BY SUNIT JANGIR

Mumbai, August 21 - Bollywood star Akshay Kumar is teaming up with filmmaker Siddharth Anand for a big-scale action entertainer, to be directed by Milan Luthria. Anand will produce the movie with his wife Mamta Anand under their production company, Marflix.## According to the report by Pinkvilla, Akshay and Siddharth have been discussing a film for a while now and things finally come to fruition. It is said that Anand has got together the director-writer duo of Milan Luthria and Rajat Arora to develop an action film set against the zone of a vigilante film. ## The report further stated that Akshay Kumar was the unanimous choice of Siddharth Anand, Milan Luthria and Rajat Arora when the script was locked and the actor also felt that this was the right film for him to associate with at this point. ## It will be Akshay's second film with director Milan Luthria after 2013's gangster movie, Once Upon A Time in Mumbai Dobaara! The shooting and other cast details about their second collaboration are not yet locked but the movie is expected to go on floors by 2025.## Stay tuned...

BY SACNILK TEAM

Bengaluru, August 21 - Kannada actor and filmmaker Rishab Shetty, who recently secured a National Award win for Kantara, has criticised the Bollywood film industry as he thinks that it is a bad influencer and represents India in a negative light worldwide.## In a recent interview with MetroSaga (via News18), Shetty called out Bollywood for its portrayal of India at international film festivals. ## The actor said "Indian films, especially Bollywood, show India in a bad light. These art films are invited to global events and given a red carpet. My nation, my state, my language—my pride. Why not take it on a positive note globally, and that’s what I try to do".## Shetty's comments have sparked a heated debate online and criticism in return, with some netizens calling him out as a Bollywood hater and accusing him of hypocrisy as there is a video going viral on social media from a scene in 'Kantara' where Shetty's character pinches a female character's waist without her consent.## One of the X users hit out Shetty and wrote, "Such a jealous soul. Katter bollywood hater. He begged the Bollywood audience to support his third-class class overrated film that was filled with animal k!ling, s£x pervert, meat-eating, women abuser etc". Another user wrote, pointing out the actor, "With due respect, first stop female waist-pinching sequences in your movies. It looks totally disgusting. Pride, language come later".## Stay tuned...

BY SUNIT JANGIR

Mumbai, August 21 - Tamil star Vijay Sethupathi's action thriller Maharaja has scored another big win after the blockbuster box office performance. Directed by Nithilan Swaminathan, it has become the most-watched Indian movie of 2024 on Netflix.## Maharaja scored 1.3 million views in its 6th week which pushed its total viewership to 18.6 million on Netflix. This made it the most-watched Indian movie of the year on the streamer, beating Tabu, Kriti Sanon, and Kareena Kapoor's Crew which generated 17.90 million views during its stay in the top 10 movie chart. ## Earlier, Maharaja had one of the biggest opening weekends for an Indian movie of 2024 on Netflix with 3.2 million, beating the likes of Bade Miyan Chote Miyan (2.9 million views) and Laapataa Ladies (2.2 million views), and on par with Ajay Devgn's Shaitaan (3.2 million views), among others.## Currently, it is the only South Indian movie in the top 10 most-watched Indian titles of the year on Netflix. It is trending in the top 10 in 8 countries, including India, Thailand, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Oman, Pakistan, and Bangladesh.## Produced by The Route, Think Studios, and Passion Studios, the film stars Vijay Sethupathi in the title role, alongside Anurag Kashyap, Sachana Namidass, Mamta Mohandas, Natarajan Subramaniam, Abhirami Gopikumar, Aruldoss, Munishkanth, Manikandan, Singampuli and Bharathiraja.## Stay tuned...

BY SUNIT JANGIR

Mumbai, August 20 - India's music sensation, Arijit Singh has surpassed American singer-songwriter, Taylor Swift to become the most-followed artist on Spotify in the world, adding another feather to his hat full of accolades.## Arijit Singh now has 118.69 million Spotify followers, ahead of Swift's 118.68 million (as of August 20, 2024). Singh and Swift are two of the only three artists in the world with over 100 million Spotify followers. Ed Sheeran is at the third sport with 115.33 million followers.## Apart from being the most followed artist on this music platform, Singh has the highest daily listeners with 261.5K as well as weekly listeners with 971.3K on Spotify. ## In August 2023, Singh had a brief victory as he surpassed Swift, however, the pop sensation bounced back quickly. Singh made headlines when he became the first Indian music artist to cross 100 million followers on Spotify.## Stay tuned...

BY SUNIT JANGIR

Mumbai, August 20 - Shraddha Kapoor and Rajkummar Rao-fronted monstrous blockbuster Stree 2 has stormed past the 250 crores net collection after the extraordinary hold on its first working day, Tuesday with a drop of just around 35% from Monday. ## According to the early estimates, the horror-comedy scored in the range of 25 (+/-) crores net collection on its 6th day/first Tuesday. The hold becomes even more special knowing that the movie is coming after the heavily frontloaded holiday period of Independence Day and Raksha Bandhan.## The first Tuesday collection of Stree 2 takes its total to around 254 crores net in 6 days + previews. The movie will be aiming to finish its extended first week in the range of 285-290 crores net collection which is more than double the lifetime collection total of its predecessor (130 crores net).## Stree 2 will be crossing the 400 crores net collection mark in the second week and then will look to target the coveted 500 crores club. The movie has no real competition for, at least, two more weeks and that should be enough for it to achieve the magical box office milestone. ## Needless to say, Stree 2 is one of the rare mid-budget non-superstar films to score such a huge collection and it hasn't slowed down yet. Last year, it was Sunny Deol-fronted Gadar 2, which scored a historic collection of over 500 crores net during the same time, and now, Stree 2 is very much on track to repeat those numbers.## Stay tuned...

BY SACNILK TEAM

Mumbai, August 20 - Horror-comedy Bhool Bhulaiyaa is one of the most celebrated Bollywood film franchises and its third instalment, headlined by Kartik Aaryan, is hugely anticipated. Directed by Anees Bazmee, the movie is scheduled to hit the screens this Diwali. ## Akshay Kumar headlined the first Bhool Bhulaiyaa movie in 2007 before Kartik Aaryan replaced him in the sequel, released in 2022. It became a huge blockbuster and the makers immediately confirmed the threequel with Kartik returning to reprise his role with a new addition to the cast, Tripti Dimri as the female lead while Vidya Balan, who played Manjulika in the first movie, also returned to reprise her role in the upcoming film.## Over the last few days, there have been rumours that Akshay Kumar would also return to play a cameo role as Dr. Aditya "Adi" Shrivastav. While the rumours excited the fans of this blockbuster franchise, sadly, there is no truth in this as the actor has himself refuted his participation.## According to the report by Hindustan Times, when asked about the cameo rumours, Akshay Kumar replied, "No, absolutely not. It's fake news", putting breaks to all the rumours floating on social media. The actor had previously also denied the reports of returning to the franchise and has repeated the same this time as well. ## Meanwhile, Akshay has played a hilarious cameo in another horror-comedy, Stree 2 which is currently playing in theatres and the actor is getting a lot of praise. His, Khel Khel Mein in the lead role is running in theaters. ## Stay tuned...

BY SACNILK TEAM

Hyderabad, August 20 - Pan India superstar Prabhas and Sita Ramam director Hanu Raghavapudi have teamed up for the first time for a period action drama film. The movie, tentatively titled Fauji, was recently announced officially with Mythri Movie Makers coming on board to produce it. ## With the official announcement, debutante Imanvi was confirmed to play the female lead role opposite Prabhas in the film. Now, according to the report by Filmfare, the makers have also roped in Pakistani actress Sajal Ali to essay a pivotal role. ## Sajal Ali, a prominent face in Pakistani cinema, previously worked in India in the Bollywood movie Mom (2017) which was the last film of the legendary late actress Sridevi in a prominent role. The reports about Sajal featuring in Fauji have been making noise for the last couple of months and now, Filmfare confirmed that she is doing the movie. ## Fauji is said to be a period-action drama, set in the 1940s and is the tale of a warrior who rose from the shadows, emerging from a society that believed war was the only answer to the buried injustices and forgotten truths that history kept hidden from the world.## The shoot is expected to commence on August 24. ## Stay tuned...

BY SUNIT JANGIR

Mumbai, August 20 - Maddock Films and Jio Studios' horror-comedy Stree 2 has topped 1 crore (10 million) footfalls in just 5 days at the Indian box office, becoming the second fastest movie of 2024 to achieve the feat after Prabhas-fronted Kalki 2898 AD which did this in just 3 days.## Starring Shraddha Kapoor and Rajkummar Rao, Stree 2 has sold approximately 1.15 crores of tickets for the first five days + previews. It is the second Bollywood movie of the year to score 10 million or more footfalls after Hrithik Roshan and Deepika Padukone's Fighter which generated 1.17 crore footfalls.## Overall, Stree 2 has become the 5th film of the year to sell 10 million or more tickets at the Indian box office, which also includes Telugu blockbusters - Kalki (3.63+ crores), and Hanuman (1.44 crores) along with the all-time highest-grossing Malayalam movie, Manjummel Boys (1.16 crores). ## At the box office, Stree 2 has grossed approximately 275 crores domestically in 5 days which makes it the biggest Bollywood grosser of the year after beating Fighter (254 crores gross). Worldwide, the movie has crossed 300 crores gross collection at approximately 325 crores so far.## Stay tuned...

BY SACNILK TEAM

Mumbai, August 20 - A biopic on the former India cricketer, Yuvraj Singh has been officially announced. Bhushan Kumar of T-Series in association with Ravi Bhagchandka will produce this yet untitled film. ## While the details about the cast and crew are yet to be announced, the biopic will be a grand celebration of Yuvraj Singh's unparalleled journey and contributions to cricket, capturing the essence of his legendary career and his courageous off-field battles.## Yuvraj Singh is one of the most celebrated Indian cricketers of all time who made a significant contribution to India's T20I World Cup 2007 and ODI World Cup 2011 title triumphs. The biopic will also delve into his inspiring battle against cancer, showcasing his resilience and determination to overcome life's toughest challenges. ## Relive the legend's journey from the pitch to the heart of millions—Yuvraj Singh's story of grit and glory is coming soon on the big screen! 🎬#SixSixes@yuvstrong12 @ravi0404#BhushanKumar #KrishanKumar @shivchanana @neerajkalyan_24 #200NotOutCinema @TSeries pic.twitter.com/53MsfVH476— T-Series (@TSeries) August 20, 2024 ## Stay tuned...

BY SUNIT JANGIR

Mumbai, August 19 - Maddock Films and Jio Studios blockbuster Stree 2 once again hits it out of the park on its first Monday as the collection comfortably topped Friday numbers by a good margin due to the Raksha Bandhan holiday. ## According to the early estimates, the Shraddha Kapoor and Rajkummar Rao-fronted horror-comedy scored in the range of 36-38 crores net collection on its first Monday (5th day). This takes the total collection of the film to around 228 crores net which is sensational.## The movie is performing exceptionally well everywhere, especially in the mass belt which is going crazy. The Raksha Bandhan holiday provides an additional boost, especially in Gujarat. ## The holiday period is over but Stree 2 is expected to maintain a strong hold due to the super positive public reception and lack of competition from other movies. The movie will be looking to go past 260 crores net in the extended first week and then will break into the 300 crores mark by the second weekend.## Stay tuned...

BY SUNIT JANGIR

Mumbai, August 19 - Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan is all set to make a comeback in the Race franchise to headline Race 4 which is currently in the scripting stage as the makers aim to take it on floors by 2025, according to the report by Pinkivlla. ## Saif Ali Khan has been an integral part of this action thriller franchise, however, after headlining the first two movies, he missed out on Race 3 which was released in 2018 with Salman Khan in the lead role. The movie was average box office success which temporarily put breaks on the franchise.## It is reported that Saif has been discussing Race 4 with producer Ramesh Taurani for a while now and the duo has finally come to the agreement of rebooting the franchise with Race 4. The actor has agreed in principle and is excited to get into the world of Race again. ## The basic plot of the 4th instalment of the franchise has reportedly been locked and the team is presently working on the screenplay. While Saif Ali Khan is confirmed to lead, the casting for other actors is said to be underway and the makers are also in talks with a couple of directors to helm the film.## The Race franchise kicked off in 2008 and was a box office hit with over 100 crores worldwide gross collection. Race 2 was released 5 years after the movie in 2013 and it was also a box office hit with 162 crores globally. It took another 5 years for the next and third instalment to hit the screens in 2018. It is the highest-grossing film in the series so far with approximately 300 crores worldwide.## Stay tuned...

BY SUNIT JANGIR

Mumbai, August 19 - It didn't take much time for the sensational blockbuster Stree 2 to emerge as the biggest Bollywood grosser of 2024 at the domestic box office. The horror-comedy, starring Shraddha Kapoor and Rajkummar Rao, down Hrithik Roshan's Fighter in just 5 days to become the number 1 Bollywood title of the year. ## Fighter, released during the Republic Day weekend, scored approximately 212.75 crores net/255 crores gross in its lifetime run and Stree 2 has surpassed this total in under 5 days. Directed by Amar Kaushik, the movie is looking to score 30+ crores net on its 5th day which will take its total collection to 220+ crores net. ## Meanwhile, Stree 2 has beaten Chhichhore (153 crores net) along with Tu Jhoothi Main Makkar (147 crores net) and Saaho (145 crores net) on its 4th day to become Shraddha Kapoor's highest-grossing movie domestically in Hindi. As reported earlier, it is the actress' 7th movie to top 100 crores net and first to breach 200 crores mark. ## In terms of the Hindi box office, Stree 2 is currently behind Kalki 2898 AD (293+ crores net) as the second biggest grosser of the year. Overall, it has become the 31st biggest grosser in Hindi and is likely to enter the top 25 by Tuesday. ## Stay tuned...