Ravi Kumar Seerapu

BY CHRISTA LINCY

Rajkumar Santoshi's latest directorial project, Batwara 1947, has been in theaters since its release on August 14, 2026. The film focuses on the Partition of India but centers its narrative on themes of humanity and communal harmony rather than just the conflict itself. According to an exclusive report by Bollywood Hungama, Santoshi is now organizing a special screening of the film in Mumbai. This event is specifically designed for spiritual and faith leaders from various communities to discuss the message of love and unity depicted in the movie. The gathering is expected to include a wide range of representatives from different faiths. Among the prominent names attending are Maharishi Bhrigu Pithadhishwar Mahamandleshwar Shri Guruji Goswami Sushil Giri Ji Maharaj and Yoga Manishi Acharya Shri Vivek Muni Ji Maharaj. Other religious figures include Father Norbert Herman SVD, representing the Catholic Archbishop of Delhi, and Paramjeet Singh Chandhok Ji. The screening will also see the presence of Islamic scholars like Allama Bunai Hasani, Maulana Naushad Ahmad Siddiqui, and Mufti Ziyayee Hazrat, alongside Buddhist monk Ven. Bhante Purn. Bringing such a diverse group together suggests that the filmmakers want to position Batwara 1947 as a bridge for interfaith dialogue. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}) One of the significant talking points surrounding the film is the professional reunion of Rajkumar Santoshi and Sunny Deol. This collaboration comes nearly thirty years after their last project, which has naturally created interest among long-time fans of their previous work. The movie features a notable ensemble cast including Shabana Azmi, Preity G Zinta, Karan Deol, Ali Fazal, and Abhimanyu Singh. By involving spiritual leaders, the production is attempting to validate the film’s portrayal of a sensitive historical period through the lens of those who lead diverse religious communities. On the technical side, the film carries a high level of pedigree. It is produced by Aamir Khan Productions, with music composed by A. R. Rahman and lyrics written by Javed Akhtar. This combination of talent highlights the scale on which the film has been mounted. The decision to hold this multi-faith screening indicates a move to ensure the film's message of harmony is received correctly across different social segments. For a historical drama based on the Partition, this approach serves as a logical step to address the complexities of the subject matter while fostering a sense of collective resilience.

BY JITU JANGIR

WWE has officially filed to trademark “Viktor Zanov,” the ring name currently being used by former Olympic judoka Aaron Fara as he continues his development with WWE EVOLVE. WWE submitted the trademark filing for the Viktor Zanov name for use across its professional wrestling and sports entertainment services. The filing covers live wrestling performances as well as appearances through television, radio, internet and other broadcast platforms. The complete purpose listed in the filing reads: “Entertainment services, namely, wrestling exhibitions and performances by a professional wrestler and entertainer rendered live and through broadcast media including television and radio, and via the internet or commercial online service; providing wrestling news and information via a global computer network; providing information in the fields of sports and entertainment via an online community portal; providing a website in the field of sports entertainment information; fan club services, namely, organizing sporting events in the field of wrestling for wrestling fan club members; organizing social entertainment events for entertainment purposes for wrestling fan club members; providing online newsletters in the fields of sports entertainment; online journals, namely blogs, in the field of sports entertainment.” The Viktor Zanov name belongs to Aaron Fara, an Austrian judoka who competed at the 2024 Paris Olympics before making the transition into professional wrestling. Fara represented Austria in the men's 100kg division and also competed in the mixed team competition. After moving into WWE's developmental system, Fara was given the Viktor Zanov name and began appearing on WWE EVOLVE. Zanov has also been working alongside fellow former Olympic judoka Shido Ash, whose real name is Shady Elnahas. The two have been presented together on EVOLVE as WWE continues to develop them as professional wrestlers.

BY JITU JANGIR

Ron Simmons has revealed how his famous “Damn” catchphrase became part of WWE television, explaining that it was never originally created by the company and instead started with fans hearing something he naturally said when things went wrong in the ring. Simmons’ one-word “Damn” became closely associated with him during his WWE career. Long after his run with JBL as the APA, Simmons would regularly make brief appearances on WWE programming, deliver the word in his unmistakable voice and immediately get a reaction from the crowd. Speaking on INSIGHT with Chris Van Vliet, Simmons said he had been saying “Damn” naturally during matches whenever he pulled a muscle, something went wrong, or another wrestler did something he did not like. “When we were working together, right, and I’d pull a muscle or do something, right, or somebody would do something stupid in the ring and I’d just stand there, ‘Damn,’ you know, because something had just happened that we didn’t agree on or I didn’t agree on, right?” It wasn't initially intended for the audience. However, Simmons and the APA regularly returned to the same towns, allowing fans sitting close to the ring to hear him saying it. Eventually, those fans began repeating it back to him. “So, the people—and we would go back to the towns each time, right? So the people within like the first 10 rows could hear me, right? They just start saying, ‘Damn, Ron. Damn.’ So I look at him and I said, ‘Hey, man. What the hell are they saying that?’” Simmons recalled that Booker T and John Cena were involved in an exchange in Chicago when WWE's writers instructed him to simply walk onto the stage after they finished and say the word. “So the writers, they got wind of it, right? And said, ‘Look, the next time that, you know, Booker T and John Cena were having an exchange in Chicago,’ and he said, ‘Just walk out there. Just walk out there and just simply say damn after they finished with their exchange.’” Simmons did exactly that, but even he wasn't prepared for the crowd's response. “And when I did that, the people sat—these people sat there for a moment, then they just went crazy, and that’s when ‘Damn’ was born.” The reaction was strong enough that WWE quickly realized it had something it could continue using. Simmons also revealed that merchandise followed almost immediately after the catchphrase caught on. When asked how long it took before he received a “Damn” T-shirt, Simmons simply responded: “Hey, instantly.” Looking back, Simmons joked that knowing how much reaction he could generate from one word made him wonder why he had spent so many years taking bumps inside the ring. “My only thing about that was that if I had known something like that like 30 years ago, I never would have taken a bump. I would have never taken a bump. I’d just walked out there and said, ‘Damn.’” Simmons believes the success of the catchphrase wasn't simply about the word itself. His delivery and the situation surrounding it were what made audiences respond. “Sometimes it’s not about just the word itself, you know. It’s in the context and the delivery, you know, in which it’s done.”

BY JITU JANGIR

JBL and Ron Simmons have explained why the APA eventually had to come to an end, with Simmons saying the timing was right for his longtime partner to leave the tag team behind and finally receive his opportunity as a singles star. The APA became one of WWE’s most popular teams during the Attitude Era. Bradshaw and Faarooq initially worked together as The Acolytes before evolving into the Acolytes Protection Agency, better known as the APA. The beer-drinking, cigar-smoking pair became known for their backstage office, poker games and hard-hitting matches, while also winning WWE's tag team titles three times. Their partnership ultimately reached its end in 2004. In storyline, SmackDown General Manager Paul Heyman put the APA's jobs on the line against Rikishi and Scotty 2 Hotty. After the APA lost, Heyman fired Simmons but informed Bradshaw that he could remain with WWE. The breakup opened the way for Bradshaw's transformation into JBL and his move into the WWE Championship picture. JBL & Ron Simmons recently appeared on INSIGHT with Chris Van Vliet and explained why a gimmick that appeared capable of continuing had to finish, Simmons said the pair had already enjoyed several successful years together and believed the timing was right for JBL to get his singles opportunity. “We did it what, six years, right? Something like five, six years, right? And it was good though at that point to where it had come to that because, you know, it come to the point to where we was at on top with doing it and we'd had a lot of success with it.” Simmons had already experienced success as a singles wrestler before the APA, including becoming WCW World Heavyweight Champion. By the time their WWE partnership was nearing its conclusion, he felt JBL was the one who needed the opportunity to see what he could accomplish alone. “Myself having already gone through being world champion, had a good singles thing behind me. His thing was struggling coming up through the ranks, man. And the timing was perfect for him to go on and do his thing.” Simmons went further by saying the popularity the APA had built could be transferred directly into JBL's next chapter. “It was perfect timing for him to go on from there, from that momentum we had, and to go on and do what he did.” JBL's singles career changed almost immediately. He was repackaged as the wealthy John “Bradshaw” Layfield and entered a program with WWE Champion Eddie Guerrero. JBL has said that Vince McMahon personally called him about taking the opportunity, while Simmons believes his partner had already spent years preparing for that chance. JBL would defeat Guerrero for the WWE Championship at The Great American Bash in June 2004, beginning a title reign that lasted until WrestleMania 21, where John Cena defeated him. WWE itself has described JBL's singles pursuit as what followed his separation from Simmons. Despite what followed, JBL has repeatedly made clear that leaving the APA was not something he personally wanted. He has said he would have been perfectly satisfied finishing his wrestling career alongside Simmons and later admitted that he “absolutely hated” their 2004 breakup, even though he understood what WWE had planned for him.

BY JITU JANGIR

WWE appears to be heading toward a packed house for this week’s SmackDown, with more than 14,000 tickets reportedly sold for the August 21 episode in Toronto after the company saw much smaller crowds for some SmackDown events only a few weeks ago. Friday Night SmackDown will take place on Friday, August 21, 2026, at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. WWE's television broadcast begins at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on USA Network and internationally on Netflix. WWE is promoting CM Punk, Kevin Owens, Cody Rhodes, Charlotte Flair and Sami Zayn among the featured names for the show. The biggest story heading into the event is the ticket count. According to a ticket-sales update, WWE has already moved more than 14,000 tickets, with the event expected to approach or reach a sellout. That represents a sharp rise compared with SmackDown events from only a few weeks earlier that were reportedly drawing around the 5,000 range. The surge comes despite SmackDown's decline in television viewership last week. According to Wrestlenomics data, the August 14 episode averaged 1.247 million viewers on USA Network, down from 1.470 million viewers on August 7. The 18-49 rating also dropped from 0.35 to 0.30. While the TV numbers moved in the opposite direction, WWE has loaded the Toronto event with one of SmackDown's strongest attractions in recent weeks.

BY JITU JANGIR

JBL has opened up about the start of his rise to the WWE Championship, explaining that while he finally received the opportunity he had been waiting for, having Eddie Guerrero across the ring from him gave the newly created JBL character exactly what it needed. JBL and Guerrero became one of WWE’s central rivalries in 2004 after Bradshaw was repackaged as the wealthy and outspoken John “Bradshaw” Layfield. Guerrero was WWE Champion at the time, while JBL was attempting to establish himself as a singles star following the end of the APA. Their rivalry eventually led to JBL defeating Guerrero for the WWE Championship at The Great American Bash. While speaking on INSIGHT with Chris Van Vliet about how the opportunity came together, JBL admitted he knew WWE was giving him a chance, but repeatedly credited the timing and Guerrero for helping everything fall into place. “I knew I was going to have the opportunity. Yeah, absolutely. I knew I’d have the opportunity. I knew because they made the character for Eddie Guerrero. So, I knew I had the opportunity. They called me specifically for—we got a match at Staples Center in six weeks, eight weeks, whenever it was. And I just got lucky.” Ron Simmons immediately pushed back against JBL describing himself as lucky. Simmons argued that his longtime APA partner had spent years preparing for the opportunity, including working around the world before eventually finding his place in WWE. “No, he didn’t get lucky, man. Listen, he didn’t get lucky. Too humble. No, no, he didn’t get lucky. Like I said before, okay, and which is cool, I understand where he coming from. Well, he had put his work in. Okay. Germany, Japan, traveling all around, doing the things that people don’t get to see, living in and out of a car, sleazy ass hotels and motel and that kind of thing, right?” Simmons believed everything lined up at exactly the right point in JBL’s career. The APA had reached its conclusion, and WWE suddenly needed someone to work opposite Guerrero. “It was a absolute perfect moment for that. Any other phase, I believe, would have altered that run that he had. The timing was perfect. He was prepared for it.” JBL agreed that the way the APA ended helped put him in position for the opportunity. However, he again credited Guerrero when discussing whether the new character would actually succeed. “Ron had set me up perfectly with the way that the APA quit, you know, and all of a sudden you needed somebody for Eddie Guerrero and Vince called me and asked me if I wanted to take a shot at it and so I knew I had the chance. Now whether he was going to be successful or not, you know, was up to what was going to happen in that match.” Guerrero’s involvement extended beyond simply being JBL’s opponent. JBL recalled that Guerrero enjoyed the character and would even call him with ideas for things JBL could say or do during their rivalry. “Eddie loved the JBL character. You know, he called me one time. He’s like 2 o’clock in the morning. He goes, ‘Essay, I got something for you.’” The partnership between the two ultimately helped turn JBL from one half of the APA into a WWE Champion. JBL may still describe himself as fortunate to have received the opportunity, but Simmons made his position clear: the years of work had prepared JBL for it, and the timing of the APA ending and Guerrero needing a new opponent allowed everything to come together.

BY JITU JANGIR

Before they became known as the Acolytes Protection Agency, JBL and Ron Simmons had already established themselves as a tough tag team in WWE. The APA eventually took that identity in a different direction, with the two men regularly shown drinking beer, playing cards and getting into fights in bars and backstage areas. The gimmick became one of the most understood parts of their run together. According to JBL and Simmons Chris Van Vliet, however, those bar-fight segments were not produced like carefully choreographed movie scenes. The pair recalled that WWE did not have many established rules for the type of destruction they were asked to perform, and some of the chaos came from simply figuring things out as they went. JBL explained that the APA's segments were happening at a time when wrestlers were not working with the same type of stunt coordination that is common in entertainment today. “We had real people ask if it was real beer. Yes. It was real every time. I didn’t even know if they had fake Hollywood beer at the time. We didn’t have OSHA. We didn’t have none of that crap. We had the first ladder matches and stuff. We didn’t have stunt coordinators. We were just guys doing stuff and hoping it worked.” The former WWE Champion then recalled one particular bar-fight segment involving Bull Buchanan that went wrong in a way that became another memorable APA story. JBL said he was supposed to throw Buchanan through a gimmicked wall, but Buchanan warned him that they were heading toward the wrong wall. The situation did not go according to plan, and the two ended up crashing through the wall and into a bathroom. “I’ve got Bull Buchanan. I’m going to throw him through a wall and we gimmick the wall and Bull says, ‘That’s the wrong wall.’ And I go, ‘I’m sorry.’ We go through a wall. We land in a toilet. He didn’t go through. He went through it. We land by a toilet. We went through a wall and went into a bathroom.” The story became even more unusual when the two explained who owned the bar where the segment took place. According to JBL and Simmons, the owner, Tim White, would actually give them instructions about what he wanted destroyed because he planned to replace certain items afterward. White's instructions reportedly turned the destruction into something of a renovation project. “Tim would give us a list of stuff he wanted broken so we could rebuild it. He had a jukebox that didn’t even work and we threw a guy through the jukebox by Tim’s request. He got like a digital jukebox to replace it. He had an analog television that didn’t work. He goes, ‘Guys, would you guys break my television?’ He got like a flat-screen TV to replace it.” Simmons added that the APA essentially ended up rebuilding the bar through their WWE segments. “We rebuilt his bar, man. Rebuilt his entire bar.” JBL then recalled how Vince McMahon was surprised by how much of the bar had to be replaced. “Vince told us, he goes, ‘I had no idea that I was going to rebuild Tim’s entire bar.’” The APA's bar-fight material was also tied closely to the pair's beer-drinking gimmick. JBL confirmed that the beer seen during some of their segments was not always fake, which occasionally created problems when they had to perform afterward. He recalled one incident at the Staples Center when the APA had been drinking before they were suddenly told they needed to perform live. “We had sat back there and got drunk. Again. Is that a common occurrence? It was. We had real people ask if it was real beer. Yes. Yes, it was real every time. And they go, ‘Guys, you got to go live. You got to get this right this time.’ And I said, ‘Why are we about to go live?’ They go, ‘No, you’re slurring your words.’” The stories help explain why the APA's segments often felt different from standard WWE backstage skits. JBL and Simmons were not simply playing two characters who happened to fight in bars; their real friendship and willingness to participate in the chaos became a large part of what made the act work. JBL and Simmons have previously described the APA as a natural fit because of the close relationship they had developed over the years. In the interview, they also discussed how that friendship helped them create a tag team that felt believable to fans. The bar fights ultimately became one of the defining elements of the APA era, alongside their famous office, poker games, beer-drinking segments and the iconic door. The new details from JBL and Simmons show just how much of the destruction was built around practical setups, real reactions and the trust they had in each other.

BY CHRISTA LINCY

Awarapan 2 has completed its sixth day at the box office with a steady performance. On Wednesday, the film earned 6.75 crore rupees net, which is a 30.8 percent drop from the 9.75 crore rupees it collected on Tuesday. It is worth noting that Tuesday numbers were boosted by discounted ticket offers, which usually leads to a natural dip on the following Wednesday. Despite this midweek decline, the film has successfully passed the 100 crore mark in India net earnings, reaching a total of 107.50 crore rupees so far. The total India gross has reached 128.29 crore rupees, showing a solid domestic footprint. The international market is also providing a reliable stream of revenue, adding 1.50 crore rupees on Wednesday to bring the overseas gross to 25.30 crore rupees. This pushes the overall worldwide gross to 153.59 crore rupees within six days of release. For a sequel of this scale, hitting the 150 crore worldwide mark this early suggests a consistent level of interest from both local and international audiences. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}) The occupancy levels for the Hindi 2D version provide a clearer understanding of how the audience is distributed throughout the day. On Wednesday, the overall occupancy was 16.72 percent. There was a noticeable progression in attendance as the day moved forward; morning shows started at 9.54 percent, followed by 16.62 percent in the afternoon and 16.92 percent in the evening. The night shows saw the highest engagement at 21.77 percent, which is a typical trend for urban centers where office-goers prefer late screenings. Geographically, the National Capital Region (NCR) continues to be the primary driver for the film, hosting 1,158 shows with an occupancy of 17 percent. Mumbai follows as another significant hub with 862 shows and 16.3 percent occupancy. Other regions like Bengaluru and Ahmedabad also showed decent interest, with 302 shows at 16 percent and 605 shows at 11.5 percent occupancy respectively. While Pune maintained 14 percent occupancy across 410 shows, Surat saw a lower turnout at 6.8 percent across 361 shows. This regional data suggests that the film pull is strongest in major metropolitan clusters. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}) One of the more significant milestones for the film is its performance on digital platforms. Awarapan 2 has officially surpassed 2 million ticket sales on BookMyShow. On Wednesday specifically, the platform recorded 94,440 ticket bookings, contributing to a total of roughly 20.40 lakh tickets sold since the release. In the national multiplex chains, the film maintained a fair pace for a Wednesday. Total tickets sold across PVR, INOX, and Cinepolis for the day reached approximately 9,500, generating a gross of about 25 lakh rupees. PVR led these bookings with roughly 5,300 tickets, followed by INOX with 3,500 and Cinepolis with around 600 tickets. Trade analysts are currently projecting a first-week total in the range of 117 crore rupees. If the film achieves this, it will be considered a very strong performance for its opening week. However, the real test will be the second weekend and the subsequent midweek run. A significant factor to watch is the release of Toxic on Wednesday, August 26. The arrival of such a high-profile competitor will likely impact the screen count and daily collections of Awarapan 2. Therefore, the next few days will be crucial in determining the lifetime business potential of the film before it faces major market competition.

BY SUNIT JANGIR

Mumbai, August 20 - Bollywood star Sunny Deol's winning streak is coming to an end, with Batwara 1947 turning out to be a box office failure. The actor had been on a winning run after his massive comeback with Gadar 2 in 2023, before Rajkumar Santoshi-directed partition drama put the brake on it. The movie arrived on August 14, during the Independence Day holiday, working in its favour. However, the film has failed to sustain audience interest and has fallen well behind Emraan Hashmi's Awarapan 2, which was released on the same day. Batwara 1947 had collected around 32 crore net in India in 6 days, with day-wise collections continuing to drop. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}) The setback becomes more significant when viewed against Sunny Deol's extraordinary post-Gadar 2 phase. Gadar 2 turned into a historic blockbuster in 2023 and revived Deol's box-office standing, while action drama Jaat followed it with a decent success in 2025 before Border 2 emerged as one of the biggest grossers of the year so far, further strengthening his position as a major mass-market star. Expectations were therefore high when he reunited with Rajkumar Santoshi, with Aamir Khan backing the project. Yet Batwara 1947 opened to only around 5.75 crore net, and although the Independence Day holiday provided a substantial boost, the film could not maintain that momentum once the holiday period ended. The biggest warning sign has been the sharp weekday drop. After benefiting from the Independence Day weekend, Batwara 1947 witnessed a steep decline in collections, indicating that the film was heavily dependent on the holiday audience rather than strong, sustained word of mouth. At the same time, Awarapan 2 continued to gain momentum and crossed the 100 crore mark in India within 5 days. The contrast between the two films has been stark, with Emraan Hashmi's sequel increasingly commanding the audience's preference and putting additional pressure on Batwara 1947's screen count. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}) Batwara 1947's failure also raises questions about the limits of Sunny Deol's post-Gadar 2 stardom. His recent success has largely come from mass-oriented films built around action, emotion and nostalgia, whereas Batwara 1947 is a period drama dealing with the Partition. Despite the powerful subject and respected names behind it, the film has not managed to create the same theatrical urgency. The ongoing screen-sharing tussle with Awarapan 2 has further complicated matters, with distributors of the Sunny Deol starrer reportedly seeking to retain shows at single-screen cinemas in the second week. Ultimately, Batwara 1947 is a setback, but not necessarily a setback for Sunny Deol's entire comeback story. The actor has already demonstrated with Gadar 2 and Border 2 that he can deliver major theatrical numbers when the project connects with the mass audience. What the film does show, however, is that the post-Gadar 2 hysteria cannot guarantee success on its own. Deol's upcoming choices will now be closely watched to see whether he can once again find the right combination of character, genre and mass appeal that turned his comeback into one of the biggest stories in recent Hindi cinema.

BY CHRISTA LINCY

Yash is returning to the big screen with his upcoming project, Toxic, and the early metrics indicate a strong level of audience anticipation. According to recent tracking, the film has officially crossed 1 million interests on the BookMyShow platform. This is a significant milestone as it makes Toxic the 14th Indian film to reach this mark. For Yash personally, this is his second film to achieve this level of engagement, following the massive success of KGF Chapter 2. Take a look at the other titles that have crossed this threshold. Vikram – 2.3M Valimai – 2.2M KGF 2 – 2.1M Pushpa 2: The Rule – 2M Salaar: Part 1 – Ceasefire – 1.9M RRR – 1.7M Baahubali 2: The Conclusion – 1.5M Leo – 1.4M Kalki 2898 AD – 1.2M Adipurush – 1.1M War 2 – 1.1M Jana Nayagan – 1.1M Toxic – 1M+ (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}) The international market is also showing early signs of momentum. Data provided by Venky Box Office regarding USA premiere advance sales reveals that the film has grossed 146,251 dollars with six days still remaining before the first screenings. This collection comes from 6,787 tickets sold across 256 locations and 700 shows. When we look at the state-wise breakdown in the US, Texas is currently the leading market with 52,688 dollars in sales, followed by California at 23,791 dollars. These two states alone account for a significant portion of the early revenue. The language-wise distribution of these sales provides a clear look at the current audience demographics in the US. The Telugu version is leading with 83,580 dollars, which aligns with the fact that Telugu-speaking populations in hubs like Texas and California are traditionally the most active consumers of Indian cinema abroad. The Kannada version follows with 62,487 dollars, indicating that the Kannada diaspora is showing strong support for their home-industry star. In contrast, the Hindi version is currently at a much lower starting point of 184 dollars from just 12 tickets. This gap suggests that while Yash has a massive mass pocket following across India, the early international momentum is being driven primarily by South Indian regional bases. When compared to the pre-release trajectory of KGF 2, the current pace for Toxic appears noticeably slower. However, since full-fledged advance bookings have not yet opened across all major chains and territories, it is a wait-and-watch situation to see if the numbers pick up once the general audience starts booking closer to the premiere date. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}) Beyond the financial figures, the nature of the film’s content has become a major talking point due to recent censorship ratings. Toxic has received an 18 rating from the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC), which is the highest possible restrictive rating. The BBFC gave the film a 5/5 score for violence, sex, and injury detail, specifically flagging the production for depictions of threats, drugs, sexual violence, and self-harm. This makes it a notably more intense release than previous films like Dhurandhar, which also featured significant action sequences. This international rating aligns with the domestic certification, as the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) in India has granted the film an 'A' certificate. The decision to maintain such high-intensity content suggests that the director, Geetu Mohandas, is leaning into a gritty, adult-oriented narrative style. This approach contrasts with the more traditional hero-centric spectacles and positions Toxic as a film intended for a mature audience.

BY CHRISTA LINCY

Recent booking figures show how Teja Sajja's latest film, Mirai, is performing in the Japanese market. According to recent tracking of Day-1 advance bookings, the movie has secured the seventh position among the top ten Indian films in that market. This placement is notable because it has moved ahead of established commercial hits like Baahubali 2, Dhurandhar 2, and Tiger Zinda Hai in terms of early ticket sales. For a film led by a relatively young actor, sitting just behind major productions like RRR, Muthu, Pushpa 2: The Rule, Devara, and Salaar: Part 1 – Ceasefire indicates a clear interest in this particular genre from Japanese audiences. The financial data shows a balanced performance between domestic and international markets. Mirai has accumulated a total worldwide collection of 144.21 crore rupees. Looking at the internal numbers, the India gross stands at 111.41 crore rupees, which translates to a net collection of 94.86 crore rupees. The overseas market has contributed 32.80 crore rupees, making up about 22.74 percent of the total business. With these collection figures, the film is a superhit. This suggests that the momentum Teja Sajja built with his previous work in HanuMan has helped establish a reliable floor for his subsequent releases. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}) The direction and cinematography are handled by Karthik Gattamneni, who is known for his work on films like Eagle. His involvement typically means a focus on high-contrast visuals and a specific technical style. The story is rooted in historical and mythological elements, centering on Emperor Ashoka the Great and the legend of nine sacred scriptures hidden after the battle of Kalinga. The narrative follows a young orphan, played by Teja Sajja, who discovers he is part of a lineage tasked with protecting these books from a dark force. This blend of history with the superhero genre provides the context for why the film is being marketed as a large-scale visual project. The conflict in the film is driven by the interaction between Teja Sajja's character, the Super Yodha, and the antagonist played by Manchu Manoj. Manoj takes on the role of the Black Sword, a character seeking the immortality promised by the ancient scriptures. This traditional hero-versus-villain dynamic, set against a backdrop of ancient secrets and modern action, seems to be a significant factor in its international appeal. By focusing on a self-contained mythological world, the film manages to bypass some of the cultural barriers that often limit regional films in foreign markets. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}) Comparing these numbers to previous records shows a logical trend. While it is not yet reaching the total volume of RRR, ranking seventh in advance bookings in Japan is an objective metric of growth for this tier of Indian cinema. The fact that it has two more days of advance booking left suggests the ranking could stabilize or even improve slightly before the full release.

BY SUNIT JANGIR

Mumbai, August 20 - The screen-sharing battle between Batwara 1947 and Awarapan 2 has entered a fresh round, with the distributor of the Sunny Deol starrer reportedly pushing for theatrical showcasing at single-screen cinemas. The latest development comes at a crucial juncture, with exhibitors already facing pressure to accommodate the strong demand for Awarapan 2 while another major release, Yash's Toxic, is arriving in theatres on August 26. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}) According to a report by Bollywood Hungama, the distributor of Batwara 1947 has asked single-screen theatres to allot at least one show per day to the Sunny Deol film from August 21. The request has reportedly put exhibitors in a difficult position, as several single screens are keen on giving maximum shows to Awarapan 2, which has been generating stronger audience demand. The situation becomes even more complicated because the distributor of Awarapan 2 is reportedly seeking all shows at single screens through August 27. However, with Toxic scheduled to release on Wednesday, August 26, exhibitors will have to make room for Yash's much-awaited action thriller as well. This effectively turns the show allocation battle into a three-way tussle during a crucial week for the theatrical business. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}) The distributors and exhibitors are now reportedly engaged in discussions to arrive at a workable solution. While Batwara 1947 is seeking at least a basic presence at single screens, Awarapan 2 is looking to capitalise on its current momentum, and Toxic will demand substantial showcasing once it arrives. The final show allocation across single screens is expected to become clearer soon, with the coming days likely to determine which film gets the maximum advantage in these crucial territories.