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Lights, camera, little action: ‘Bell Bottom’, ‘Chehre’ yet to pull crowds

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Two back-to-back big releases — Akshay Kumar’s ‘Bell Bottom’ and the Amitabh Bachchan star vehicle, ‘Chehre’, both well-received by critics — may have buoyed the spirits of film exhibitors, but their box-office collections have been far from encouraging.

‘Bell Bottom’, which was released on August 19, according to trade analysts, has grossed Rs 18.55 crore till date. Compare this with the Rs 64.99 crore collected in its opening weekend by ‘Good Newzz’ (with Diljit Dosanjh), Akshay’s last film before the first nationwide Covid-19 lockdown. And that was far less than the extended opening weekend earnings — Rs 97.56 crore — of the other big 2019 film, ‘Mission Mangal’.

A number of factors have contributed to this significant drop in earnings: cinema theatres are still under lockdown in Mumbai and Pune, depriving Bollywood of 25 per cent of its revenues; the requirement in a number of malls for patrons to produce double vaccination certificates before being allowed in, which is affecting attendance in theatres located in malls; and, significantly, the closure of 1,500 single screens across India because of the pandemic-induced economic stress.

On ‘Chehre’, which opened on Friday, the analysts were not very bullish about box-office figures. Karan Taurani of Elara Capital predicted that it would make a “lifetime collection” of Rs 5-6 crore because of its “niche” storyline that only a “discerning audience” would appreciate.

Taurani also pointed out that collections have been low because of “very low occupancy in morning shows and night shows not being allowed”. He also blamed the low occupancies forced by social distancing norms being in force. Also, over the last eight days, barring this past Sunday, which did see a spike in Delhi as a result of Raksha Bandhan festivities, attendance in theatres was at an all-time low across Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.

Exhibitors, however, are cautiously optimistic about their business coming back to life, even if partially, because of ‘Bell Bottom’ and ‘Chehre’.

Gautam Dutta, CEO, PVR Limited, said in a conversation with IANS: “Post the reopening of cinemas after the second wave, ‘Bell Bottom’ was the first big Bollywood movie to have hit the big screen. And it has done reasonably well within the restrictions in capacity, show limitations and weekend closures.”

He also emphasised the lockdown still in place for cinema theatres in “major markets such as Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Kerala.”

The sentiment was share by Rajender Singh Jyala, Chief Programming Officer, INOX Leisure.

Speaking to IANS, he said: “We have always said that the industry needed a couple of mass entertainers to kick off the recovery process, and we are glad that these have arrive and are doing phenomenally well, despite the restrictions.”

“We positively hope that the momentum built by the fantastic response to ‘Bell Bottom’ in the week gone by, and the hype around ‘Chehre’, would mark the onset of our revival journey.”

For Dutta, more than the initial numbers, it is the momentum that matters. He said to IANS: “We are encouraged by the release of the long-awaited ‘Chehre’ today. Hope this will encourage producers from the Bollywood fraternity to announce their big films for theatrical release and get movie-goers back to cinemas.”

Bollywood

Salman Khan gets irritated with paparazzi on sets of ‘Bigg Boss 20’ promo shoot

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Mumbai, September 5: Bollywood superstar Salman Khan kickstarted the shoot of the upcoming 20th season of Bigg Boss ahead of its premiere on September 6.

The actor was spotted on the sets in a striking cowboy-inspired look and appeared visibly irritated with the paparazzi at one point while posing for photographs.

In a video from the sets, Salman can be seen posing for the paparazzi while asking them to maintain a proper distance from the stage.

When the situation continued, he told them, “Yeh mera kaam nahi hai. Mujhe camera ke aage aane ki koi zarurat nahi hai” (This is not my job. I don’t need to come in front of the camera).

Towards the end of the clip, when the paparazzi continued asking him to pose, the actor appeared irritated and responded with an irritated tone saying, “Photos… photos… photos.” Though what exactly triggered him is not clear.

For his appearance on the sets, Salman opted for a cowboy-inspired ensemble. He wore a dark brown leather cowboy hat, along with a navy T-shirt and olive-green vest. He paired the look with denims, a silver-accented belt and his trademark turquoise bracelet.

After posing solo, the actor also obliged to the request of the paparazzi and posed with them.

Talking about the new season of Bigg Boss, it marks the 20th edition of the Hindi reality show, with Salman returning as its host. The season is scheduled to premiere on September 6.

For the uninitiated, Salman has been the face of Bigg Boss ever since he took over as host with Season 4 in 2010, replacing Amitabh Bachchan.

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Shehnaaz Gill on exploring Bengali culture through ‘Singh Vs Kaur 2’: ‘I enjoyed it a lot’

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Mumbai, Sep 3: Actress Shehnaaz Gill has opened up about her character Jasneet Kaur in “Singh Vs Kaur 2.”

Speaking exclusively to media, she shared what made portraying the Bengali-rooted character an interesting experience for her. Jasneet Kaur comes from a Bengali background, while the story of the film travels across Punjab, Kolkata, and Canada. Speaking about the character, Shehnaaz shared that the role gave her an opportunity to explore different cultures, languages, and personalities.

Gill stated, “It was a lot of fun, and it was a very interesting character. And I enjoyed living in that culture. And seriously, when you watch the film, the way we have presented Kolkata so beautifully, you will find it very interesting. When you watch the film on 11th September, you tell me how much you found my character interesting. I enjoyed it a lot.”

Shehnaaz has opened up about being part of the ‘Singh vs Kaur 2’ franchise and addressed the possibility of comparisons with the first film. The actress said she does not feel any pressure, as her character Jasmeet is different from the one portrayed in the original. The actress explained that while the first installment featured a different character named Jasmeet, the sequel introduces her in the role.

“I think, as far as comparisons are concerned, in Singh Vs Kaur, the first character was a girl named Jasmeet, who was someone else. Now, it’s me. So, I don’t have any pressure about this at all. And I don’t think there will be any point of comparison because, of course, some things have a lot of impact on the audience’s minds. But when people see me, trust me, they will fall in love with me too,” said Shehnaaz.

Directed by Navaniat Singh, ‘Singh Vs Kaur 2’ stars Gippy Grewal and Shehnaaz Gill in the lead roles. The film is slated for a worldwide release on September 11, 2026.

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Priyanka Chopra recalls summer of 2017 when she gave Nick Jonas her number

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Mumbai, September 3: Global icon Priyanka Chopra Jonas took a trip down memory lane as husband Nick Jonas and his brothers Joe and Kevin released their latest song “Listen When Sad”.

She shared a nostalgic compilation of their relationship and recalled the summer when she gave Nick her number, in the summer of 2017.

Priyanka shared a video featuring a series of pictures capturing happy moments from her journey with Nick, including their early days together, travels and family memories. The actress captioned the post as,“Oh yes!

I do remember, the summer, I gave you, my number… circa: summer 2017 Sound on New Song Out Now | #ListenWhenSad @jonasbrothers.”

For the uninitiated, the post comes as the Jonas Brothers’ new single “Listen When Sad” was released on August 28.

The song nostalgically revolves around memories of young love, including the line about a summer when a girl gave someone her number.

Priyanka’s compilation also included a picture from a family holiday in Goa, featuring her cousin and actress Parineeti Chopra, brother Siddharth Chopra and other family members posing together.

Parineeti, who seemed thrilled, also took to the comments section to reminisce about the trip, writing, “Dayum that Goa trip was THE ONEEEE”.

Talking about the Priyanka and Nick’s love story, while the couple’s first face-to-face meeting took place at the Vanity Fair Oscars after-party in February 2017, Nick apparently had already made the first move months earlier.

On September 8, 2016, he had sent Priyanka a Twitter DM saying, “I’m hearing from a few mutual friends that we should meet.” Priyanka replied asking him to text her instead considering her team had access to her social media account, which is how Nick got her number.

The two later met for drinks in New York and were subsequently invited to attend the 2017 Met Gala together by Ralph Lauren.

Their relationship eventually turned serious in 2018. Nick proposed to Priyanka and the couple tied the knot in a lavish wedding ceremony in Jodhpur in December 2018.

The couple are parents to their daughter Malti Marie.

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