LAXMII had a huge premiere on television despite coming six months after its digital premiere. The film had also proved to be the biggest HIT on OTT on paid platforms when released though the film was generally badmouthed by the media. It was said the film would have hardly done 100 crore nett in the theatres and that too on Diwali and the film is a total disaster. But digital results were saying something else and now these insane television figures prove that the film has found a huge audience. These television numbers have come even after the huge negative media.

LAXMII is second only to BAAHUBALI 2: THE CONCLUSION as far as television premieres go with 2.5 crore plus impressions. It has beaten the other Akshay Kumar starrer, HOUSEFULL 4, to go over 2 crore impressions but that film is a huge blockuster on satellite due to insane numbers after the premiere again and again. It remains to be seen whether LAXMII follows the HOUSEFULL 4 route but the blockbuster premiere pretty much confirms the success of the film with the audience.

The top films on television of all time are as follows. The numbers are impressions which are the number of television sets viewing the film.

DESI DOES IT!: The brief was to go with Indian traditional wear for a film promotion on a TV show. So, we went with this tiered lehenga-choli in yellow. The silhouette was modern despite the desi vibe

As told to Ankita Chaurasia (MUMBAI MIRROR; August 25, 2020)

I started working with Pooja Hegde when we collaborated for the promotions of Housefull 4. At the risk of it being a cliché, I have to say that she is very easy to work with, open to suggestions and experimentation. She may be only a few films old, but Pooja is very sure of who she is as a person. I want that confidence to reflect in her clothes, which is why we don’t hesitate in going with bold silhouettes and colours.

We have several fitting sessions where we discuss every look that I have shortlisted; why it can or cannot work. Pooja has inputs, but she is not fussy and that makes her every stylist’s dream come true. She has a great body, so most things work on her. Also, since she has been doing a mix of different kinds of attires, she is not associated with any one particular look.

Her personal preferences are cute, girly clothes. I think short dresses look amazing on her because they show off her long legs. She loves trying out different colours, but nothing works like yellow, which looks beautiful against her skin tone. But if you ask me to create a signature look for Pooja, I would put her in a red, body-hugging gown with cherry lips. She has never dressed in such a flirty manner, but for some reason, I feel it will go really well with her personality. She has the body and attitude to work it.


SHORT CUT: The vibe that we were going for with this look was high-street casualchic. Denim shorts paired with a simple red tank top and a jacket worked well with the striped stilettos

JUST PEACHY: Pooja has well-toned abs and this peach co-ord set—crop top and highwaisted skirt—looked amazing on her. We paired it with some simple studs and a pair of white strappy stilettos


TAKE A BOW: A simple, classic white shirt dress that is made distinctive with a huge bow in front, was perfect for a radio show. We went with minimal accessories around the neck, keeping the rest of the look clean and graceful

HOP, SKIP, AND JUMP!: We elevated a regular denim jumpsuit by pairing it with a neon-yellow tank top that is currently all the rage. The look was completed with a pair of white high-tops and glares, making it perfect for a day out

Rishabh Suri (HINDUSTAN TIMES; August 25, 2020)

Portraying the role of a gritty and brooding cop in Class of '83 has brought Bobby Deol back into the game, and the actor admits he only wants to experiment with the kind of roles he takes up, and this one is a far cry from whatever he has done till date.

“That was the challenging part. I’ve played a cop earlier also — in Kranti and Chor Machaye Shor (both 2002) — and they were larger-than-life characters. But this one was very real — the journey of an honest cop (Vijay Singh), who sacrifices his family life, and the turmoil he went through fighting this system. That was very exciting to play,” he says.

Given that Deol shouldered the entire project, which also marks his comeback as the lead after multi-starrers Race 3 (2018) and Housefull 4 (2019), makes it even more special. He tells us, “It was a character-driven film, and that’s what I was looking for. It’s amazing that OTT platforms are giving actors such opportunities. For me, Race 3 boosted my career, and people noticed me — I’ll always be grateful to Salman (Khan, actor) for taking me in that film. Then Housefull 4 took my career forward. At the end of the day, one is always looking for a role that gets you noticed as an actor. It’s been 25 years for me in the industry and in the next 25, I want to play interesting characters.”

Deol has been getting rave reviews for his act in the recently released Netflix film. Ask him the best compliment he has received so far, and he laughs saying each one of them means a lot. “They’re such a boost to your self-esteem, and make you feel energised. I’ve been trying to do work which will get appreciated, and help me move further. I put faith in all my fans... that makes producers and directors notice me. I’m excited people have praised my work,” he gushes.

However, he’s quick to add that getting a call from the film’s producer, actor Shah Rukh Khan, was an icing on the cake. “From someone like him, who has achieved so much in life as an actor, it’s so nice to hear that. My brother (Sunny Deol) was so happy. Obviously, he’s family, but even then there was a glow in his eyes, seeing me excel as an actor. My sister couldn’t see Bobby, but only the character. That’s something you always wish as an actor,” Deol ends.

HOUSEFULL 4 and TOTAL DHAMAAL continue to dominate television in the lockdown period with every screening in peak periods fetching a strong rating. HOUSEFULL 4 is now touching 7 crore impressions after seven peak screenings while TOTAL DHAMAAL is at 8 crore impressions after 11 peak screenings. The average of HOUSEFULL 4 after seven screenings is at 99.50 lakh and that is higher than what most films get on their premieres. Only 5 or six films will have topped this number in their premieres last year.

Both films have delivered post release better than any other films in the last decade barring the two BAAHUBALI films. The lockdown period has also seen success for WAR, DARBAR (dubbed) and PATI PATNI AUR WOH.

Three members of the family also saw television premieres in April and late March. The three being CHHAPAAK, SAAND KI AANKH and PANGA and all three failed to register even though they came in lockdown period. The result of the other member THAPPAD of the family is still to come. The impressions for HOUSEFULL 4 and TOTAL DHAMAAL till date are as follows.

Housefull 4
1st - 2,15,42,000
2nd - 1,32,26,000
3rd - 77,93,000
4th - 48,62,000
5th - 55,96,000
6th - 97,84,000
7th - 68,46,000
TOTAL -  6,96,50,000

Total Dhamaal
1st - 1,67,93,000
2nd - 84,58,000
3rd - 73,06,000
4th - 79,84,000
5th- 84,36,000
6th - 52,87,000
7th - 37,41,000
8th - 45,50,000
9th - 60,97,000
10th - 53,28,000
11th - 50,98,000
TOTAL - 7,90,78,000

Rana Daggubati on decade-old career replete with surprises, including a rapper turn
Akash Bhatnagar (MUMBAI MIRROR; April 27, 2020)

In 2010, Rana Daggubati debuted as an actor in the Telugu film Leader. A year later, he stepped into the Hindi film industry with Rohan Sippy’s Dum Maaro Dum. Reflecting on his decade-long journey, the actor, who has become a household name with Baahubali, says that he feels fortunate for the variety and diversity in his filmography. “I guess, that’s what growing up means. Today, I can confidently say that I’m a better actor, with a better knowledge of cinema,” asserts the actor who has a Telugu production coming up and intends to produce Hindi films in the future.

Several actors from down South have forayed into Bollywood, but have quickly returned to their original fan base and not ventured out again, but Rana continues to do the occasional Hindi film, his last outing being Housefull 4, despite remaining rooted in Tollywood. How does he manage to shuttle between the two industries? “That’s something even I’ve been trying to figure out,” he chuckles. “A Telugu film usually takes 10 months to a year to wrap up, so, I realised early on that I couldn’t be a part of Mumbai’s pop culture ever. There won’t be frequent airport sightings nor would I be papped leaving the gym. So, I focussed instead on scripts and that’s lead to interesting career choices, be it the submarine film, The Ghazi Attack, the epic Baahubali or the upcoming Haathi Mere Saathi with 15 elephants as my co-stars.”

His jungle adventure was to open on April 2, and while it’s disappointing to have to wait for people to see it, Rana has found a positive co-relation between what is happening around the world and the film, which is about nature fighting back to survive. “The animals are happier today and the waters are cleaner as humans stay home,” muses the actor, who, during the Coronavirus lockdown, is revisiting his first love, animation.

Starting out in 2004, Rana worked as a visual effects coordinator for about eight years. Now, he is back to watching, reading up on and exploring different animation forms. He admits something is brewing on that front, but won’t divulge details.

Mention Baahubali, a special effects extravaganza, which, he admits, “took exactly half of my career”, and Rana remembers the thrill of being a part of something really big for five years, before it was unveiled to the world. “Nobody on that set had done anything like this before in their career, be it an actor or a technician. It was like being in an acting school, a film school and a visual effects school all at once, with a great teacher, S S Rajamouli. Like Star Wars in the ‘70s, this is one landmark film that has changed cinema forever,” he asserts, adding that Baahubali opened up the industry to bigger gambles and higher stakes. “India has scale now. An Indian film today is not restricted to any one language.”

Rana was supposed to do Ajay Devgn’s Bhuj: The Pride of India, but pulled out of the film last year. He informs that he couldn’t accommodate it because he was shooting for a Telugu film then, plus, his look in Haathi Mere Saathi was so unique, he couldn’t transition out of it to do another project so quickly.

But while he couldn’t fly high in Bollywood, he did make his debut as a singer last year in the Telugu film, Action, featuring Vishal and Tamannaah in the lead. “This was a con job, Vishal is a good friend and one day, he landed up in Hyderabad and asked me to rap a portion for the song 'Lights, Camera, Action'. I did it just like that,” he says nonchalantly. Will we see him rap and sing in Hindi too? “No, that I will leave to the singers and try to focus on saying my dialogue properly,” guffaws the actor.

BOMBAY TIMES (April 26, 2020)

A month of Coronavirus lockdown has changed a lot for Indians. As per recent data, the online search trends during this month reflect this change.

KANIKA KAPOOR BECOMES THE MOST-SEARCHED INDIAN CELEB
Till the beginning of March, Kanika Kapoor was known as the Baby Doll singer. The playback singer was popular, but hardly the talk of the town. That, however, changed last month when she was tested positive for COVID-19, followed by a controversy on her social appearances in the week preceding her diagnosis. In fact, Kanika was so talked about in the last few weeks that she dethroned Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Rajinikanth to be the most-searched celebrity as per a release by Yahoo India.

According to a statement released by the search engine, “Kanika Kapoor wasn’t just the most-searched female celebrity, she was the most-searched celebrity among both male and female celebs, throughout the lockdown.”

RAMAYAN TOPS LOCKDOWN ENTERTAINMENT SEARCH
Last month, when Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar announced the return of Ramayan on small screen, it brought back childhood memories for many. And now, the show has topped the mostsearched entertainment source chart.

As per the search engine, “It was entertainment as usual pre-lockdown, with netizens in India searching for Bigg Boss, Drive, Tanhaji, Housefull 4 and Good Newwz as their top entertainment searches. After the lockdown, Ramayan broke through overnight to become the top entertainment search after it was rerun on Doordarshan.”

OTT PLATFORMS, TELEVISION WITNESS A SPIKE IN VIEWERSHIP

Film is a powerful medium and is widely consumed by people across the country. A major chunk of this population regularly watches movies in cinemas. Sadly, theatres have been shut since more than a month due to lockdown and amid rising Coronavirus cases. Most of the people are locked up in their homes and to tide over their boredom, they have started watching more of television and OTT. As a result, their ratings have increased substantially.

Talking of television, the shoots have come to a halt because of obvious reasons. The channels have therefore started to air old episodes of popular daily soaps. Yet, they are getting good viewership. Meanwhile, a masterstroke was pulled off with the decision to have the re-run of successful mythological shows like Ramayan and Mahabharat. These were aired on Doordarshan, just the way it was done in the late 80s. The response was mind-blowing. Doordarshan emerged as one of the top channels in terms of viewership, which has not happened in a long time. Their other shows like Buniyaad, Shrimaan Shrimati etc too have made a comeback and have been lapped up.

Meanwhile, the movie screenings too have recorded an increase in viewings. Last year’s biggest hit War had its television premiere during lockdown and got a huge 2 crore impressions approx, one of the highest ever. The other films like Housefull 4, Total Dhamaal, Pati Patni Aur Woh etc too are doing very well, more so because of the lockdown.

As for OTT, it too has taken advantage. The subscribers of almost all streaming platforms have increased. Some popular series released new seasons of their shows like Money Heist, Four More Shots Please etc and the response has been very encouraging. Also, viewers have been discovering many more shows and movies which they previously missed because of lack of time. Amusingly, a 2011 film, titled Contagion, became one of the most watched films worldwide. It tells the story of a disease that goes out of control and is eerily similar to the current Coronavirus pandemic.

The lockdown or rather the restrictions are expected to go on till a long time. And if you feel, OTT and TV channels will continue to benefit, then you might be mistaken. There’s a fear that viewers will soon reach a saturation point and might move away from these mediums. At a webinar recently, a speaker remarked that many have consumed the material that they would have otherwise consumed in 3 years in just 3 months! Also, OTT platforms, after a point, won’t have anything new to offer as their productions have halted as well. So a few months down the line, they too will feel the pinch as they’ll struggle to bring out new content. There’s similar fear about re-runs of TV shows as well.

Ultimately, the hope is that the curve gets flattened soon and things get back to normal.

HOUSEFULL 4 and TOTAL DHAMAAL are running riot on satellite emerging the biggest television blockbusters in the satellite era after the two BAAHUBALI films. The Coronavirus lockdown has probably given the films a boost in terms of numbers in the recent screenings but they were recording huge numbers even before the lockdown.

HOUSEFULL 4 has recorded 6.28 crore impressions in six viewings while TOTAL DHAMAAL is at 7.40 crore after 10 viewings. These are peak viewings which register. HOUSEFULL 4 is the biggest ever for Akshay Kumar on satellite as well as box office in terms of collections while TOTAL DHAMAAL is the biggest ever on satellite for Ajay Devgn though TANHAJI: THE UNSUNG WARRIOR is the biggest at the box office in terms of collections and footfalls.

The numbers are impressions which are television sets and the reach which is the number of people would be around 22.50 crore for 7 crore impressions. This is calculated on the reach given for impressions for general viewing programs.

The lockdown is sure to boost numbers and WAR did extremely well with 2 crore plus impressions going by its TRP rating, the biggest ever for Hrithik Roshan and Tiger Shroff. PATI PATNI AUR WOH also scored recording 88.40 lakh impressions which is second best for Kartik Aaryan after LUKA CHUPPI while CHHAPAAK failed even in the lockdown.

The impressions for HOUSEFULL 4 and TOTAL DHAMAAL till date are as follows.
Housefull 4
1st - 2,15,42,000
2nd - 1,32,26,000
3rd - 77,93,000
4th - 48,62,000
5th - 55,96,000
6th - 97,84,000
TOTAL -  6,28,03,000

Total Dhamaal
1st - 1,67,93,000
2nd - 84,58,000
3rd - 73,06,000
4th - 79,84,000
5th- 84,36,000
6th - 52,87,000
7th - 37,41,000
8th - 45,50,000
9th - 60,97,000
10th - 53,28,000
TOTAL - 7,39,80,000