SIKANDAR was the tenth highest first weekend for Salman Khan at 70 crore nett plus when the target was to get to 100 crore nett over three days. The 100 crore target is also because the music or trailers did not generate much heat because if they did then there is no target as the sky is the limit.

The last release for Salman Khan had collected 138 crore nett on a similar weekend with a Sunday start and at that time this number was also looked at as if it was on the lower side which was not the case. The numbers were double of SIKANDAR; its another story that TIGER 3 was not appreciated but the initial was very good.

SIKANDAR has similar numbers to DABANGG 3 which was released in 2019 just before the pandemic and its numbers are actually not much higher than KISI KA BHAI KISI KI JAAN which did 58 crore nett. TIGER 3 was double its weekend numbers in terms of its lifetime business and that will be the case for SIKANDAR as well.

The top ten opening weekends for Salman Khan are as follows.  

1. Tiger 3 - 1,38,56,00,000

2. Tiger Zinda Hai - 1,14,91,00,000

3. Sultan - 1,05,55,00,000

4. Bajrangi Bhaijaan - 1,01,42,00,000

5. Race 3 - 1,00,64,00,000

6. Prem Ratan Dhan Payo - 97,63,00,000

7. Bharat - 90,47,00,000

8. Kick - 80,43,00,000

9. Dabangg 3 - 72,46,00,000

11. Tubelight - 61,53,00,000

12. Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan - 58,56,00,000

13. Dabangg 2 - 48,43,00,000

14. Jai Ho - 58,17,00,000

15. Ek Tha Tiger - 56,11,00,000

SIKANDAR collected 18.5 crore nett on its third day which was a partial holiday for Eid which enabled the collections to remain steady in parts of the country. The collections are mainly driven by the UP area which remained similar to the Eid holiday on Monday and this also enabled the Delhi/UP to hold collections at the first day level.

The last release for Salman Khan, TIGER 3, had collected 138 crore nett on a similar weekend with a Sunday start and at that time, this number was also looked at as if it was on the lower side which was not the case. The numbers were double of SIKANDAR; its another story that TIGER 3 was not appreciated but the initial was very good.

A circuit like East Punjab saw a huge drop as here, its a normal day after the national holiday for Eid. Eventually, other parts will come to the same level. The film will show big drops over the next few days but may get some respite over the weekend but Saturday may see limited upturn due to reports.

The three day number is 70.5 crore nett and its probably going to be the weekend when it reaches 100 crore nett unless the Eid areas hold up better than expected over the next two days. Mysore is a circuit that can be said to be doing okay mainly as these types do less there but the Hindi belt is awful.

The collections of SIKANDAR till date are as follows. 

Sunday - 25,00,00,000

Monday - 27,00,00,000

Tuesday - 18,50,00,000

On Monday night, many accounts on X posted a video in which movie-goers, after apparently having watched Sikandar, are expressing their disappointment with the Salman Khan-starrer. Soon, it came to light that it was, in fact, an old video of viewers reacting to Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan (2023), but was being circulated on X as a reaction to Khan’s latest release. What’s worse, it was being run as an ad on the platform.

While Sikandar has opened to poor reviews and an underwhelming response, members of Khan’s fan clubs suspect that negative advertising is being used to influence the audience’s perception of the Eid release.

Ravi Desai, who runs the Salman Khan Fan Club, says that negativity around the A R Murugadoss-directed venture is being artificially inflated. “It remains to be seen whether this campaign is driven by someone in the industry, or just an aggressive push by rival fan groups. But something like this has the power to wipe off a film. It happened during Tubelight [2017]. You can’t combat these posts because there is most likely an agency hired and it is multiplying bots every hour. [Many posts] claimed that shows are cancelled, but if you check at Gaiety Galaxy, the shows are sold out,” he argues.

Rohit Sharma, who runs the fan club, Salman Army, points out how a boycott campaign had been run against Laal Singh Chaddha (2021). “We saw how online hate ensured that people stayed away from Aamir Khan’s film. Something similar is happening here. Why is an old video being sold as a reaction to Sikandar,” he questions, adding that those at the helm of it are setting a “dangerous precedent”.

“If an agency can be hired to run paid ads and amplify negative tweets about a film, it can be used against any actor or filmmaker in the future. It’s manipulation,” he says.

Pakistani actor Fawad Khan is set to return to Hindi cinema with Abir Gulaal, co-starring Vaani Kapoor, nine years after his last release, Ae Dil Hai Mushkil. Pakistani artistes were banned in India following the 2016 Uri attacks. In 2023, the Bombay High Court ruled against a petition that aimed to ban Pakistani artistes from working or performing in India. However, the industry and some political bodies are against the comeback of artistes from Pakistan.

Sandeep Deshpande, city chief, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), told us, “Our stand is very clear. We will not entertain any movie that has Pakistani artistes. And if such a film is released, we will agitate the MNS way.”

Ameya Khopkar, a spokesperson for MNS, wrote on X, “Humein aaj hi iss film ke release ki jaankari mili. Lekin hum saaf taur par yeh keh rahe hain ki hum iss film ko Maharashtra mein release nahin hone denge.”

We reached out to producer Vivek B Agrawal and Vaani’s team, but there was no response till the time of going to press.

“We are still facing attacks by Pakistan. This is insensitive on the part of certain people in this industry. If they keep supporting Pakistanis, the federation will work out a system in which they will have to suffer a backlash. We can’t do anything legally, but we are contemplating action against the Indians and artistes who have worked on this film, including the heroine (actor Vaani Kapoor), by issuing a non-cooperation diktat.”

“Fawad Khan se dushmani nahin hai, Pakistani artistes se hai. We strongly oppose this film, and if our artistes work with them, we will stop them. Now that this film has been shot, we will issue a letter to the Indians involved in the project.”

“There are strong objections from my side. There are terrorist activities happening in Jammu and Kashmir. In the past too, Pakistan has caused so much damage to India. The film industry does not see the morally wrong side of this. We should just be honest to our soldiers and say, ‘Your life doesn’t matter’... We are fooling them when we make a film with Fawad Khan.”

Cinematographer Ravi Varman’s work has influenced films in more ways than one can imagine. A member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, he was recently inducted into the prestigious American Society of Cinematographers — becoming only the second Indian to do so after filmmaker Santosh Sivan.

Having created iconic frames across both Hindi (Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-leela, 2013) and Tamil (Ponniyin Selvan: I, 2022) cinema, does Ravi agree with the buzz that south films have begun “overshadowing” Bollywood?

“It’s not like that,” Ravi tells us. He explains that the streaming space has blurred the lines between Hindi and regional films: “After OTT platforms, [showbiz] became the Indian film industry. So many films from the south are now released all over India and do so well. And Hindi cinema has always had a classic quality of filmmaking.”

Given that he’s worked across industries, what sort of film has been the toughest to work on? Ravi replies, “I can’t say. I never thought I’d get into films — it was accidental. For me, every film is equally important.”

The 51-year-old feels audiences should rethink the parameters of judging a film. “Films that won at the Oscars this year were well acted, but not all of them were superhits commercially. It’s the quality that matters,” he ends.

Director Kiran Rao’s Laapataa Ladies (2024), which was India’s official entry to the Oscars 2025, has found itself at the centre of a plagiarism controversy yet again. After being accused of copying the 1999 film, Ghoonghat Ke Pat Khol, several social media users are now pointing out striking similarities between Laapataa Ladies and a 2019 Arabic film called Burqa City, after the latter’s video clips went viral recently.

Burqa City, a 19-minute satirical short film, tells the story of a newlywed man who frantically searches for his wife after she is mistakenly swapped with another woman wearing an identical burqa. The film delivers a critique of patriarchal societies and the erasure of women’s identities. Its similarity with the plot of Laapataa Ladies has not gone unnoticed by social media users.

One wrote on X, “Kiran Rao’s Lapata Ladies, India’s official entry to the Oscars and projected as an original work, actually seems heavily inspired by a 2019 short film titled Burqa City.... Kiran Rao made Lapata Ladies, with the same theme, replacing burqas with ghoonghats (sic).”

Another user wrote, “There is nothing Original about Bollywood anymore (sic).” A post read: “This is embarrassing....the creators were enjoying the success as if they had made something original (sic).” Kiran is yet to respond to the controversy.

Right when we begin our chat, Gippy Grewal tells us that he is averse to the term ‘pressure’. Writing, directing and starring in the ambitious venture, Akaal, must have been an arduous responsibility, but the Punjabi actor-director says he had prepared himself mentally before setting foot on the set.

“When I go on the set, I never go with pressure. I know exactly the performance I have to deliver, what to extract from my actors, and how to shoot. I was prepared for [all the hurdles] when I decided to do this,” he says.

Set in Punjab of the 1840s, Akaal tells the story of Sardar Akaal Singh and his village as they are attacked by Jangi Jahan. As he retold a chapter of Sikh history, Grewal says that he was mindful about not depicting any community in a bad light.

“This story is of Sikhs, but Hindus, Muslims and other religions have been shown in a positive light because I believe it’s not about religion. In the past, a lot of people have [furthered] these divisive narratives. Even during the partition, if there were bad people on both sides, there were good people too. We’ve told the story of Sikh warriors, but we’ve not shown that people belonging to any particular religion are bad—that will never happen in my film,” he asserts.

With a larger-than-life central figure and its roots in Punjab, Akaal—also starring Nimrat Khaira—has the same palette as The Legend Of Maula Jatt (2022). Was the film an inspiration for him? “I have seen the new Maula Jatt, and the old one [1979]. It’s very interesting, but has no parallel with ours. Our film is based on our Sikh principles and Sikh warriors.”

Akaal is being touted as the biggest Punjabi film of the decade. It also marks producer Karan Johar’s foray into Punjabi cinema. Grewal says that Johar came on board after being captivated by the film’s vision.

The actor recalls, “When we decided to release it in Hindi as well, we went straight to Dharma [Productions] and showed the content. We met Karan and in half-an-hour, everything was locked. He loved the trailer. Language is hardly a barrier anymore. It’s about marketing a film in a big way. If Pushpa can be a rage in Punjab, Akaal can do well in south too.”

Abhishek Chaubey hasn’t had a film play out on the big screen after Sonchiriya (2019). The director has been happy dabbling in digital entertainment with a segment in Ray (2021) and the web series, Killer Soup (2023). But now, the big screen is calling out to him.

“I am currently writing a period thriller,” he reveals, hoping to take it to cinemas. “I have also written a show, a thriller [that explores] a social phenomenon. It’s set in Bihar. Now, I am at the mercy of the streamers,” he smiles.

As he flirts with the idea of returning to the movie halls after over six years, the director is aware that a lot has changed in the theatrical space. Chaubey notes that the big screen has become synonymous with spectacles, leaving little room for small films to survive.

“We are only making tentpole films. We must find a way for the middle-of-the-road films to have a well-marketed release and make sure that the audience goes to watch them. We have to find our mojo again,” he insists.

Citing the example of his debut film Ishqiya (2009), Chaubey points out how small films would find an audience 15 years ago.

“Ishqiya was a small film, but Chandan theatre [in Juhu] ran housefull. Even a film that didn’t work at the box office would make enough money so as to not break the production company. Now, the star and marketing prowess of a big film, coupled with expensive tickets, are completely killing small films. Earlier, the audience that watched mainstream movies also watched a Gulzar or a Shyam Benegal offering. That was our culture. Today, that culture is dead.”

After a successful outing, Maharaj, last year, actor Shalini Pandey’s latest release, Dabba Cartel, also earned her rave reviews. However, her entry into the industry wasn’t smooth, as her debut film, Jayeshbhai Jordaar (2022), didn’t do well at the box office: “When you do a film like that, with such a strong character to play, it’s amazing. But my heart broke when it didn’t work. When everything looks great and you feel like people will love you, but it does not play out that way, you feel shattered.”

Then, her Maharaj co-stars Junaid Khan and Sharvari were spoken about more than her after the project’s success. Did that impact her? “It’s not in my hand. I do not remember how I felt, because I move on quickly. I am someone who gets done with my work, takes the love or the feedback and just move on,” she answers.

Shalini adds, “Earlier, I wasn’t kind to myself. When Jayeshbhai Jordaar didn’t work, I became harsh on myself. But it taught me why it’s important to take pride in one’s journey.”

While she started her film journey as a background dancer in the Tamil film En Swasa Kaatre (1999), Dia Mirza hasn’t acted in any Tamil film so far. “I have no idea why I haven’t done a Tamil film yet; I would love to work here,” states the Bollywood actress, who was recently in Chennai. She speaks to us about her wish to be part of Tamil films, making her debut in Rehnaa Hai Terre Dil Mein (RHTDM) alongside Madhavan, the backlash against her recent film, Nadaaniyan, and more…

Addressing the backlash directed at Ibrahim Ali Khan and Khushi Kapoor for Nadaaniyan, Dia, who was also a part of the film, states, “I have never been in favour of personal attacks and find them extremely disrespectful. Everyone is free to have an opinion, but it shouldn’t be expressed at the cost of somebody’s mental health. I’ve been concerned, especially for the younger actors, about the harshness of what’s being said. I feel there’s a culture of ‘eat the privilege’, which is harsh, because people have their own stuff to deal with.”

Sharing about her recent interaction with director Mani Ratnam, Dia says, “Mani Ratnam sir is one of my all-time favourite directors. We were recently on a flight together, and I was awestruck by him. I went up to him and said, ‘I don’t want to lose this opportunity to tell you how much I admire you.’ It was interesting to see how awkward he is with praise. His cinema impacted my childhood and influenced my perception of storytelling.”

The actress was part of IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack that featured actor Arvind Swami. Speaking about him, she says, “I didn’t get to share a scene with Arvind (Swami) sir, but I have a deep regard and respect for him. He is a phenomenal artiste. Another artiste I admire from here is Siddharth, who is phenomenal. I watched Chithha, a film he produced and acted in, and what a powerful film it was! The entire cast was so compelling.”

Dia is also all praise for actor Nagarjuna, who acted opposite her in her Telugu debut, Wild Dog. “COVID-19 had just started when we did the film, and we were all terrified. But Nag sir made the experience very easy, which says a lot about him. It can be extremely intimidating when you are working with a superstar, but he was the most accessible co-actor. He was so warm and kind. I also spent a lot of time with Amala ma’am. I’ve always admired her and love the work that she’s done for animal care,” she shares.

Speaking about how her idea of success has changed over the years, Dia says, “When I started out, my idea of success was connected more to box office and material gains. Over the years, I’ve realized that success is about showing up every moment with preparedness and an understanding of the medium that you are a part of. It’s about being able to offer your best self to the opportunity.”

Talking to us about her first film, a remake of the Tamil film Minnale, which starred Madhavan and was directed by Gautham Vasudev Menon, Dia shares, “Working with them was wonderful. I would attribute a big part of the love the film continues to receive to Harris Jayaraj’s music. Zara Zara (Vaseegara in Tamil) evokes an indescribable feeling. I’m still in touch with Maddy, but not with Gautham sir. As a teenager, I used to watch Maddy’s TV shows and had the biggest crush on him.”