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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

The Great Indian Kapil Show Season 4: Will Virat Kohli Be The Next Guest? Kapil Sharma Responds To Fan Requests

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Will Indian cricketer Virat Kohli be Kapil Sharma’s next guest on The Great Indian Kapil Show? When a fan asked Kapil about inviting the cricketer to his show, he responded by saying “zaroor karunga.”

During an #AskKapil session, a fan wrote, “Virat Kohli ki aapke show paar kab invite kaar rahe ho ya aapki is bare me unse baat hui ya nahi sir (When are you inviting Virat Kohli to your show, or have you spoken to him about this or not, sir).” To this, Kapil replied, “Kabhi mila to zaroor request karunga unse (sic).”

Following Kapil’s reply, fans continued urging The Great Indian Kapil Show host to invite more Indian cricketers as well. One user even requested, “Dhoni aur Sachin Tendulkar ko Kab request karoge.”

Kapil Sharma will next be seen in Kis Kis Ko Pyaar Karoon 2, releasing in cinemas on December 12, 2025. The film stars Kapil in the lead role alongside Manjot Singh, Ayesha Khan, Hira Warina, Tridha Choudhary, Parul Gulati, Triptii Dimri, and Vipin Sharma.

Today, Kapil Sharma took some time out of his busy schedule to respond to fans’ questions. When one user asked, “Sir aapke show ka new season kab aa raha,” Kapil replied, “It’s starting on 20th December on @NetflixIndia.”

Another fan asked, “Kapil bhai aapne dhurandhar movie dekhi ky agr dekhi he to aapko movie kaise lagi ??” Kapil responded, “Busy in promotions, couldn’t watch it, but try to watch it tonight agar jaldi free ho gya to, mere bhai @RanveerOfficial ki movie hai, how can I miss it (sic).”

Season 4 of The Great Indian Kapil Show will premiere on December 20, 2025. As per reports, the first episode will feature Navjot Singh Sidhu and Harbhajan Singh as guests, appearing along with their wives. Besides them, the regular cast; Kapil, Sunil Grover, Krushna Abhishek, Kiku Sharda, Archana Puran Singh, and Rajiv Thakur, will also return to the show.

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Bigg Boss 19 Winner Gaurav Khanna’s EXCLUSIVE Interview: ‘Dil Jeete Hai Isliye Show Jeeta Hoon!’

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Bigg Boss 19 winner was announced on Sunday, and the famous television actor Gaurav Khanna won the trophy. Media exclusively spoke to Gaurav about his victory, his journey in the house and more…

While talking about winning the trophy without going below the belt or using abusive language, Gaurav said, “I feel that a trophy cannot be won without winning hearts because this is a public voting show. If someone says that he has only won the trophy, then it would be dishonest. Because without winning hearts, you cannot lift this trophy. So I am very happy that, along with the trophy, I have made a place in people’s hearts. And that is because they (audience) have related to me, and they have related to me in person. Not because I am acting or I am playing a character, which a lot of people inside the house tried to run a lot of narratives.”

“They (contestants) pointed fingers at me, they put me down in a corner, thinking that I would retaliate, but they forgot that this was a marathon, and I knew when I had to run fast and when I had to run slow. So they lost their breath somewhere in between, but they forgot the stamina a real contender has. They made fun of me; it’s their fault,” he added.

When we asked Gaurav what he would like to tell the people who would say that he didn’t do much in the BB19 house, but still won, the actor said, “I just want to say one thing to them that I was not there to please 15 people inside. I was there to please 150 crore people watching me, and somewhere I have made some mark, I have touched their hearts somewhere, and that’s why they have voted for me. And they have voted for me consistently because these guys, these 15 chaps inside, were nominating me every week.”

The Anupamaa actor further said, “So they were trying to push me out, but because of you (audience) guys, I was standing in front of them like a rock, and I was standing in a completely dignified manner. I didn’t say anything bad to anyone, I didn’t get into unnecessary topics, I didn’t create unnecessary topics, I didn’t break plates, I didn’t wear jewellery, I didn’t wear designer clothes, I was very normal. I think in a show like this, people want to see normal people, and when they see that a person is normal or is trying to be normal, then they connect with you. Dil jeete hai isliye show jeeta hoon!”

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Entertainment

Telangana minister threatens to stop release of Pawan Kalyan’s films over ‘insulting’ remark

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Hyderabad, Dec 2: Telangana Cinematography Minister Komatireddy Venkat Reddy on Tuesday warned that Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan’s movies will not be allowed to be released in theatres in Telangana if he fails to apologise over his “insulting” remarks about Telangana.

He told media persons that screening of Pawan Kalyan’s films will be permitted only after he tenders an unconditional apology for his remarks.

“If Pawan Kalyan apologises, his movies will be screened at least for a couple of days, but if he fails to apologise, his films will not release anywhere in Telangana. I am saying this as the minister for cinematography,” said Venkat Reddy, who also holds the portfolio of roads and buildings.

The minister clarified that the issue is not related to megastar Chiranjeevi, who is elder brother of Pawan Kalyan. “Chiranjeevi is a sober man. He always stays away from controversies,” he said.

He remarked that Pawan Kalyan is new to politics and, after becoming the Deputy Chief Minister, he had been making “controversial” statements.

The minister said that at a time when Telangana completed 12 years, and entered into the 13th year, Pawan Kalyan made the “insulting” remarks.

The Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister had recently blamed the “evil eye” for “dying” coconut trees in the development of the Konaseema region, known for lush green fields.

The Jana Sena leader, who visited the region last week to inspect the coconut trees damaged by seawater from a drain, blamed it on “evil eye”. He was apparently referring to the bifurcation of the state.

His remarks have evoked a strong reaction from leaders in Telangana.

Animal Husbandry Minister Vakati Srihari said that Pawan Kalyan was “unable to digest” the tremendous development of Telangana.

He remarked that the Andhra Pradesh Deputy CM “lacks” maturity.

Srihari alleged that the Jana Sena leader was making such statements for political mileage and demanded that he immediately take back his words.

Congress MLA from Jadcherla J. Anirudh Reddy demanded that Pawan Kalyan tender an unconditional apology.

“If Telangana has cast an evil eye on Godavari and Konaseema, why is Pawan Kalyan staying in Hyderabad?” he asked.

Anirudh Reddy told Pawan Kalyan to sell his properties in Hyderabad and shift to Vijayawada.

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