Showing posts with label Mission Raniganj. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mission Raniganj. Show all posts
Netflix faces Bollywood drama over Rs 47 crore dispute
8:14 AM
Mumbai Police’s EOW begins probe against Netflix-linked entity Los Gatos and 12 others
Rashmi Rajput (THE ECONOMIC TIMES; September 25, 2024)
Mumbai: The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Mumbai Police has commenced a preliminary enquiry (PE) based on a complaint filed by Bollywood producer Vashu Bhagnani against a company linked to Netflix and 12 others, alleging cheating and conspiracy over rights for three films, people in the know told ET.
The EOW has summoned executives of Los Gatos Production Services India, the entity through which Netflix reports its content investments in India, they said. Netflix rejected the allegations as "unfounded".
According to Bhagnani, he has yet to receive Rs. 47.37 crore towards subscription-video-on-demand (SVOD) rights he had granted on these films: Hero No 1, Mission Raniganj and Bade Miyan Chote Miyan. He has named Los Gatos Production Services, Zoo Digital India that provides subtitling, dubbing and media localization services and 10 executives of the two companies as accused.
He also alleged that his company, Pooja Entertainment, was coerced into revisiting the commercial terms of the deal and induced to deliver one of the movies to Zoo Digital India that had allegedly leaked the film in public even before its theatrical release, causing him a "financial and reputation loss".
"These claims are completely unfounded. Indeed, it's Pooja Entertainment that owes Netflix money," a Netflix spokesperson told ET. "We have a strong track record of partnership with the Indian creative community and are working with the authorities to resolve this dispute."
A senior police official said they registered the PE after verifying the complaint and that an investigation is underway. "During the course of the enquiry, officials linked to the firm were summoned and they have joined the investigation," he said, adding: "Once the enquiry is completed, based on its findings a call will be taken whether or not to convert the PE into a first information report."
According to the complaint, Bhagnani's Pooja Entertainment in May 2021 entered into a content licence agreement with Los Gatos Production Services on the SVOD rights of the three films. While Pooja Entertainment was to foot Rs. 645 crore towards the production and publicity of the films, the accused firm was to pay it Rs. 281 crore under the multiple films licence agreements, he claimed.
Wild swings in Vashu Bhagnani stock raise eyebrows
8:20 AM
Shares tank 36% in a month after 1,168% gain in the past one year amid rumours of financial stress
Kairavi Lukka (HINDUSTAN TIMES; July 2, 2024)
The sharp swings in the share price of a Mumbai-based film production company in the past month has raised eyebrows on Dalal Street. In the previous six trading sessions, Vashu Bhagnani Industries, formerly known as Pooja Entertainment, has been locked in the daily lowest tradable limit on the BSE, declining nearly 36% in this period following news reports that the company was under financial stress.
Shares of the company, owned by veteran film producer Vashu Bhagnani, have rallied 1,168% in the past one year, and 355% so far in 2024, taking the company's market cap from Rs. 82 crore a year ago to over Rs. 1,000 crore now.
The stock closed at Rs. 298.85 on Monday, 5% lower - the lowest tradable limit in the trading session. The recent losing spree in the shares has continued even after the company, in a stock exchange disclosure, denied news reports that said the entity sold off its office building, laid off staff and is seeing delay in salary payments.
Before the news surfaced on June 24, shares of Vashu Bhagnani Industries had almost doubled in just one month, from Rs. 209 on May 24 to Rs. 410.
"Pooja Entertainment is a classic example of a share doing better than the market but without any fundamentals," said Arun Kejriwal, founder, KRIS, a Mumbai-based investment consultancy firm. "Such price movements make one believe that it is not natural but artificial."
The company's consolidated profit for FY24 stood at Rs. 8 crore as against Rs. 2.86 crore the previous year. Consolidated revenues were at Rs. 58.07 crore during the year as against Rs. 46.6 crore in the previous year.
Film trade analysts claim the company's recent movies have not been profitable. "We have not seen Pooja Entertainment's movies do well in the last 23 years. The production house's last hit movie was in 2001 named 'Mujhe Kuchh Kehna Hai'; and ever since then, all their movies have tanked," said Komal Nahata, a trade analyst.
"Recent releases like Bade Miyan Chotte Miyan, Mission Raniganj, and Bellbottom have also failed to break this streak and were box office flops."
Vashu Bhagnani owes over Rs. 65 lakh to crew members-FWICE
3:18 PM
HINDUSTAN TIMES (June 30, 2024)
President of the Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE), Birendra Nath Tiwari, stated on Friday that veteran film producer Vashu Bhagnani’s production house has outstanding dues amounting to more than Rs. 65 lakh. Of the total amount, Bhagnani’s Pooja Entertainment owes Rs. 33.13 lakh to director Tinu Desai for the 2023 Akshay Kumar-starrer Mission Raniganj, while Rs. 31.78 lakh is owed to over 250 set workers who contributed to Mission Raniganj, Ganapath (2023), and Bade Miyan Chote Miyan.
“A written complaint was filed by the director of Mission Raniganj regarding non-payment of his dues last year in March. We’ve been following up with Pooja Entertainment, but still they haven’t made the payment. They’ve said they will clear the dues by July end,” Tiwari told PTI, adding that IFTDA wrote several letters to the production house, but they kept delaying the payment.
“In February, they sought time to pay, citing Jackky Bhagnani’s (actor-producer) wedding. After FWICE wrote them a letter in March, they again sought time to make the payment after the release of their film, Bade Miyan Chote Miyan; that did not happen,” he added.
We reached out to Bhagnani, but he was unavailable for comment till the time of going to press.
Studios fail to take up movies; theatres pay the price
8:27 AM
14 Hindi titles released in Oct not backed by adequate marketing, impacting multiplex cos
Rajesh Naidu (THE ECONOMIC TIMES; November 2, 2023)
ET Intelligence Group: After an exceptionally good September quarter, the Hindi film industry has begun the December quarter on a sombre note.
Each of the 14 movies released in October has failed to generate sufficient footfalls at theatres. What’s unique about this is not the failure, but the fact that big studios and distributors backing these movies hardly invested in their pre-release marketing and promotion leaving moviegoers largely unaware of titles such as Dono, Mission Raniganj, Dhak Dhak, Ganapath, 12th Fail, Yaariyan 2, and Tejas among others.
The failure of these films also means the third quarter financial performance of the multiplex companies now depends heavily on the success of big titles including Dunki, Animal, Salaar, Tiger 3, Sam Bahadur and Merry Christmas which will be released later in the current quarter.
Some of the movies released in October are by well-known distributors and studios such as Pen Marudhar Entertainment (a distributor of Jawan), Viacom18 Studios, PVR Inox Pictures, AA Films, and Zee Studios.
Shaminder Malik, a trade analyst, expressed astonishment over the fact that so many movies were released in a single month yet the audience was unaware of them. “One cannot rely merely on word-of-mouth publicity as for it to work the audience at least should know about the release of a film,” he said, adding that a big studio can invest close to Rs. 200 crore on a film but follows a conscious strategy of not investing adequately in marketing the film.
On average, it is estimated that distributors spend Rs. 5 crores to Rs. 20 crores in marketing and promotion of a Hindi release.
“I was not even aware that 12th Fail was made by veteran director Vidhu Vinod Chopra. Distributors seem to be dumping content in theatres rather than having to compete with big titles in the coming months,” said Ameya Naik, founder of Fantasy Events, an event management company.
Through the sheer strength of word-of-mouth publicity, the film 12th Fail is gathering a gradual momentum in metro cities. The film has collected close to Rs. 8 crores on the budget of Rs, 10 crore-11 crore, cite analysts. According to them, after an encouraging response over the first weekend of release, distributors have undertaken the promotion of the film.
According to Girish Johar, a producer and a trade analyst, when a distributor refrains from investing adequately in the marketing of a film, it shows a lack of confidence in its success. “There has been no buzz for these films which is reflected in their fate at the box office. It is clear that these distributors knew these films did not shape up well.”
Atul Mohan, another trade analyst, hints at the possibility that distributors may have recovered money through the sale of digital and satellite rights before the theatrical release. “Given the lack of clarity about the success of these films, they did not want to invest incremental money in marketing.”
While the cricket World Cup is likely to have a bearing on the footfalls at theatres, Mohan believes that content plays a crucial role. “Biwi No. 1 was a super hit during the 1999 Cricket World Cup,” he added.
Investors will be closely tracking the industry developments to know whether multiplex companies are able to repeat their robust September quarter performance in the current quarter.
Recent Bollywood releases fail to work at the box office; trade experts share their views
8:28 AM
The dismal box-office performance of recent Hindi film releases isn’t great news for the industry. Experts say the audience has turned ‘ruthless’
Navya Kharbanda (HINDUSTAN TIMES; November 1, 2023)
Bollywood seems to be struggling again, big time. While hits like Pathaan, Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani, Jawan and Gadar 2 got the cash registers ringing after a long lull. The last few months have seen several films, including Ganapath: A Hero is Born, Yaariyan 2, Ghoomer, Sukhee, The Great Indian Family and Tejas, fail to rake in the moolah. Medium and small-budget films are being rejected by audiences on day one, which is “alarming”.
Trade analyst Girish Johar says, “Only the big-banner commercial films are bringing in the money. The rejection rate of small films is very alarming.”
Shilpa Shetty Kundra-starrer Sukhee earned only Rs. 30 lakh on day one and fell thereon. Actor Kangana Ranaut’s Tejas collected Rs. 1.25 crore initially and dipped severely on day three.
Trade expert Atul Mohan says, “If you don’t score good in the first weekend, the film is dead. The trends have changed after the pandemic and the opening matters. When people see the promotions and watch a trailer, they decide if they want to watch the film or not.”
FIRST IMPRESSION
Tiger Shroff’s Ganapath: A Hero is Born fell flat on its opening day, earning only Rs. 2.50 crore in India, making it the actor’s lowest opening. The Akshay Kumar-starrer Mission Raniganj also failed to bring people to the theatres. “They were straightaway rejected by the audience,” says Mohan, citing lack of promotion as the reason behind the lack of numbers.
“If the producers are not spending much on their project, why will the audience pay to watch it? Either makers were overconfident, thinking that word of mouth would help the film do decent business or they didn’t believe in their product,” he adds.
BAAT SE BAAT BANTI HAI
Having said that, many believe that content is king and only if a story has merit, the audience would head to the theatres. Calling the audience “very ruthless”, trade analyst Taran Adarsh says, “The recent instances of films tanking back-to-back have been on the rise. Tejas was rejected outright, while 12th Fail is doing better by the day, with word of mouth. So, unless the film’s content is extraordinary, it will not be watched after the first weekend. People now judge the film quickly on the basis of the quality of posters, teasers, trailers, etc. I noticed the same trend in the ’70s and ’80s as well.”
Fenil's Bollywood Talk # 799
9:58 AM
NATIONAL CINEMA DAY 2023 TO BE HELD TOMORROW; YET, NEW RELEASES WILL STRUGGLE
The National Cinema Day 2023 will be celebrated tomorrow in cinemas across the country. On Friday, October 13, the tickets will be sold for just Rs. 99 for all shows and in all theatres. Last year, the tickets were priced at just Rs. 75 and the response was maddening, to say the least.
This year, too, tickets have been fast filling. Surprisingly, Shah Rukh Khan’s Jawan, which will enter its sixth week tomorrow, continues to be a preferred choice for moviegoers. Many of its shows are almost sold out, prompting exhibitors to increase its shows from tomorrow. The film is already an all-time blockbuster, collecting more than Rs. 550 crores. Yet, it continues to get an audience. Mission Raniganj, starring Akshay Kumar, didn’t work at the box office. But on National Cinema Day, it’ll have great collections, as evidenced by the sold-out shows. Fukrey 3 and The Exorcist: Believer, too, have an encouraging response. Thank You For Coming’s ticket sales have been gradually increasing too.
Shockingly, three films are releasing tomorrow and the ticket sales till now are poor. The biggest release is Dhak Dhak, produced by Taapsee Pannu and starring Fatima Sana Shaikh, Ratna Pathak Shah, Dia Mirza and Sanjana Sanghi. It is about four women bikers on a trip to Khardung La Pass. The idea is interesting and the trailer is also decent. Sadly, the studio partner, Viacom18 Studios, has barely promoted the film. The trailer was out just four days before release and the actors haven’t done any promotion. Taapsee, in fact, deleted posts related to the film as she’s reportedly miffed with Viacom18 for meting out stepmotherly treatment to her movie. It is said that the banner has recovered the investment by selling the rights to Netflix and hence, is giving it a token release in cinemas. The screen count is too low for a film of this scale.
It is believed that Dhak Dhak will also get an audience once the other preferred films sell out. Yet, due to limited release, the first-day collections would be less than Rs. 50 lakhs. The collections will further drop on Saturday due to the crucial India vs Pakistan match. The only hope is that the film turns out to be extraordinary so that it can see a huge jump in collections on Sunday. That can lead to higher collections on Monday than on Friday.
Two Hollywood films up for release are Dumb Money and Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie. However, due to negligible awareness and hype, it will get some collections only on Friday due to the offer.
The National Cinema Day 2023 will be celebrated tomorrow in cinemas across the country. On Friday, October 13, the tickets will be sold for just Rs. 99 for all shows and in all theatres. Last year, the tickets were priced at just Rs. 75 and the response was maddening, to say the least.
This year, too, tickets have been fast filling. Surprisingly, Shah Rukh Khan’s Jawan, which will enter its sixth week tomorrow, continues to be a preferred choice for moviegoers. Many of its shows are almost sold out, prompting exhibitors to increase its shows from tomorrow. The film is already an all-time blockbuster, collecting more than Rs. 550 crores. Yet, it continues to get an audience. Mission Raniganj, starring Akshay Kumar, didn’t work at the box office. But on National Cinema Day, it’ll have great collections, as evidenced by the sold-out shows. Fukrey 3 and The Exorcist: Believer, too, have an encouraging response. Thank You For Coming’s ticket sales have been gradually increasing too.
Shockingly, three films are releasing tomorrow and the ticket sales till now are poor. The biggest release is Dhak Dhak, produced by Taapsee Pannu and starring Fatima Sana Shaikh, Ratna Pathak Shah, Dia Mirza and Sanjana Sanghi. It is about four women bikers on a trip to Khardung La Pass. The idea is interesting and the trailer is also decent. Sadly, the studio partner, Viacom18 Studios, has barely promoted the film. The trailer was out just four days before release and the actors haven’t done any promotion. Taapsee, in fact, deleted posts related to the film as she’s reportedly miffed with Viacom18 for meting out stepmotherly treatment to her movie. It is said that the banner has recovered the investment by selling the rights to Netflix and hence, is giving it a token release in cinemas. The screen count is too low for a film of this scale.
It is believed that Dhak Dhak will also get an audience once the other preferred films sell out. Yet, due to limited release, the first-day collections would be less than Rs. 50 lakhs. The collections will further drop on Saturday due to the crucial India vs Pakistan match. The only hope is that the film turns out to be extraordinary so that it can see a huge jump in collections on Sunday. That can lead to higher collections on Monday than on Friday.
Two Hollywood films up for release are Dumb Money and Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie. However, due to negligible awareness and hype, it will get some collections only on Friday due to the offer.
(Crisp) Movie Review: MISSION RANIGANJ by FENIL SETA
9:43 AM
Mission Raniganj is inspired by a true incident of a man who rescues 65 men trapped in a mine. The film's VFX is bad while the first half is just okay. But post-interval, the film rises. A few scenes are truly clapworthy and the finale is nail-biting, though it has a cinematic liberty. Speaking of performances, Akshay Kumar, as always, delivers a commendable performance. Parineeti Chopra is wasted. Kumud Mishra is unconvincingly smoking in every scene. Dibyendu Bhattacharya (Das) is too good. The same goes for Pavan Malhotra (Bindal) and Virendra Saxena (Tapan Ghosh). Rajesh Sharma (MLA) is over the top. From the miners, Ravi Kishan (Bhola), Jameel Khan (Pasu), Sudhir Pandey (Behra) and Varun Badola (Shaligram) are memorable. All in all, Mission Raniganj is a decent effort.
My rating - *** out of 5!
Fenil's Bollywood Talk # 798
2:51 PM
WILL THE EXORCIST: BELIEVER COLLECT MORE THAN THE HINDI RELEASES?
The month of October is going to see multiple releases almost every week. Tomorrow, 3 major Hindi films and 1 Hollywood flick will try their luck in cinemas. Sadly, the Hindi releases might face a tough time.
The biggest release is Mission Raniganj. It stars Akshay Kumar in the lead and is inspired by the real story of Jaswant Singh Gill, who rescued 65 miners from a trapped mine. The trailer is decent but shockingly, the makers have barely promoted the film. Lead actor Akshay Kumar hasn’t given any interviews or attended events or TV shows for promotional purposes. As a result, many are not even aware that an Akshay Kumar film is up for release. Earlier this year, Akshay’s reputation took a beating as Selfiee opened at just Rs. 2.54 crores. It seems like Mission Raniganj might open in the same range though there’s a hope that it’ll have a good occupancy in the evening. If that happens, the collections can be around Rs. 3-4 crores. Even then, it’s a low opening and the film will have to have a very strong word of mouth to get a 100% + jump on Saturday and Sunday.
Then comes Thank You For Coming. It’s a sex comedy starring Bhumi Pednekar, Shehnaaz Gill, Shibani Bedi, Dolly Singh and Kusha Kapila. There’s a market for such women-centric adult films. The makers have tried their best to make noise. The film even premiered at the 48th Toronto International Film Festival. However, the excitement among the target audience is limited. It’ll open in the range of Rs. 1-2 crores and like Mission Raniganj, the film might score if it jumps in the evening.
Lastly, Dono marks the directorial debut of Sooraj Barjatya’s son Avnish and the acting debut of Sunny Deol’s son Rajveer and Poonam Dhillon’s daughter Paloma. It is backed by Rajshri Productions and hence, it seems like a complete family entertainer. The film has paid previews from tonight and a restricted release from tomorrow. Due to negligible buzz and awareness, the collections will be very poor. The makers probably realized it and implemented the buy-one-get-one ticket offer.
Lastly, The Exorcist: Believer will have a wide release from tomorrow. Horror is the flavour of the season. The Exorcist brand is huge and it won’t be surprising if it opens better than Mission Raniganj.
The month of October is going to see multiple releases almost every week. Tomorrow, 3 major Hindi films and 1 Hollywood flick will try their luck in cinemas. Sadly, the Hindi releases might face a tough time.
The biggest release is Mission Raniganj. It stars Akshay Kumar in the lead and is inspired by the real story of Jaswant Singh Gill, who rescued 65 miners from a trapped mine. The trailer is decent but shockingly, the makers have barely promoted the film. Lead actor Akshay Kumar hasn’t given any interviews or attended events or TV shows for promotional purposes. As a result, many are not even aware that an Akshay Kumar film is up for release. Earlier this year, Akshay’s reputation took a beating as Selfiee opened at just Rs. 2.54 crores. It seems like Mission Raniganj might open in the same range though there’s a hope that it’ll have a good occupancy in the evening. If that happens, the collections can be around Rs. 3-4 crores. Even then, it’s a low opening and the film will have to have a very strong word of mouth to get a 100% + jump on Saturday and Sunday.
Then comes Thank You For Coming. It’s a sex comedy starring Bhumi Pednekar, Shehnaaz Gill, Shibani Bedi, Dolly Singh and Kusha Kapila. There’s a market for such women-centric adult films. The makers have tried their best to make noise. The film even premiered at the 48th Toronto International Film Festival. However, the excitement among the target audience is limited. It’ll open in the range of Rs. 1-2 crores and like Mission Raniganj, the film might score if it jumps in the evening.
Lastly, Dono marks the directorial debut of Sooraj Barjatya’s son Avnish and the acting debut of Sunny Deol’s son Rajveer and Poonam Dhillon’s daughter Paloma. It is backed by Rajshri Productions and hence, it seems like a complete family entertainer. The film has paid previews from tonight and a restricted release from tomorrow. Due to negligible buzz and awareness, the collections will be very poor. The makers probably realized it and implemented the buy-one-get-one ticket offer.
Lastly, The Exorcist: Believer will have a wide release from tomorrow. Horror is the flavour of the season. The Exorcist brand is huge and it won’t be surprising if it opens better than Mission Raniganj.
Akshay Kumar and Jaswant Singh Gill spoke with such warmth as if they had always known each other-Tinu Desai
4:21 PM
Mission Raniganj director Desai recounts his stay at late mining engineer Jaswant Gill’s Amritsar home to hear account of rescuing 65 trapped in flooded mine
Upala KBR (MID-DAY; October 2, 2023)
For director Tinu Suresh Desai, Mission Raniganj: The Great Bharat Rescue is the culmination of his hard work of seven years. In 2016, when writer Deepak Kingrani first brought the 1989 Raniganj Coalfields collapse to his attention, the director knew he wanted to take the real-life episode to the big screen. The Akshay Kumar and Parineeti Chopra-starrer chronicles the heroism of late mining engineer Jaswant Singh Gill, who rescued 65 miners trapped in West Bengal’s Raniganj coal mine that was flooded in November 1989.
“Such a story of heroism needed to be told [to the audience]. Few knew that such a big rescue operation was undertaken by Coal India, Gill saab and his team,” begins Desai.
His research for the survival thriller began with meeting the man at the centre of it—Daddy-ji, as Desai would refer to Gill. “In 2017, I stayed at Daddy-ji’s home in Amritsar. He shared his experience of every moment of those three days that he headed the mission. He remembered how he stood there, day and night, to make sure everyone was rescued.”
As part of the research, the director went to Mahabir Colliery where the incident had taken place. “I interviewed a few miners, the workers who had constructed the capsule, crane operators, and so on. I had about 100 to 150 hours’ footage.”
The director says he walked the fine line between facts and dramatisation during the shoot. “We had to recreate a coal mine of 1989, and shoot the water sequence inside that mine set. It was challenging, and required a lot of planning.”
What made the project all the more demanding was recreating the mild steel capsule that was used to rescue miners. “I was fortunate that Coal India had preserved the original capsule in their Ranchi museum. I called my production designers to Ranchi; they studied the capsule and created a replica in 20 days.”
Desai, whose directorial offering Rustom (2016) earned Kumar a National Award, was keen to reunite with him on the thriller. He narrated the story to the actor on his birthday.
“Akshay loved the concept, and wanted to meet Gill saab. They spoke for 25 minutes on FaceTime. They spoke [with such warmth] as if they had always known each other.”
Jaswant Singh Gill and Tinu Desai
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