What’s common among Badri Ki Dulhaniya, Sweety Tera Drama, and Panwadi besides them being dance numbers? Dev Negi’s high-energy vocals. Now, his latest song, Thummak Thummak, from Sidharth Malhotra and Tamannaah Bhatia-starrer The Vvaan has joined the list.

“The fact that both the song and the film are doing well makes me doubly happy. It’s also nice that it’s my collaboration with Tanishk bhai [Bagchi, composer],” Negi told mid-day over a call.

His voice has become something of a staple in Bollywood’s party tracks. But the singer admitted that when he entered the industry 13 years ago, he had a different plan in mind.

“I sang a few romantic tracks in the beginning and thought that’s how it would go, that I would sing a lot more love songs. But the moment Sweety Tera Drama and Chalti Hai Kya 9 Se 12 became hits, it generated more of such songs. I am grateful that I have hits under my belt, but sometimes I miss singing love songs,” he said, before adding, “It’s also this industry’s tendency to offer you similar songs once you score success in a genre.”

Besides adding more love songs to his discography, Negi has another wish. Having lent his voice to Shah Rukh Khan in Jab Harry Met Sejal (2017) and Salman Khan in some films, he fervently hopes to sing for another superstar.

“Ranbir Kapoor has been on my wishlist forever. There’s some magic when he performs. It’s difficult to articulate the value he adds to a composer’s tune and a singer’s voice. I am a huge fan of his acting. I hope one day I get to sing for him.”

On a day Kolkata nearly drowned, Jisshu U Sengupta glided in at an upscale lounge, dapper in his boots and trench coat. Evidently, his interpretation of festive dressing has its own rule book. Just like his career choices. In between prepping for a US tour with his band, juggling work in Bengali, Hindi, and Telugu theatricals and OTT, and prepping for a massive two-part film project this winter, he was at his leisurely best as he sat down with Calcutta Times for an adda over a double-shot espresso.

I’ve always believed my work should speak for itself – not just in the last three or four years, but always. I’ve avoided giving in to the media too much. I’m not a great speaker, and I believe that about myself. Saying “I’m a good actor” doesn’t make me a good actor. Saying “I’m a good drummer” doesn’t make me a good drummer. Some colleagues are very vocal, and that’s needed too. But I’m happy in my own cocoon. I talk to myself, and that gives me peace. I’ve never planned anything in my life.

I’m not a trained actor. My father was a theatre actor, and my mother used to say one actor in the family was enough (laughs). I was rather into cricket and music. By default, I’m here today talking to you primarily as an actor.

Unlike a lot of actors who design their script and character before going to set, I’ve never done that. I read the script. Ritu da (Rituparno Ghosh), who was my mentor, once asked if I put any thought behind what I do. I said no. Wherever I’m shooting, everything from the people around me to the cup of tea in the frame helps me do what I do. He heard me out and then told me, that while my approach wasn’t wrong, it would help if I got into the character’s headspace – understand his backstory, take him back to his childhood, parents, and heartbreaks, and work my way to who he is today.

From that day, that’s exactly what I’ve done. I build the character’s story in my head. I realized if you don’t believe in the character, you can’t act. The best way to act a character is not to act, but to behave. I try to behave.

People think it’s easy to go to Mumbai and get work – that if you meet the right people, it’ll just happen. It doesn’t work that way. Even when I had my Mercedes back home in Kolkata, I used to travel in autos in Mumbai. I did that for years, and it helped.

People assume because you’ve done well in one film industry, people elsewhere will automatically know you. They don’t. When you go and ask for a role, you’re just an actor asking for a role. If you fit the bill, you get it. If you don’t, you don’t.

Posto was my first film with them – a great father-son story built around a true story. Then I did Baba Baby O which was unusual as well. The first Bohurupi was a huge hit, and I had big shoes to fill – Abir’s shoes. He did a brilliant job, I was quite unsure about stepping into this role, but Shibu convinced me. And I also genuinely believe Shiboprosad is a great actor. I’ve told him this to his face and behind his back too. I don’t know why he does not pursue acting more.

Shiboprosad is a brilliant actor. Had he taken it up seriously, most of us would be totally out of work. He is that good.

Honestly, I have no idea (smiles). There was no calculation behind it. I wanted to be at it – if I wanted to achieve something, I had to keep showing up. That’s how I ended up doing Telugu films. I did Manikarnika with Krish, who’s now a great friend. He asked if I wanted to do a Telugu film, and I said I didn’t know the language. He said that didn’t matter. From that day to this, I’ve done around 18-19 Telugu films with Chiranjeevi sir, Ravi Teja, Venkatesh sir, Nani, and Nithiin. Funnily enough, a lot of people think my name is Jishu Sen Gupta and that I’m a Telugu actor. When people around me speak in Telugu, I simply smile and nod my way through it.

That’s the beauty of this industry. Every day is a new day. If I carry the baggage of what I’ve already done, I’m weighing myself down. Honestly, I believe I’ve done nothing in life, and I mean it.

I’d love to win a National Award someday. There have been awards I haven’t even gone to collect, and ones I have picked up. It feels brilliant being recognized as best actor, but that glory is only for that moment. The next day is a new day. That award isn’t going to fetch me three more awards – I still have to work hard for that.

This applies to everything, and it’s something Ritu da taught me. He once asked me whether I wanted to be an actor or a hero. I said I wanted to be an actor. He explained that if you choose to be a hero, your time span is limited, but an actor can act until he dies.

He told me: “When offered a character, imagine taking him out of the story. Does the story still move without him, or does it get stuck? If it can move without him, don’t do it. But if the story doesn’t work without that character, take it – because that one scene will give you another frame.” That’s exactly how I’ve chosen scripts ever since. I never wanted to be a hero. I wanted to be an actor.

It did average business, and it could have been better. I’ve learnt a lot, and so has Saurav (Das). We could have marketed the film differently – it was a father-son story, and we marketed it as a rockstar’s film. The film could also have been a little shorter. We’re going to fix these mistakes the next time we produce a film.

If I get the opportunity, of course I will. This is where I grew up, where I earned my first bread, butter, and chicken tandoori. I’d give my life for it. Think about it – name me one state in India that has mountains, snow, forests, a river, an ocean, red soil, and the world’s biggest mangrove forest, all in one place. We have all of it. The rest of the Indian film industry should come here and explore it.

Yes, there will be competition. Bangla cinemar pashe daran – I think that’s rather silly. Amra jani amra kothay dariye acchi. But we don’t do enough about it. We need to fix that.

I’ve grown up a lot in the last few years. I never really knew who I was, but I’ve at least understood that there are certain things I need to work on, let go of, and face. These last couple of years have given me that time and space to understand myself – to let go of habits and arrive at the person I wish to be.

Absolutely. Every person has shades of grey. At least once a day, you look in the mirror and know where you’ve gone wrong. I have my own justifications, but I know exactly where I’ve been wrong, and where I’ve been right. People are quick to judge, but no one has stepped into my shoes and walked the paths I’ve walked. So first do that, and then judge.

I wanted to play cricket for India; I couldn’t. I wanted to play the drums at Wembley Stadium; I’ll probably never get to. That would be an achievement.

Because that’s how our world has conditioned us – “boys don’t cry.” Amra etai shune eshechi. I don’t subscribe to that, though. I’ve gone to a psychiatrist. I’ve taken therapy. It’s helped me a lot. We only really talk about what women go through with mental health, which is ok. But men go through instability too, and we just don’t talk about male mental health.

I lost my father when I was 21. I started working at 16, earning at 17, and by 19 I was taking on responsibility for my family – no one really talks about that. It’s still difficult, taking care of so many people. Carrying those responsibilities, a man goes through a lot – EMIs, due dates, and people who judge you without paying your bills. And I have my desires too.

I’ve failed so many times, and I’ve learnt from every failure. Men cry. I cry. On my bad days, I miss my daughters and I cry. That’s okay. Why should I hide that just because I’m a man? I don’t buy that anymore. This is who I am.

We see you on screen, the glamorous side of you, but your inner journey isn’t something we usually pause to think about.

Honestly, I don’t want anyone thinking too much about it, and I don’t want suggestions from anyone either. Respect is the only thing I actually work for. In fact, the only thing all men want is just a bit of respect, and we’ll do anything.

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For ghazal singer Talat Aziz, Friday, October 2, was like any other day at home. In the evening, he was watching television in the living room of his Juhu duplex apartment, while his wife Bina was upstairs and their sons were in their rooms. Within minutes, however, the family found itself fighting for survival as a fire rapidly engulfed their home.

“I think there was an electric short circuit. And the funny part is that it was one of the ACs that wasn’t even on at that time,” says Aziz.

What followed was a terrifying 15 minutes that he says he will never forget. “I’ve never seen a fire spread so fast. In 15 minutes, the whole house was engulfed in black smoke and raging flames.”

The family had fire extinguishers, but there was little they could do as the flames spread rapidly. Aziz and his sons were on the ground floor, while his wife Bina was trapped upstairs in the bedroom.

“My sons and I could not even go up the stairs to rescue Bina. She was in the bedroom, locked. But then she managed to escape through the bathroom window. My son who was on the ground floor outside, spotted a ladder that had been kept there because construction work was underway in the building. He took the ladder and put it against the wall. Thankfully, it was exactly the right height. Bina managed to squeeze out of the bathroom window and then they brought her down.”

The family eventually made it out, covered in soot and struggling to breathe. “It was a horrifying fire and all of us had a miraculous escape. My sons were running around. We were all black, with the soot all around.”

The ambulance arrived and the family was rushed to hospital. Doctors found that they had inhaled significant amounts of smoke and carbon monoxide and admitted them to the ICU for observation. “They wanted us to be monitored to check if everything was okay and wanted to keep us for another day. But since we were fine, we asked to be discharged on Saturday afternoon.”

The living room and dining area have been completely gutted. Glass, furniture, paintings and belongings were destroyed. “The whole apartment is black and burnt down. I haven’t been able to see everything properly. There are some paintings left upstairs, I think, but I don’t know in what state. Everything is just black and burnt down,” he says.

Yet, amid the devastation, Aziz says he is trying to hold on to what matters most. “Yes, it’s been traumatic. We still have to process it all. We have lost stuff in the fire, but the very fact that we came out alive, that’s important. That’s the biggest. Anything could have happened. It was a major fire. I am still trying to recover. We hadn’t slept the whole night for the last two nights.”

In the middle of the trauma, however, Aziz says he has been deeply moved by the response from friends, neighbours and well-wishers.

“We have been staying at a hotel and on Monday we will temporarily move into a fully furnished four-bedroom apartment in Santa Cruz that our friend who is in Hong Kong offered us. They have said we can stay there as long as we need to, till the time everything is sorted out.”

The offers of help have come from across the music fraternity. “The goodwill is amazing,” he says. “Sonu (Sonu Nigam) just called me from New Zealand or Australia, wherever he is. He said, ‘Talat ji, my house is yours, you can come and stay.’ Anup Jalota also called to offer help, while several neighbours invited us into their homes. I am touched by all the love. The outpouring of love and concern is unreal. I’ve got millions of messages. I can’t even reply to all of them. We had not told anyone, but the fire department put out the whole story on Saturday. After it was out in the news, people haven’t stopped texting.”

“From today we are starting the process of cleaning and rebuilding. There’s so much to be cleaned first. Debris has to be taken and thrown out. I have asked the building authorities to conduct a fire audit of the entire building.”

He is grateful for the speed with which emergency services responded. “Everyone has come forward to help and I’m really grateful to all of them. Even the authorities were so quick to respond, which I’m really, really grateful for. The fire department, the police, the ambulance — within 15-20 minutes they were there. The whole building would have been gutted if they didn’t arrive on time.”

DRISHYAM THE CONCLUSION has seen an extraordinary first day of around 61-62 crore nett making it the fourth highest opening day collection for Hindi film in history behind DHURANDHAR THE REVEGE, JAWAN and PUSHPA 2 - THE RULE. The film got over the 60 crore nett mark but could not reach 65 crore nett. The film has not set any record in any circuit but has come very close in Mumbai, Delhi/UP and East Punjab.

In the Maharashtra belt it actually beat DHURANDHAR THE REVEGE in places but the collections in Mumbai city and Pune were less which kept the circuit under the Ranveer Singh-starrer. The shocker is Delhi/UP and East Punjab as the NCR area records the highest collections ever seen on the opening day and this is for a film which has Maharashtra regional feel while DHURANDHAR THE REVEGE had that Punjab touch. It is simply unbelievable though the holiday will have a lot to with it. The overall collections though in Delhi/UP and East Punjab are just a little short of DHURANDHAR THE REVEGE.

If we take out the holiday factor, then this film is still getting a 35-37 crore nett opening which is extraordinary for the genre and production cost and shows how this sequel factor can make a film a lottery today. The film had issues when it began as Akshaye Khanna left the film mainly due to remuneration issues but it has made no difference and character artistes have to understand they dont make much of a difference even if the character has made an impact. The only person who is indispensable in this franchise is Ajay Devgn.

There will be a drop in collections on Saturday as is the norm after a huge holiday but the film is sure to go over 175 crore nett for the weekend and could even get around 190 crore nett which is phenomenal for this film.

The Overseas has also seen excellent results with Australia at 300k and USA/Canada looking at around $750k which should mean an overseas total of over $1.75 million. This is easily the best for Ajay Devgn and from here should be the first $10 million film Overseas for Ajay Devgn.

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DRISHYAM THE CONCLUSION had a fantastic Saturday as it grossed around 51 crore nett which is a drop of under 20% from the first day and takes the two day total to 113.50 crore nett. The film will be targeting a Sunday which will be similar to day one and that will be enough to take the film to 175 crore nett.

The collections are simply superb all over with the two bigger areas of Mumbai and North India leading the way. Gujarat, which was maybe a little less on day one, held up better on the second day. North India is outstanding especially considering the Maharashtra fell to the film. Both Delhi/UP and East Punjab are showing very surprising collections to the upside.

Despite being the widest release, it held up better than all the rest even when coming out of the big holiday with a huge number up on the board. The final first day collections have come in the third highest in history for a Hindi film (dubbed or original). There were no circuit records and these are mainly held by DHURANDHAR THE REVENGE and some by TOXIC (Hindi).

The wait is for the weekdays as today, when a film works like this, you never know how big it is going to be. It is also fantastic overseas and is looking at a weekend of $6.5-6.75 million. The biggest Ajay Devgn film in overseas is SINGHAM AGAIN at $9.5 million and DRISHYAM THE CONCLUSION will cruise past the $10 million mark making it a first for Ajay Devgn.

The collections of DRISHYAM THE CONCLUSION till date are as follows.

Friday - 62,50,00,000 apprx

Saturday - 51,00,00,000 apprx

THE VVAAN had a good second day as collections went into double digits. The growth of the film is 45% but this is coming with a low ratio of business coming from the national chains. So, its actually a better result than what 45% suggests. The film has jumped well in mass circuits like Rajasthan and CI which is not the norm on Saturday and this trend ensures the film will become a success though its about going holding up on the weekdays and into week two and emerge a HIT film.

The film continues to do excellent business in Bihar and if this trend continues, its going to be a BLOCKBUSTER in the circuit. West Bengal is excellent also as it went up on day two after a very good start on the first day. The sentiment/devotion angle has worked for the film across the core Hindi circuits and now time will tell at to which level this has worked. Its another film which signals the shift in the audience demographics as content made for the bigger Hindi speaking states now has more chances than the metro content when it comes to smaller films which was not the case 10-15 years back.

This was always likely to happen at one point as the industry goes back to the pre 1995 days when things were more equal. Its not exactly back to those days but thats because infrastructure in many of the states has not moved as fast as the metropolitan areas and its still playing catch up. THE VVAAN now stands at 18.25 crore nett after two days and with the mass circuits on board it should be a very good Sunday and then its about the weekdays.

The collections of THE VVAAN are as follows.

Friday - 7,50,00,000 apprx

Saturday - 10,75,00,000 apprx

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THE VVAAN took the fourth highest opening this year in Bihar and is only behind the big three, that is, TOXIC, DHURANDHAR THE REVENGE and BORDER 2. The collections of TOXIC were an all time record for the circuit becoming the first film to cross 3 crore nett in the circuit despite its eventual failure.

THE VVAAN has beaten AWARAPAN 2, WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE, DHAMAAL 4 and BHOOTH BANGLA in the circuit just because of the song and the Chhath puja angle in the film. It was expected to out perform in Bihar but not to the extent it has. Never in the modern era has Bihar been a 13% ratio circuit. It would have not even happened in the past also as very few prints were released in Bihar and it took a long time to fully monetize the circuit.

The top five collections in Bihar this year are as follows.

1. Toxic - 3,19,00,000

2. Dhurandhar The Revenge - 2,68,00,000

3. Border 2 - 1,77,00,000

5. Awarapan 2 - 96,00,000 

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THE VVAAN had a good hold on Monday as it collected around 4.50- 4.75 crore nett which is a drop of 35-40%. The film showed a stronger trend in the Hindi Mass circuits with Bihar again leading the way with a lesser drop than the national average. This now takes the film to 36.50 crore nett with the crucial day being Wednesday as Thursday should do well as its a holiday the next day.

The film is probably looking at a first week total of around 50 crore nett and though the trend of the film is good a lot depends on what happens when DRISHYAM THE CONCLUSION comes. If there was no DRISHYAM THE CONCLUSION, then this film would have been on its way to HIT business but now its a wait and see situation. The film is a SUCCESS but remains to be seen if the film can become a HIT.

The plus is that the film is a rare film to succeed which is not a franchise/Sequel film this year. The only other one was BHOOTH BANGLA but that film was marketed on nostalgia while here THE VVAAN has no such thing. On top, there is not that huge budget/scale which gives hopes for new titles made at these low to medium costs can also score at the box office. The minus point for the film is that it could not do much overseas.

The collections of THE VVAAN are as follows.

Friday - 7,50,00,000 apprx

Saturday - 10,75,00,000 apprx

Sunday - 13,75,00,000 apprx

Monday - 4,65,00,000 apprx

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THE VVAAN collected 3.50 crore nett on its first Wednesday which was a drop from the previous day but its a little more than 20% down from Monday and still only 53% down from the first day. The collections should hold today and can even edge up due to the evening shows being better as its a huge holiday tomorrow.

The film has a huge task facing it in the second weekend as it faces up to DRISHYAM THE CONCLUSION. The franchise factor takes DRISHYAM THE CONCLUSION into that list of 4-5 films of the year which you don't want in the second week especially when you are doing well as no doubt you will have to take a some sort of hit. Your second week would have better if you had a HAIWAAN, VIBE, DAAYRA or even MIRZAPUR THE MOVIE coming the week after you.

The Friday for THE VVAAN can get the collections due to the holiday but its going to be a flat weekend. On the present, the trend the film should be doing a 20 crore nett plus second week but that will be hard due to the release of DRISHYAM THE CONCLUSION.

The collections of THE VVAAN till date are as follows.

Friday - 7,50,00,000 apprx

Saturday - 10,75,00,000 apprx

Sunday - 13,75,00,000 apprx

Monday - 4,65,00,000 apprx

Tuesday - 5,50,00,000 apprx

Wednesday - 3,50,00,000 apprx

HANUMAN ANSH had another incredible weekend as it collected 27.25 crore nett plus in its seventh weekend. The collections are such that only nine films have done this much over the first weekend in 2026. DHURANDHAR THE REVENGE had collected 5.25 crore nett in WEEK seven while DHURANDHAR was 12 crore nett over the whole seventh WEEK.

Here its looking at the seventh week that can be around the 40 crore nett mark depending on the weekdays trend. This trend is not as strong as earlier in its run when the Monday collections were similar to Friday but its still trending very strongly if we compare with other releases. The Sunday collections were extraordinary again as it caters to the family audience and generally an older age audience. It remains to be seen if it reaches 300 crore nett and its present trend should be enough as it should remain in theaters till Diwali.

The collections of HANUMAN ANSH till date are as follows.

Friday - 4,85,00,000 apprx

Saturday - 9,25,00,000 apprx

Sunday - 13,25,00,000 apprx

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HANUMAN ANSH saw a phenomenal seventh week with collections of 41.50 crore nett apprx which now takes the film to over 270 crore nett at almost 272 crore nett. Despite this insane record in week seven, it has seen a drop as compared to the trend of the last few weeks. The film fell around 46% from the last week. For the record books, the previous best for week seven was 12 crore nett for DHURANDHAR (2025) while for a film with multiple versions, it is KANTARA (2022) with 16 crore nett.

The film is a HISTORIC BLOCKBUSTER and the second biggest of ALL TIME for its genre and its just about seeing if the film crosses the 300 crore nett barrier. It does not really matter much as its more than done its job but as its come this far, you might as will get over 300 crore nett. The film probably needs to show a 2.50 crore nett eighth Friday to remain on course for 300 crore nett.

BORDER 2 is the second highest grosser this year with 312 crore nett and HANUMAN ANSH is unlikely to reach that total but that does not matter much also as BORDER 2 is a far bigger film. As far as the best business goes it will be Delhi/UP and CI followed by East Punjab as its most likely that UP, MP and Haryana have the most followers of Neeb Karori Baba whom the film is based on. In CI, it will beat the likes of CHHAAVA, JAWAN and PATHAAN and maybe even KGF - CHAPTER 2 (Hindi).

The collections of HANUMAN ANSH till date are as follows.

Friday - 4,85,00,000 apprx

Saturday - 9,25,00,000 apprx

Sunday - 13,25,00,000 apprx

Monday - 3,50,00,000 apprx

Tuesday - 4,50,00,000 apprx

Wednesday - 3,25,00,000 apprx

Thursday - 3,00,00,000 apprx

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HANUMAN ANSH hit the 300 crore nett mark on its eight Friday as it continues to set weekly records. The eighth week collected a huge 27.25 crore nett which smashed past the 5 crore nett record of DHURANDHAR (2025). The records will continue in week nine as its already collected 2.25 crore nett on its ninth Friday and is sure to beat the long standing ninth week record of GADAR - EK PREM KATHA.

The interesting thing here is that the second highest collection ever in week nine in India at the moment is actually a Hollywood film. F1: THE MOVIE collected 2.62 crore nett in week nine and that is second highest collection ever and this includes films released on multiple languages. HANUMAN ANSH collected 2.25 crore nett in two days of week nine. In other words, it will have the highest ninth week collection of all time.

The film will see a drop in collections this week as it faces up to the force of DRISHYAM THE CONCLUSION and it will be the biggest weekly drop unless the miracle continues from Monday. The film now stands at 301.75 crore nett and is probably looking at a close of somewhere around the 320 crore nett mark. In recent times THE KASHMIR FILES had done 250 crore nett apprx which was the ballpark and now HANUMAN ANSH has taken the ballpark figure to 300 crore nett plus.

The collections of HANUMAN ANSH till date are as follows.

Friday - 2,25,00,000 apprx

TOXIC will be ending its run at 230 crore nett across India on all versions with the Hindi version finishing at 137 crore nett. The film is the fifth highest grosser this year after DHURANDHAR THE REVENGE, SPIDER-MAN: BRAND NEW DAY, BORDER 2 and HANUMAN ANSH if we take all films released in India this year. But it is also the most costly film released this year at almost 500 crore. In fact, it would be among the the top three most expensive films ever made till this point.

The film collected 95 crore nett on the first day which is an insane 41% of its total business. This ratio is almost the same with the Hindi version as it collected 39% of its lifetime collection on the first day. It is the highest grossing South Indian film this year as it edges past the 225 crore nett of PEDDI.

The film does hold first day records for non sequels in Rajasthan, CP Berar, CI, Bihar and Odisha and no matter what happened post release there was a huge craze for the film. There are some huge films to be released this year which are not sequels and it will be very interesting if these records can hold by the end of the year.

The overseas collections ended at $4.5 million which will give it a worldwide close of around 320 crore.

The all India collections of TOXIC are as follows.

Week One - 2,21,05,00,000

Week Two - 7,85,00,000

Week Three - 99,00,000

Week Four - 10,00,000 apprx (5 Days)

MIRZAPUR THE MOVIE continues to do well in its third week as it takes its total collections to over 211 crore nett. The film has collected 12.25 crore nett so far in its third week and should do around 16 crore nett plus. The drop will be there of around 70% but the job is done for the film with a huge total up on the board already. The film is now probably looking to close around the 225 crore nett mark.

The film has hit the 60 crore nett mark in Delhi/UP while Bihar is outstanding as it will eventually cross the business of the likes of RRR (Hindi), KALKI 2898 AD (Hindi) and even films like WAR and TIGER ZINDA HAI. The film will be looking at a 13 crore nett close in Bihar. The UP/Bihar area is the best performer for the film.

If we take non star films (or when the faces were relatively new), not including the ones form the South, then it will be fifth best performer in terms of collections after SAIYAARA, HANUMAN ANSH, THE KASHMIR FILES and URI. THE KERALA SRORY stands at 220 crore nett at MIRZAPUR THE MOVIE should cross that figure.

The collections of MIRZAPUR THE MOVIE till date are as follows.

Friday - 2,50,00,000 apprx

Saturday - 4,00,00,000 apprx

Sunday - 4,25,00,000 apprx

Monday - 1,50,00,000 apprx

DAAYRA collected 1.75 crore nett on Saturday adding to the 1 crore nett total on Friday which takes it to 2.75 crore nett in two days. The film had a BOGO offer on Saturday which was not there on Friday. So, the film probably grew more than it would have on fair value. The offer remains on Sunday and it remains to be seen where the film goes on the thirs day.

VIBE collected 2.75 crore nett on Saturday taking its total to 4.6 crore nett in two days. the jump here is less than DAAYRA as this film had 50% discount offer on Friday AND Saturday, which remains on Sunday. If these collections came without the offer, they would be respectable for the cast of the film though not the costs. Now, there is nothing much to say as you really don't know how much higher they are than fair value - 10%, 20% or 30%.

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DAAYRA did dull business in its first weekend collecting only 4.50 crore nett. There was some growth on Saturday but part of that would have been driven by the buy one get one free offer and even still it was not good enough. With such a low start, you probably have to be more than double the first day at the very least.

The film suffered on the account that there is so much of these crime stories on television that getting the audience to the theatre for similar content is probably an impossible task. You have a chance on word of mouth but that has to be outstanding when hardly anybody comes in the first place. The film had a Malayalam version also as the male lead is from that industry but the collections were negligible.

The collections of DAAYRA are as follows.

Friday - 1,00,00,000 apprx

Saturday - 1,75,00,000 apprx

Sunday -  1,75,00,000 apprx

VIBE has a done a little better than DAAYRA as it collected 7.50 crore nett plus over the weekend but there was an offer of discounted tickets for all three days which means collections were at least 10% higher than they should have been. It could be more than 10% as well. The growth over the weekend was like most regular films when it needed more.

The film has done better in Mumbai circuit as this type of comedy tends to do better in Mumbai city but even here the collections cant be called good. The film probably needed better support in the big centres of North India but with the film looking like a spoof, that was going to be tough. The film needs Monday to be around Friday which is hard but if it can fall around 25-30%, it can get some collections after the first week.

The collections of VIBE over the first weekend are as follows.

Friday - 1,85,00,000 apprx

Saturday - 2,75,00,000 apprx

Sunday -  3,00,00,000 apprx

Sex has always been a taboo topic in Indian society, often brushed under the carpet and not spoken about openly. However, actor Abhishek Banerjee, who recently starred in Lust Stories 3, feels that the current generation is changing that narrative by coming out and speaking more openly about things like wants and desires.

“Probably, when I was in college, I used to always feel that why don't people really talk about sex more openly, about their desires and needs. It was always about going indirectly but I think being direct is really cool. And this generation is doing it very well. Gen Z's as we call them. They are very vocal about whatever they want and need. If other people can do that too, especially the way the younger ones are doing, hopefully India will change over the period of next 10 years,” he says.

Abhishek Banerjee also gives credit to the millennials who evolved with time and are now inculcating that openness in their kids today.

“I really feel the millennial parents are doing a great job because I keep seeing this around my relatives and friends. It's opening up at least in the metros. Even schools are also taking note of it. In our time, it didn’t happen much. In biology, when that one chapter of reproduction would come, everybody would be like ‘oh’ and the teachers would also not talk about it. Now, at least it's a little more open than what it was,” he insists.

As for his part in his recent film, Banerjee admits he felt quite special being the object of affection of two women – Radhika Apte and Konkona Sen Sharma – in the film.

“For the first time, I have been objectified, that too with Radhika (looking at me) and it felt great,” he quips. However, his character falls under the grey shade in terms of loyalty. In his story, directed by Vikramaditya Motwane, Apte and Sharma’s characters decide to swing with their husbands.

Ask Banerjee how one decides when it is right or wrong to explore such avenues, and he says, “Usually when somebody faces neglect in a relationship, they would succumb to such temptations and that's exactly what I felt about my character. I really thought that Shona (Sen Sharma) and I are good, but something is not working out between her and me and probably this is not the first time he's done it.”