmaker. The industry would never do it, he replied. “Because they are a cabal. They're a mafia. They all have their families. They all have the kids within the families to protect. It is an incestuous sort of mafianess. So they are not going to move,” he said.

Behind the camera is arguably Anurag Kashyap’s favourite place in the world. That said, of late, we’ve seen him facing the camera just as much. The filmmaker featured in four releases last year, and will soon be seen in three more — the Tamil action thriller One 2 One, Telugu drama Dacoit: A Love Story, and the Kannada sports drama 8. It looks like the acting bug has bitten him.

“I don’t enjoy acting. I don’t want to have an acting career or be known as a star-actor,” states Kashyap, insisting that filmmaking will always be his true love. “I love making and writing films. The process of filmmaking is in my blood. I am making movies non-stop and I want to continue making them. In my free time, I am also writing,” says Kashyap, whose directorial venture Nishaanchi released in September.

Earlier this year, the director had announced that he had shifted to Bengaluru as he found the Hindi film industry “toxic”. How is Bengaluru treating him? Fabulously, he says. “[When in Mumbai], I was in depression for some time. The transition happened during Kennedy [2023], and I came out of it. Leaving Mumbai changed me a lot.”

He can feel a tangible change, he says. “Bengaluru is beautiful because I am not surrounded by film people or the same conversations that bore me. Here, the conversations are about cinema and not about box-office business. Nobody discusses films, music, and literature anymore [in Mumbai]. The cultural space in Bengaluru is beautiful. I keep acting in South movies and keep looking at scripts to direct. After I complete my acting assignments, we’ll see what happens in 2026.”

In May 2024, while driving back from Goa to Bengaluru with his daughter, singer Lucky Ali suddenly felt too unwell to continue. His daughter immediately took the wheel and rushed him to a hospital, where doctors diagnosed him with a transient ischemic attack (TIA).

“My recovery was possible only because my daughter got me to the hospital in time. The procedure was painless, and I feel even healthier now,” he says with quiet gratitude, adding, “I think my lifestyle and stress caused these situations.” Since then, every concert he performs has become more than just another show — it is a reminder of how fragile life is. Excerpts from the conversation:

Ali speaks about music with disarming honesty: “Every concert is my last concert. I’ve had friends who died at concerts, so I don’t take anything for granted.” It’s this awareness, he believes, that gives his music its meditative quality, as listeners often describe it, and he admits he leans into that consciously. “I like meditative vibes on a track,” he tells us.

Far removed from the frenzy of fame, Ali values the space he has carved for himself. “Being in the spotlight only takes away from you. It doesn’t give you anything,” he says. Looking back at his decades-long journey since his breakthrough in 1996, he has no regrets.

He says, “I’m very grateful to the Almighty for the journey I’ve had. I’ll continue for as long as I can, as long as I feel good about it.”

For Ali, music is inseparable from lived experience. “Each song of mine is a story. An aspect of my life or my experience with somebody else, which I try to put into lyrics and then I find the right movement for it in music,” he reveals.

Ali worries about a culture of instant reactions. “People should not get triggered so easily. We are so reactionary that it creates more problems. And unfortunately, we don’t have a very honest press,” he says. His advice: “Be sensible, evaluate what you listen to, instead of simply reacting.”

“The only reason I was able to recover and return to music fully was because of timely treatment,” Ali says. “A stroke or TIA is a medical emergency — but treatable if caught early. My advice to anyone is, don’t delay seeking help. Early recognition and treatment can change everything.”

While many young musicians see him as a guiding light, Ali remains humble. “It’s an honour, knowing young musicians look up to you. But I tell them — until you feel your own work, until you truly like it yourself, don’t release it," he explains.

Bollywood actor Sonali Bendre was diagnosed with stage four metastatic cancer in 2018. The actor, who had, at the time, taken to social media to speak about her diagnosis, revealed that several people misinterpreted her openness as a publicity stunt. At a recent interaction in Bengaluru, Sonali recalled, “When I shared the news, people asked me if I was doing it for publicity. Because, you know, when you’re an actor everything is looked at as, ‘They wanted publicity’.”

“But, everyone has their own way of living,” Sonali explained. “That’s why I started speaking about my diagnosis. While some questioned my openness, there was a news report showing a significant increase in testing rates after I shared my story on social media. Even today, many women tell me they were tested and detected cancer early because of the action they took after learning about my experience,” she said. Excerpts from the interaction:

Sonali shared that being open about her diagnosis was her way of taking control of her own story. “I didn’t mean to be so public about my cancer diagnosis. I was filming a reality show when I received the news. Initially, I thought I could take a brief two-week break, have the cancer removed, and return. However, it wasn’t an early stage; it was much more advanced. Then, just three days after my diagnosis, I had to travel abroad. We were also in the era of social media, where information spreads rapidly. I wanted to prevent gossip from circulating. Someone needed to replace me on the show, and I didn’t want false stories to spread about a potential conflict or my being replaced. So, I shared my diagnosis on social media. And that’s the advantage of social media: I can communicate directly, in my own words, a luxury actors didn’t have before.”

Looking back, Sonali revealed that daily mantras helped her persevere through the ordeal. “When I was going through my journey, there were two hashtags that I really used. One was #OneDayAtATime and one was #SwitchOnTheSunshine. And I lived by that. Whenever I felt like, ‘Oh my God, this is too much to deal with’, I would just tell myself, ‘Okay, let me get through today and sleep. I will give up tomorrow. Let me go through today’. When the pain got too much, that’s what I would say. ‘I will not take this medication, which is such a problem from tomorrow, but let me just do it today’. And saying that, slowly the days passed and, suddenly I was six months past, nine months past, and so on. ‘One day at a time’ was my mantra for a long time.

Reflecting on the unique challenges faced by women, she said, “There was a point in time when I realized that I was pleasing my family and the people around me, and in doing so, I quite ignored myself. But, therapy taught me that self-love is very important. It was very difficult to start doing that because as women, we are so conditioned to put everybody else before us. It took me a lot of work to get over that, and I would also like to add that if you need help, then you should ask for help; there’s nothing wrong with that.”

Ready for a new chapter in her career, the actor added that she now desires roles that authentically embrace her age. “When you talk about playing your age, you only get a certain type of roles that come your way. Either you are too glamorous in high society or it becomes kind of a caricature. I wanted to avoid returning to those kind of roles and instead, pursue roles that resonated with my current stage of life. It took a little time for me to find what I wanted to do. A couple of great roles did come up, but they were very dark.”

Reflecting on the emotional toll of dark roles and her commitment to healing, she explained, “I think I’m better at compartmentalizing than a lot of other actors, but still it seeps into your life. And I’m healing. I don’t think I want to live with this darkness.”

------------------------------------

Katrina Kaif being recorded while she takes a dip at the Triveni Sangam. Pic/youtube@showsha

Bengaluru: A special court for economic offences in the city Friday remanded Kannada actor Ranya Rao, caught with 14.2 kg gold at Kempegowda International Airport Monday night, in three-day custody of Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI).

Daughter of senior IPS officer and director general of police (Karnataka Police Housing Corporation) Ramachandra Rao, Ranya was caught allegedly smuggling in 17 gold bars while returning from Dubai to Bengaluru.

In a voluntary statement to DRI and reviewed by TOI, Ranya said, “I’m born and brought up in Bengaluru. I studied up to (class) 12. I’m an artist in the film industry/ theatre. I’m a wildlife photographer and freelancer in real estate in Dubai...I’m married to Jatin Hukkeri, an architect, and stay with him on Lavelle Road. I have read the mahazar dated March 3 drawn at Kempegowda International Airport and affixed my dated signature as a token of having seen the mahazar. I accept that 17 pieces of gold bars were recovered frommy possession.”

Passing his orders Friday afternoon, judge Vishwanatha C Gowdar from the special economic offences cases court directed DRI sleuths to produce Ranya before him on or before 4.30pm, Monday. Ranya was in judicial custody at Bengaluru Central Prison.

Accompanied by two DRI women sleuths, Ranya walked into the court around 5.45 pm. Judge Gowdar asked Ranya whether she was illtreated by police during transit or at any other time. Ranya replied in the negative. The DRI team is being led by investigating officer Nageshwar Rao and includes senior intelligence officer Neha Kumari. “The accused shouldn’t be threatened during police custody. She should be provided basic amenities, including food. Her health should be taken care of. Each day, after interrogation is over, Ranya’s counsel can meet her for 30 minutes in the presence of DRI officials,” the judge said.

He directed Ranya to fully cooperate with the investigating agency during their custody. Ranya’s counsel, Girish, sought permission to speak to his client. The court permitted this, saying he can speak to her in the presence of DRI officials.

------------------------------------------------

Bengaluru: Sandalwood actor Ranya Rao, daughter of director general of police (Police Housing Corporation) Ramachandra Rao, was arrested by Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) sleuths at the Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) on Monday night, on charges of gold smuggling.

Ranya, who had arrived from Dubai, was caught with 14 kg of gold bars concealed in a belt strapped to her body, along with 800 grams of gold ornaments. She was produced before a judge on Tuesday evening and remanded to 14-day judicial custody. Investigators suspect she is part of a gold smuggling racket that has been actively operating through Bengaluru airport for the past few months.

The 32-year-old actress has acted in a few Kannada movies including the Sudeep-starrer Maanikya and Ganesh-starrer Pataki, as well as the Tamil movie Wagah starring Vikram Prabhu.

According to sources, Ranya came under DRI’s radar due to her frequent foreign trips — reportedly making over 10 trips since the beginning of the year. “Officials got suspicious and started tracking her multiple short trips to the Gulf,” an officer posted at KIA said.

“When she boarded an Emirates flight from Dubai to Bengaluru on Monday, a DRI team was dispatched to intercept her upon arrival. It was shocking to see how she had concealed the gold bars in the belt. She looked very confident when she disembarked and didn’t raise any suspicion,” the source said.

The four-member DRI team is reviewing footage of Ranya’s recent arrivals in the city. “In the four previous trips in 15 days, she was dressed similarly, with the belt hidden from view,” the source said. The DRI is trying to determine whether she smuggled gold on all these occasions and the total quantity brought in.

Sources said she evaded detection taking advantage of official protocol services typically used by senior bureaucrats, including IPS officers. “A protocol officer would meet her at the terminal and escort her out of the building. While her baggage was subject to random and routine checks, she was never physically frisked as she was accompanied by the protocol officer. In fact, a govt vehicle would even pick her up from the airport, ensuring there is no trouble enroute home,” the source explained.

When contacted, DGP K Ramachandra Rao distanced himself from his daughter’s activities. “Four months ago Ranya married Jatin Hukkeri (an architect specializing in designing interior spaces for upscale pubs and microbreweries in the city). She hasn’t visited us since the wedding. We’re completely unaware of her or her husband’s business dealings. This has come as a huge shock and disappointment. She has let us down. If there is any violation, the law will take its course,” Rao told TOI.

In 2014, when Rao was IGP (Southern Range), Mysuru police came under scrutiny when a Kerala-based jeweller accused them of pocketing Rs 2 crore. On Jan 4 that year, a police team intercepted a private bus at Mysuru border and seized Rs 2.2 crore in cash being transported to Kerala. However, when registering the case, cops declared only Rs 20 lakh as the unaccounted money. The CID later investigated the case and arrested Rao’s gunman for dacoity.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Bangalore (Urban) District Consumer Commission, in a first-of-its-kind order, has directed PVR Cinemas, Bangalore, and its parent company, PVR Inox, to pay Rs. 1.28 lakh as penalty to a patron who had complained he was made to sit through half-an-hour of advertisements before the movie he had gone to watch was screened.

The order requires the cinema hall chain to deposit Rs. 1 lakh into a consumer welfare fund and pay Rs. 20,000 to the complainant, Abhishek M R, for the inconvenience and mental agony caused, along with Rs. 8,000 for his legal expenses.

The court also instructed the cinema chain to clearly state the actual start time of movies on tickets and avoid similar delays in the future.

On January 6, 2024, Abhishek filed a complaint about the screening of Sam Bahadur (2023), a Bollywood biopic based on the life of Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw.

Abhishek had booked three tickets for the 4.05 pm show at PVR Cinemas in Orion Mall, Bengaluru for Rs. 825.66. Expecting the movie to run for 2 hours and 25 minutes, he planned his evening accordingly, assuming the show would end by 6.30 pm. However, Abhishek and his family sat through nearly 30 minutes of advertisements, trailers and promotional content, and the film began at 4.30 pm.

He documented the delay in a video recording, arguing that the prolonged pre-show advertisements disrupted his schedule and constituted an unfair trade practice.

PVR Cinemas argued that recording a video inside a theatre is illegal as it amounts to piracy, and that that made the complainant’s evidence inadmissible.

It also said theatres are legally required to screen government-mandated public service announcements (PSAs), like anti-tobacco ads, which are typically played when the attendance in the hall is at its peak.

Government guidelines, however, specify that PSAs should not exceed 10 minutes before the film starts.

The theatre chain argued that the movie’s actual runtime was 2 hours and 30 minutes, not 2 hours and 25 minutes as submitted by the complainant. It also said that audience movement and security checks can cause minor variations in movie start times.

The Consumer Commission dismissed PVR’s arguments and admitted the complainant’s video evidence, noting that it did not record the actual movie screening.

The court found that while two of the advertisements shown were government-mandated PSAs, 95% of the pre-show content was commercial.

The court also said that movie screenings must begin precisely at the time printed on the ticket and recommended that theatres limit commercial ads and PSAs to the intermission period.

“Theatres cannot extend a viewer’s stay for commercial gain. Time is an economic asset, and misleading showtimes inconvenience moviegoers,” the ruling said.

Movie theatres generate revenue through three primary streams, with box office collections being the most obvious one.

In 2023, theatrical revenue hit an all-time high of Rs. 11,200 crore, with over 1,796 films making their way to the big screen, according to Ernst & Young’s (EY) March 2024 report.

But, every time a ticket is sold, a portion of that money is split between the film’s distributor, the exhibitor (the theatre), and the government in the form of taxes.

After these deductions, the cinema owner is left with a fraction of the total ticket price. That’s where the other two revenue streams come in.

Food and beverage sales inside theatres, exorbitantly priced in most cases, is a lucrative revenue stream. A pack of popcorn, available for around Rs. 20 outside, can cost you Rs. 300 in a multiplex. This is why cinemas don’t allow moviegoers to carry any food, or even water, into the theatre. The other crucial revenue stream of course is advertising. 

So, how much do cinema halls make from ads? According to an EY 2024 report, cinema halls in India earned Rs. 750 crore from in-cinema advertising in 2023. This revenue stream is likely to grow to Rs. 1,000 crore by 2026, driven by factors such as rising discretionary spends, an increase in high-quality mass content, and advancements in pricing strategies and infrastructure.

There is no regulation limiting the duration of pre-show advertisements. The number of ads shown before a movie can vary based on factors such as the film’s popularity, the time of day, and the day of the week.

“Weekdays generally have fewer ads compared to weekends,” said Nitin Datar, president of the Cinema Owners and Exhibitors Association, adding that advertising agreements are typically made in advance and often span a year.

Big films like Pushpa 2, said Girish Wankhede, head of business strategy at Cineport Cinemas, pull in more advertising, and what is planned as a 10-12 minutes of ad slot often extends to 20-25 minutes.

In October 2024, PVR Inox, India’s largest multiplex chain, reported a consolidated net loss of Rs. 11.8 crore for the September quarter, a stark contrast to the Rs. 166 crore profit for the previous year.

This downturn, according to a Reuters report, was attributed to a 19% fall in total revenue, with movie ticket sales plummeting by 25% and food and beverage sales decreasing by 18%.

However, there are signs of resilience. In February 2025, PVR Inox reported a threefold increase in its third-quarter profit, driven by a strong line-up of new films during the festive period like Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3, Singham Again, and Pushpa 2.

Pushpa 2 alone accounted for 36% of box office collections in the quarter, marking it one of the biggest blockbusters in Indian cinema history.

The Bengaluru court’s ruling against PVR Cinemas could set a precedent, pushing theatres to be more transparent about movie start times and reconsider ad durations. However, PVR is expected to challenge the ruling.

If more consumers complain, cinema halls may have to disclose ad durations upfront or limit them. Since advertising is a major revenue source, theatres might explore shifting ads to intermissions or offering ad-free premium screenings.

Research by Rajesh Sharma

A Bengaluru resident won a consumer case against PVR and INOX (now merged with PVR) for displaying excessive advertisements before film screenings, which he claimed was a waste of his time.

According to Bar and Bench’s report, Abhishek M R initiated legal proceedings against PVR Cinemas, BookMyShow and INOX for showing approximately 25 minutes of advertisements before the film’s start, during his visit to watch Sam Bahadur in 2023.

The consumer court has directed PVR to display the actual film start time on tickets, rather than the time when advertisements begin. The complainant stated that the extended advertisement duration caused delays, disrupting his work schedule.

The district consumer forum determined that ­PVR and INOX should not engage in unfair practices by showing lengthy commercial advertisements during scheduled film time. However, they absolved BookMyShow of responsibility as they do not control showtimes or advertisement broadcasts. The court emphasized that time has value and no entity should profit from others’ time and resources.

“Spending 25 to 30 minutes watching advertisements is a significant waste of time, especially for individuals with tight schedules. People seek entertainment for relaxation, but that does not mean they have no other responsibilities,” the court observed.

Following this ruling, the court has instructed PVR and INOX to specify actual film start times on tickets, cease unfair trade practices, and restrict advertisement duration. The court awarded Rs 20,000 to Abhishek for mental distress, Rs 8,000 for complaint filing expenses, and Rs 1 lakh as punitive damages.

PVR INOX justified their practice by referencing government mandates for public service announcements before films, though the court noted these guidelines specify a 10-minute limit.

The complainant documented the advertisements as evidence. While PVR INOX contested this as an anti-piracy violation, the court rejected this argument, noting only advertisements were recorded to highlight a widespread concern.

------------------------------------------------------

Ahead of her power-packed performance in Bengaluru, singer Shilpa Rao caught up with Bangalore Times for a quick chat. The singer, who has delivered back-to-back hits with songs like Chuttamelle, Kaavala, and Chaleya, speaks to us about the rise in Indie music, her growth as an artiste, and more.

Indie music represents everything that we are. It is extremely powerful. It's not just pop, it's not just a music video, either. You're talking about different genres that are coming from India. That's more of a representation of who we are as Indians. Everything diverse. And that's what I feel, that if there's music coming from all over the world, that same intensity is coming only from India because we have that much. So I think this is a great time to do this and it's just going to get better.

It's important to mingle with the crowd during a concert. Otherwise, they can just sit in the comfort of their home and watch us on their TVs or mobile phones. We go out on stage because it's supposed to be one unit, us and the audience. There should not be a barrier. We want a connection with them. For that, we go through intense preparation. It's a lot of phone calls, meetings, zoom calls, band rehearsals, light rehearsals, outfit trials, and more. It's unending.

I have always been of the understanding that growth cannot be measured. It's better to dive in and figure for yourself how much can you swim and how long can you swim. And we keep learning from every stage concert what to do, what not to do, what not to do more actually. All of us like to have an open-minded discussion about what can we do and what can we do to make it better. So I think that's a very open forum. I have my entire team who know we can put out a better experience for the audience. So I think we're still growing.

I believe that you figure things out when you're at that point. You don't need to overthink about producing a hit because you cross the bridge when you're there. So when I'm on the mic, I try and stop thinking and just go with what my instinct says, because you can do a lot of homework in terms of technique and trying new things which you've never done before. But then when it comes to recording, I think the lesser you think is better. So yeah, I haven't figured out the formula to success, and I don't think anyone really has.

Look at sports, for example. It's not always about rivalry, It's always about getting out there and winning. But again, there is so much nuance in it, and that only comes out when they are talking off-court about each other. And there's so much heart that goes into doing what you do. So being in a competitive sport, if you don't have that kind of rivalry, imagine music. How can you say someone is the best? It's impossible. There are no yardsticks for measure. For example, the number one tennis player won't go to the court and say, 'I'm number one, so I'm going to win this.' No, every day is different. Every match, every set is different. If that is so specific, you can imagine music is even more specific. So I don't think of rivalry. But, one thing that's constantly on my mind is, what can I do better and new that I've not done yet?

I think social media is bad in the sense that obviously life is not instant and if it is instant, then it passes by instantly, too. Starting with brewing your coffee which takes its own time to brew. You can't rush it. Sure, you could make a dal on the kadhai and also pressure cook it, but there'll be a huge difference between the both. And to even understand that difference, you need patience. Like, it's a very beautiful quote that nature doesn't rush, but still, everything happens and every task is completed. So we need to have that same thought, be it our relationships with our family, siblings, or friends. There's no instant absolution for anything. You have to fight the fight. You have to forgive each other. You have to embrace each other's good and bad as they do for you.