Showing posts with label Yusuf Shaikh. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Yusuf Shaikh. Show all posts
Box office grows 27% in 2025, but Bollywood remains worried
8:41 AM
Producers, distributors say industry woes persist despite a 27% y-o-y box office growth in early ’25
Rajesh N Naidu (THE ECONOMIC TIMES; June 20, 2025)
Film producers and distributors are not enthused with the 27% year-on-year growth in all-India box office collection in the first five months of 2025, saying the growth does not capture the "existential" challenges that have engulfed the industry.
These challenges have, consequently, created an acute sense of "nervousness" among all key stakeholders in the film industry, they said.
The all-India box office collection rose to Rs. 4,812 crore between January and May this year from Rs. 3,791 crore in the year-ago period, according to the May box office report by media and entertainment research firm Ormax Media.
"Are we looking at numbers or real growth? Last year was an election year. So, it seems there is growth in collection. There is a huge difference between film business in multiplexes and the B-class and C-class centres," said Yusuf Shaikh, CEO and founder, Janta Cinema, an exhibitor that showcases films at affordable prices.
Shaikh said there are two critical challenges in the Hindi film industry. "We have lost 20-25% of the elite audience in theatres in the past few years. Even cheap ticket prices have not brought this audience to theatres," he said.
Another major concern, said Shaikh, is the glaring absence of well-made mass entertainers. "It is an irony. Elite audiences are absent in theatres. The masses who come to theatres do not have credible mass entertainers to watch," he said.
Most industry veterans believe that, incrementally, a sense of apathy is growing among audiences about watching Hindi films in theatres.
"Today, the audience for whom watching films in theatres was a ritual is missing. This has impacted the average opening and collection of Hindi films," said a film distributor, who requested anonymity. "Consequently, today, the mass audience is watching regional or non-Hindi films in theatres."
According to Ormax Media, the contribution of non-Hindi films-including English and other language films-to the all-India box office collection in the first five months of 2025 was a huge 63%, indicating an increasing acceptance of non-Hindi content by audiences in the Hindi belt. In the same period last year, the contribution of non-Hindi content to the all-India collection was 67%. This is because the share of collection of Hindi films to all-India collection grew to 37% in January-May 2025 from 33% in January-May 2024.
Chhaava and Raid 2 were two noteworthy hits that contributed to this growth.
"One or two hits do not promise change in the business situation. The Hindi film industry is disproportionately dependent on big-budget films. Today, the industry needs more successful mid-budget films," said Prashen Kyawal, a creative, post-producer and media-tech consultant.
Producer Rajesh R Nair concurs. "Instead of a big-budget film, we need a few mid-budget films, which have fresh stories and talent. The Hindi film industry must reinvent. Time has come to back fresh stories and new talent," he said.
Ishqeria might release simultaneously in India and China
7:56 AM
Producer of Richa Chadha-starrer Ishqeria says movie was screened for exhibitors in China as it gears for simultaneous release across both nations
Upala KBR (MID-DAY; September 12, 2018)
mid-day had previously reported that Richa Chadha and Neil Nitin Mukesh’s romance drama Ishqeria was gearing up for a release, four years after the filming had concluded. Now, we hear, the film will simultaneously hit screens in India and China, making it the first Indian movie to do so.
Producer Yusuf Shaikh tells mid-day that the film has received the green light from the Censor Committee in China. A chain of distributors, we’re told, watched the film yesterday to zero in on who will pick it up. “Chinese distributors are confident that good Indian content works for their audiences too. Thus, they will try to minimise delays in releases to avoid piracy. Hopefully, we will be able to release the movie in India and China on September 21. After the Censor Board gives its certificate — a procedure that takes 24 hours — the film is screened for distributors so that a call on its exhibition can be taken,” he says. Pointing out that China has 70,000 screens, Shaikh says it makes for a big market for Bollywood filmmakers.
Having been approached by Mauritius-based Liv Worldwide — a company that bridges the gap between filmmakers and distributors — Shaikh says CEO Nadeem Shah had assured him that the film will release on the stipulated day with Chinese subtitles.
Trade analyst Atul Mohan tells mid-day that the development gives credence to the fact that “a new market is opening up abroad for Indian producers.” “China has the second highest number of screens in the world after USA. In India, we wait to gauge the box-office performance of a film before pushing it for a release there,” he says.
Ishqeria revolves around a small-town girl, played by Chadha, who heads to a city-based college and falls for the institute’s sports star. Her friends then go to great lengths to play matchmakers for the duo.
The film, helmed by débutant director Prerna Wadhawan, also stars Bani J and Raj Babbar. After the shooting had wrapped up four years ago, it faced several hurdles, including the death of Wadhawan’s producer-father Ravi Wadhawan.
Prerna had then told mid- day, “We have finally overcome all the odds. We managed to get the ball rolling.”
James Cameron might attend Terminator 2: Judgement Day's Mumbai premiere; Bollywood action stars to be invited
7:59 AM
Upala KBR (DNA; August 10, 2017)
Fans of Terminator 2: Judgement Day had a lot to cheer about when the makers announced that they will be releasing the 1991 masterpiece around the world again, this time in 3D. Now, India has all the more reason to look forward to the James Cameron-directed sci-fi film that releases on August 25. Buzz is, the acclaimed director, who has helmed path-breaking films like Titanic (1997) and Avatar (2009), is headed to Mumbai for the premiere of Terminator 2. The Hollywood filmmaker is expected to include a day-long visit to India — his second after his trip to the country in 2010 — in his itinerary that also has Australia, Japan and New Zealand.
Yusuf Shaikh, who is distributing the movie in India, says, “It [Cameron’s visit to India] is being considered. He will promote the film in China and Japan, so he may stop in India en route. We’ve spoken to the production house [StudioCanal, the studio that distributed the film then] as well as to James Cameron’s team. We’re in the process of working the dates out.”
While discussing the possibility of attending the India premiere of the Arnold Schwarzenegger action fare, it was Cameron who suggested that Bollywood’s action heroes be invited to the event.
Shaikh continues, “He [Cameron] said, why don’t you get all the action heroes of Bollywood and we all can watch it together. We’ll be inviting everyone, from Amitabh Bachchan and Dharmendra, to Sunny Deol, Suniel Shetty, Ajay Devgn and Akshay Kumar. The young action heroes — Arjun Kapoor, Tiger Shroff, Sidharth Malhotra and Varun Dhawan are also on the guest list.”
Shaikh says Cameron thought his Schwarzenegger film deserved a revisit in this day and age: “In those days, there were no Dolby screens. When he sat down to make it a 3D film, he realised there’s so much he can add to it. He feels T2, in its 3D format, is a visual spectacle — [something] that the young generation will enjoy.”
Fans of Terminator 2: Judgement Day had a lot to cheer about when the makers announced that they will be releasing the 1991 masterpiece around the world again, this time in 3D. Now, India has all the more reason to look forward to the James Cameron-directed sci-fi film that releases on August 25. Buzz is, the acclaimed director, who has helmed path-breaking films like Titanic (1997) and Avatar (2009), is headed to Mumbai for the premiere of Terminator 2. The Hollywood filmmaker is expected to include a day-long visit to India — his second after his trip to the country in 2010 — in his itinerary that also has Australia, Japan and New Zealand.
Yusuf Shaikh, who is distributing the movie in India, says, “It [Cameron’s visit to India] is being considered. He will promote the film in China and Japan, so he may stop in India en route. We’ve spoken to the production house [StudioCanal, the studio that distributed the film then] as well as to James Cameron’s team. We’re in the process of working the dates out.”
While discussing the possibility of attending the India premiere of the Arnold Schwarzenegger action fare, it was Cameron who suggested that Bollywood’s action heroes be invited to the event.
Shaikh continues, “He [Cameron] said, why don’t you get all the action heroes of Bollywood and we all can watch it together. We’ll be inviting everyone, from Amitabh Bachchan and Dharmendra, to Sunny Deol, Suniel Shetty, Ajay Devgn and Akshay Kumar. The young action heroes — Arjun Kapoor, Tiger Shroff, Sidharth Malhotra and Varun Dhawan are also on the guest list.”
Shaikh says Cameron thought his Schwarzenegger film deserved a revisit in this day and age: “In those days, there were no Dolby screens. When he sat down to make it a 3D film, he realised there’s so much he can add to it. He feels T2, in its 3D format, is a visual spectacle — [something] that the young generation will enjoy.”
Sabki Bajegi Band to 'expose' Bollywood celebrities
7:38 AM
BOMBAY TIMES (April 7, 2015)
Sabki Bajegi Band promises to expose some of Bollywood's
darkest sex secrets. RJ Anirudh Chawla, who has directed this film,
apparently got the idea after he hosted a farmhouse party last year.
Unknown to his celebrity guests comprising Bollywood actors and models,
he reportedly placed 12 cameras in secret locations to record their
intimate conversations that revolved around sexuality, kinks, fantasies,
marriages, affairs and rivalries.
The raw, uncensored footage was so scandalous that the radio jockey decided to turn it into the country's first reality film! It is being said that when the celebrities heard about the film 'revealing all', they threatened to sue him for breach of privacy. So, he devised a novel way of presenting what he had recorded to an audience that he knew would enjoy it. Names were changed and events were dramatised using actors like Swara Bhaskar, Sumeet Vyas, Amol Parashar, Alekh Sangal and Aman Uppal.
Produced by Yusuf Shaikh and directed by Anirudh, the film has a tagline that says it all: No mercy, only controversy. The teasers, which use blurred images and dialogue posters, have generated curiosity, as has the film's trailer, which released recently.
Sabki Bajegi Band, produced by YEN Films and presented by Percept Pictures, releases May 1.
The raw, uncensored footage was so scandalous that the radio jockey decided to turn it into the country's first reality film! It is being said that when the celebrities heard about the film 'revealing all', they threatened to sue him for breach of privacy. So, he devised a novel way of presenting what he had recorded to an audience that he knew would enjoy it. Names were changed and events were dramatised using actors like Swara Bhaskar, Sumeet Vyas, Amol Parashar, Alekh Sangal and Aman Uppal.
Produced by Yusuf Shaikh and directed by Anirudh, the film has a tagline that says it all: No mercy, only controversy. The teasers, which use blurred images and dialogue posters, have generated curiosity, as has the film's trailer, which released recently.
Sabki Bajegi Band, produced by YEN Films and presented by Percept Pictures, releases May 1.
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