Showing posts with label The Bhootnii. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Bhootnii. Show all posts
Sunny Deol completes shooting the climax of Soorya three years after the film went on floors
10:45 PM
Upala KBR (MID-DAY; September 1, 2025)
Inarguably, Sunny Deol has a promising line-up of films with Lahore 1947, Border 2, and Ramayana. Amid this, the senior actor, however, hasn’t forgotten his prior commitment. Deol, who had shot a chunk of Soorya in 2022, returned to the world of M Padmakumar’s thriller in August as they began filming the climax. He aims to wrap up the movie by mid-September.
An official adaptation of the Malayalam film Joseph (2018), Soorya — which had gone on floors in Jaipur in the summer of 2022 — sees Deol as a retired cop, who unexpectedly gets pulled into a murder investigation that leads him to discover an organ harvesting racket. Talking to mid-day, producer Deepak Mukut said that they are currently filming the climactic action sequences with Deol, Ravi Kishan, and Manish Wadhwa in Vile Parle.
“We are shooting a massive action scene on a set, reflecting a hospital, constructed at the Golden Tobacco Factory. Action director Ravi Varma is executing it along with a unit of over 350 people. It’s a hand-to-hand combat scene featuring Sunny,” he shared.
From September 1, the unit will shift their focus to a critical courtroom sequence. Mukut added, “In the film, Sunny has to fight a case. So, he is back to his Damini [1993] avatar, doing lots of action and mouthing dramatic dialogues as he seeks justice. This leg will be filmed on a set, in Naigaon perhaps.”
Soon after, the unit will fly out to Jaipur for the final 10-day schedule. “After that, we will begin post-production. We may release a teaser and trailer this year as we plan to release Soorya in early 2026.”
A three-year wait to wrap up the project can be discouraging, but Mukut noted that he found a supportive collaborator in the leading man. Even as Deol was busy with Jaat, Lahore 1947, and Border 2, he was involved in the movie’s creative process. The producer added, “It’s all about being patient. I had other commitments too, including The Bhootnii.”
From Raid 2 to Jaat: Pirates strike films just before the premiere
9:34 AM
Theatres, streaming industry lost Rs. 13,700 cr and Rs. 8,700 crore, respectively, in 2023 due to piracy: Report
Rajesh N Naidu & Rashmi Rajput (THE ECONOMIC TIMES; May 20, 2025)
Marquee Hindi films such as Sikandar, Jaat, Raid 2 and The Bhootnii were leaked online, kneecapping their run at the box office at birth.
These films were released on pirated and illegal web sites and applications on Thursday, a day before their formal release, bucking a pirating practice of releasing new films a day after their run at cinemas.
"There is a growing trend of movies, especially Hindi and Tamil films, being leaked on the day before the release. In such cases, the role of an insider is suspected," said a senior Maharashtra police officer.
"Piracy before the day of release of a film implies that it is an insider job. There are three channels through which a film can get leaked. They are post-production studios, content delivery agencies and nefarious elements in exhibition companies," said Girish Wankhede, a movie trade analyst.
A recent EY study with the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) showed that 51% of media consumers access content from pirated sources. There are four key sources of piracy: illegal streaming platforms, mobile applications, spreading of pirated links on social media, and torrents.
The report noted that instant messaging platform Telegram is a widely preferred platform for consumers of pirated content and pirates alike as it allows transfer of files up to 2 GB. According to the report, in 2023, theatres and the streaming industry lost Rs 13,700 crore and Rs 8,700 crore respectively due to piracy.
Producers said the new trend of piracy before release is largely connected with how strong the buzz or interest that a film has generated before its release.
“A pre-release leak is not just piracy—it is economic sabotage. It destroys a film’s theatrical potential, jeopardizes digital (streaming) and satellite deals, and kills audience curiosity before the first show,” said Suniel Wadhwa, co-founder & director, Karmic Films. "The buzz or interest around a film is a key factor whether a film's print gets leaked before or after its release," Wadhwa added.
Industry veterans said it was critical to follow a multi-layered approach which covers legality, technology and systemic aspects associated with piracy. They suggest that the increasing use of AI and collaboration with technology companies such as BLOCK X Technologies, which spot sites and other sources of pirated content, must be the norm in the industry to reduce piracy in the industry.
"To avoid piracy, with help of right stakeholders, we are working on a technology which will break a movie into three parts and these three parts can only be joined with a password," said Wankhede.
One of the repercussions of rampant piracy is it impacts the earnings' prospects of mid-and-small budget films more than big-budget ones because even after piracy, streamers buy big-budget films.
| Sources of Piracy | Language preferences | ||
| Illegal Streamers | 63% | Hindi | 40% |
| Mobile Apps | 16% | English | 31% |
| Social Media | 10% | South Indian | 23% |
| Torrents | 6% | Others | 6% |
| Others | 5% | ||
| Source: EY-IAMAI anti-piracy report | |||
| Country wise Online Video Piracy (2024) | |
| Country | Piracy users (mn) |
| India | 90.3 |
| Indonesia | 47.5 |
| Philipines | 31.1 |
| Thailand | 18.2 |
| Vietnam | 16 |
| Source: Media Partners Asia report |
(Crisp) Movie Review: THE BHOOTNII by FENIL SETA
10:46 AM
The Bhootnii proves that not all horror comedies would work, though it is the flavour of the season. The script is poor and the execution fails to do justice. The basic idea is promising and a skillful director could have made a great film out of it. In fact, one will start respecting Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3, Stree 2 and Munjya more after seeing this flick as those films were way better in terms of storytelling, suspense etc. The humour is effective at some places but the makers spoil the show by getting repetitive. What works are selected few scenes and performances. Sanjay Dutt plays his part with conviction. Mouni Roy looks ravishing and is apt for the role. Sunny Singh, Palak Tiwari and Nick are strictly okay. Faisal Khan raises few laughs. All in all, The Bhootnii is a badly made film and is avoidable.
My rating - * ½ out of 5!
My rating - * ½ out of 5!
Fenil's Bollywood Talk # 880
10:51 PM
WILL RAID 2 MANAGE TO CROSS THE RS. 100 CRORE MARK?
Last week wasn’t great as expected, in terms of box office. Ground Zero will not reach Rs. 10 crores while Phule will barely cross the Rs. 1 crore mark. However, Kesari Chapter 2 continued to be rock steady while Jaat also did well. And now all eyes are on the big release of the coming week, Raid 2.
As the name suggests, it is a sequel to Raid. This time, the protagonist, played by Ajay Devgn, will face Riteish Deshmukh. Vaani Kapoor is the female lead and she replaces Ileana DCruz. The trailer has been well-received and there’s a perception that here’s a film which will be something to watch out for. The song ‘Nasha’ featuring Tamannaah Bhatia has grabbed eyeballs and further added to the buzz.
The earlier part opened at Rs. 9.45 crores and ended up collecting Rs. 98.02 crores in its lifetime. Raid 2 releases on a Thursday to take advantage of the holidays in Maharashtra and Gujarat and a partial holiday in the rest of the country due to International Labour Day. The advance is decent and it can have an opening of Rs. 10 crores. If all goes well, it can even cross the Rs. 15 crore mark, but this will depend on the jump the film takes from noon onwards. The collections will dip as Friday is a normal working day. But the footfalls will see another jump on Saturday and Sunday. At this rate, the film will cross the Rs. 50 crore mark in its four-day weekend. Once that happens, entering the Rs. 100 crore mark shouldn’t be a problem, considering the limited competition from Hindi films until June 6.
The other release of the week is The Bhootnii. It is a horror comedy starring Sanjay Dutt, Mouni Roy, Sunny Singh and Palak Tiwari. The trailer hasn’t been appreciated and even the songs haven’t worked. The film has got a limited release, as a result. It’ll have some advantage tomorrow due to the holiday and genre.
However, a film that might spring a surprise is Thunderbolts. It belongs to the Marvel Cinematic Universe and this franchise hasn’t had a great run off late. But this film has generated a lot of excitement. The advances are decent and it can have an opening of Rs. 5-6 crores or even more. The target should be to cross the first-day earnings of Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3. It earned Rs. 6.68 crores and like Thunderbolts, it was also critically acclaimed. That film managed to cross the Rs. 50 crores mark and that should also be the target of Thunderbolts.
Last week wasn’t great as expected, in terms of box office. Ground Zero will not reach Rs. 10 crores while Phule will barely cross the Rs. 1 crore mark. However, Kesari Chapter 2 continued to be rock steady while Jaat also did well. And now all eyes are on the big release of the coming week, Raid 2.
As the name suggests, it is a sequel to Raid. This time, the protagonist, played by Ajay Devgn, will face Riteish Deshmukh. Vaani Kapoor is the female lead and she replaces Ileana DCruz. The trailer has been well-received and there’s a perception that here’s a film which will be something to watch out for. The song ‘Nasha’ featuring Tamannaah Bhatia has grabbed eyeballs and further added to the buzz.
The earlier part opened at Rs. 9.45 crores and ended up collecting Rs. 98.02 crores in its lifetime. Raid 2 releases on a Thursday to take advantage of the holidays in Maharashtra and Gujarat and a partial holiday in the rest of the country due to International Labour Day. The advance is decent and it can have an opening of Rs. 10 crores. If all goes well, it can even cross the Rs. 15 crore mark, but this will depend on the jump the film takes from noon onwards. The collections will dip as Friday is a normal working day. But the footfalls will see another jump on Saturday and Sunday. At this rate, the film will cross the Rs. 50 crore mark in its four-day weekend. Once that happens, entering the Rs. 100 crore mark shouldn’t be a problem, considering the limited competition from Hindi films until June 6.
The other release of the week is The Bhootnii. It is a horror comedy starring Sanjay Dutt, Mouni Roy, Sunny Singh and Palak Tiwari. The trailer hasn’t been appreciated and even the songs haven’t worked. The film has got a limited release, as a result. It’ll have some advantage tomorrow due to the holiday and genre.
However, a film that might spring a surprise is Thunderbolts. It belongs to the Marvel Cinematic Universe and this franchise hasn’t had a great run off late. But this film has generated a lot of excitement. The advances are decent and it can have an opening of Rs. 5-6 crores or even more. The target should be to cross the first-day earnings of Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3. It earned Rs. 6.68 crores and like Thunderbolts, it was also critically acclaimed. That film managed to cross the Rs. 50 crores mark and that should also be the target of Thunderbolts.
50 action directors dropped in on our set to meet Sanjay Dutt as they love him so much-Sidhaant Sachdev
9:17 AM
The Bhootnii director Sidhaant Sachdev decodes how Sanjay Dutt’s knack for action and multiple rehearsals helped the 65-year-old star execute a jump from a 40-foot wall
Upala KBR (MID-DAY; April 22, 2025)
Action comes easy to Sanjay Dutt, even in his 60s. His last few films, be it KGF: Chapter 2 (2022) or Leo (2023), are proof of that. It stands equally true for his upcoming horror comedy, The Bhootnii. Director Sidhaant Sachdev marvels that the senior actor, 65, performed the movie’s five action blocks without the aid of a body double, including a dangerous fight sequence that sees him jumping off a 40-foot wall.
Sachdev recalls shooting the portion in Film City, Goregaon, over three days in February 2024. “Sanju sir was lifted to the top of the 40-foot wall with cranes and cables. The sequence required him to stand atop it alone, and jump when there is a blast behind him. We did multiple rehearsals, and used all safety precautions, including crash mats, cables and cranes. He had safety harnesses and two cables attached to him, and then he jumped as fire raged behind him. I was scared while shooting this block and was saying my prayers quietly, even as my eyes were glued to him. [Within moments of jumping], Sanju sir gave us a thumbs up and the unit broke into applause,” shares the director.
He adds that during the shoot, many stunt directors turned up to meet the leading man. “Almost 50 action directors like Javed bhai [Karim] and Aejaz bhai [Gulab] dropped in on our set to meet him because they love him so much. For them, Sanju sir doing action again was a sight [to behold].”
Also starring Mouni Roy, Sunny Singh and Palak Tiwari, The Bhootnii is centred on a tree that houses an evil spirit. Dutt plays a ghostbuster roped in to rid the tree of the spirit. Even though it’s a horror comedy, Sachdev says he fused action into the storytelling as it has long been Dutt’s forte. Action coordinator Real Satish designed set-pieces that played to the leading man’s strength.
The director adds, “Real Satish knows what Sanjay Dutt’s fans would want to see. I told Baba [Dutt] that we could [employ VFX] for certain sequences, but he was firm that he would do them for his fans. He reasoned that his fans go to the theatres to watch him, so he wanted to do everything by himself.”
Many Hindi films have opted against a theatrical release in the next two-three months
8:22 AM
Many Hindi films have opted against a theatrical release in the next two-three months, we find out why
Rishabh Suri (HINDUSTAN TIMES; March 19, 2025)
Amid a flurry of OTT releases, a film releasing in theatres is a big deal in itself these days. It is almost a gamble, given how picky audiences are about a theatrical watch. One look at the 2025 calendar of releases, and you will realize that the next three months seem to be a rough patch for the industry. Among others, the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) is said to be one of the reasons for the lean patch.
Looking at April alone, many releases have been shifted. The Akshay Kumar and Arshad Warsi-starrer Jolly LLB 3 will now hit the screens in August. Filmmaker Karan Johar’s Sunny Sanskari Ki Tulsi Kumari, starring Varun Dhawan, Janhvi Kapoor and Sanya Malhotra, will now hit the screens on September 12 instead of April 18. A source tells us that while the shoot started later than intended, businessman Adar Poonawalla buying 50% stake in KJo’s Dharma Productions also added to the delay.
Metro... In Dino was originally set to come out on November 29 last year, but it got pushed to July 4. Sharing why the film wasn’t slated for a summer release, a source close to the project informs us: “We wanted a desired window looking at the other releases. So, we settled on July 4.”
Of course, the trade is not happy with the lean patch. Expert Atul Mohan says, “Every month sees one or two big releases, but small filmmakers don’t prefer to release their films in theatres when the IPL is on. So, they push their dates by a month or two.”
Ananth Narayan Mahadevan, director of Phule, isn’t perturbed by the IPL or other films releasing alongside: “April 10 is the 197th birth anniversary of Mahatma Jyotirao Phule. So, how can we miss out on that date? There won’t be any point otherwise.”
Films set to hit the screens this summer
April currently has four theatrical releases that are likely to hit the screens as scheduled — Jaat and Bhool Chuk Maaf on April 10, Phule on April 11 and The Bhootnii on April 18. May has two releases — Raid 2 and Kesari Veer.
June will see three films in theatres — Housefull 5, Maalik and Maa.
Sanjay Dutt has jumped from a 40-foot wall, did not use body double-Sidhaant Sachdev
8:47 AM
Director Sidhaant Sachdev says he is impressed by how Sanjay Dutt, at 65, pulled off stunts without the aid of a body double in The Bhootnii
Upala KBR (MID-DAY; March 1, 2025)
Last year, mid-day reported that Sanjay Dutt was foraying into horror comedy with Sidhaant Sachdev’s directorial venture (Baba vs bhoot, June 7). Earlier this week, the actor unveiled the teaser of the film, which has been titled The Bhootnii. The horror comedy sees Dutt as a ghostbuster fighting Mouni Roy, an evil spirit who resides in a tree.
Sachdev, who has written the script with Vankush Arora, believes that the April 18 release perfectly balances horror and action, playing to the leading man’s strength with the latter. “We have five action sequences in The Bhootnii and Sanjay Dutt pulled them off.”
With a 44-year career behind him, Dutt has been one of Bollywood’s biggest action heroes. Sachdev says he was impressed seeing the actor, at 65, perform the stunts without a body double. “He has jumped from a 40-foot wall. People use body doubles for stunts, but he did everything—from jumping to punching, and wielding weapons,” states the director.
For the first-time director, it was a huge boost of confidence when Dutt loved the script instinctively and even decided to produce it. “I met him at 1.30 pm and by 4 pm, he was signing the film,” recalls Sachdev.
He says the actor-producer has been deeply involved in The Bhootnii’s making. “He has been there throughout. When I’d take a draft to him, he’d ask me to enhance it by adding more emotions. Now, he is helping me in post-production.”
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