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Tag: Special 26

  • Hoopr hits the right note with Rs 4.5 crore payouts to 1,500 plus Indian artists

    Hoopr hits the right note with Rs 4.5 crore payouts to 1,500 plus Indian artists

    MUMBAI: Hoopr, India’s first music licensing platform, has struck a major chord in the country’s creator economy, disbursing over Rs 4.5 crore to more than 1,500 artists across 20 genres over the past three years. The milestone marks an industry first in micro-sync licensing payouts, underscoring Hoopr’s mission to build a transparent and sustainable revenue stream for India’s independent music community.

    Unlike traditional music models where earnings are often dominated by established labels and chart-topping artists, Hoopr’s system ensures fair compensation for those who typically remain behind the scenes: music producers, composers, and background score creators. Each time a brand or content creator licenses a track through the platform, the artist earns directly, taking home 50–65 per cent of the revenue.

    The platform’s roster includes both seasoned and emerging names such as Nilesh Dahanukar (Special 26, Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior), Divya Limbasia (The Family Man), Aditya Kudalkar (Gathan), and Devashish Korani (Yeh Chahiye, Ruaa Ruaa).

    Hoopr currently powers over 30,000 creators, including Ashish Vidyarthi, chef Ranveer Brar, and Flying Beast and collaborates with more than 175 brands such as ITC, Himalaya, Myntra, Meesho, Marico and Ultratech.

    Highlighting the platform’s impact, emerging artist Trivarg Arandhara (Triv) from Assam earned more from a single micro-licensing deal on Hoopr than he would have from 4.8 lakh streams on Spotify or Youtube.

    Co-founder and CEO of Hoopr Gaurav Dagaonkar said, “This milestone goes beyond payouts, it signals a shift toward sustainable income for artists. Licensing is the future of creator monetisation, and Rs 4.5 crore is only the beginning. We aim to surpass Rs 100 crore in payouts by FY2028.”

    Co-founder and CRO Meghna Mittal added, “Transparency and trust have always been at the heart of Hoopr. Our tech-enabled backend ensures artists are paid promptly whenever their music is used. We’re building an inclusive ecosystem where every artist can thrive and where brands can easily access authentic, culturally resonant music.”

     

  • Love, loss, and a thrill to remember as &pictures turns up the drama

    Love, loss, and a thrill to remember as &pictures turns up the drama

    MUMBAI: Heartbreak, redemption, and a past that refuses to let go-this 7 February, &pictures is bringing a tale that hits where it hurts and heals where it must. Mark your calendars as Auron Mein Kahan Dum Tha premieres on Friday, 7 February, at 11 am, promising a cinematic rollercoaster packed with passion, suspense, and second chances.

    Featuring powerhouse performers Ajay Devgn and Tabu, alongside Shantanu Maheshwari, Saiee Manjrekar, and Jimmy Shergill, the film weaves a tale of love and loss under the masterful direction of Neeraj Pandey—the man behind Baby, Special 26, and M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story.

    At the heart of the narrative is Krishna (Devgn), a man haunted by his past, and Vasudha (Tabu), the woman who holds the key to his redemption. Their intertwined destinies unfold against a backdrop of intense emotions, moral dilemmas, and a search for the truth.

    Devgn reflects on his character’s journey, saying, “This film is about resilience, emotions, and the battles life throws at us. Krishna’s story is one that will connect deeply with anyone who has faced struggles and fought to rise above them.”

    Tabu, who shares a long-standing on-screen camaraderie with Devgn, adds, “Vasudha is a woman of immense strength, but her vulnerability is what makes her unforgettable. Neeraj Pandey’s direction ensured we brought our most layered performances to life. This is a story that lingers long after the credits roll.”

    With its mix of raw emotions and edge-of-the-seat drama, Auron Mein Kahan Dum Tha is set to leave a lasting impact. Don’t miss its &pictures premiere—because some stories aren’t just watched, they’re felt.

  • Filmmaker Neeraj Pandey to debut with cop drama ‘Khakee: The Bihar Chapter’ on Netflix

    Filmmaker Neeraj Pandey to debut with cop drama ‘Khakee: The Bihar Chapter’ on Netflix

    Mumbai: Inspired by the true story of how Bihar’s most dangerous criminal was caught, Khakee: The Bihar Chapter marks the first foray onto Netflix for iconic creator Neeraj Pandey. The crime series follows the epic tussle between two men on both sides of the law—one a feared gang lord and the other a fiercely upright Indian Police Service officer Amit Lodha.

    Neeraj Pandey, who helmed box office hits such as MS Dhoni: The Untold Story, Baby, Special 26, Naam Shabana, A Wednesday, and Aiyaary, is bringing his inimitable style to this story of anarchy and conflict that changed Bihar forever, said Netflix.

    The project is produced by Friday Storytellers and directed by Bhav Dhulia, starring Karan Tacker, Avinash Tiwary, Ashutosh Rana, Ravi Kishan, Anup Soni, Jatin Sarna, Nikita Dutta, Abhimanyu Singh, Aishwarya Sushmita, and Shraddha Das.

    Speaking about his collaboration with Netflix and his upcoming series, Pandey said: “As an admirer of the platform, which stands for such diversity in content and formats, I am elated to announce Friday storytellers’ partnership with Netflix for our upcoming series Khakee-The Bihar Chapter. This cop-and-crime thriller, set during the early 2000s in the heartland of Bihar, is a big story which we have been wanting to create and share for some time. And through the directorial lens of Bhav Dhulia and the production expertise of my partner Shital Bhatia, we have endeavoured to bring the flavour alive with the tonality and treatment. Shot in extremely trying circumstances in Jharkhand and Bihar across multiple covid waves, it boasts of a talented ensemble depicting strong characters, which we hope will resonate with the local and global Netflix audiences.”

    Netflix India’s VP of content Monika Shergill said, “We are excited to bring one of India’s best storytellers, Neeraj Pandey, to Netflix with his powerful crime drama series Khakee: The BiharChapter. Neeraj, a thrilling true story about the rise of a feared criminal and a determined cop, will transport audiences in India and around the world on an intense and unprecedented journey through Bihar.”

  • T-Series ties up with Friday Filmworks and Crouching Tiger for Neeraj Pandey’s next

    T-Series ties up with Friday Filmworks and Crouching Tiger for Neeraj Pandey’s next

    MUMBAI: T-Series has entered into an alliance with Crouching Tiger Motion Pictures and Friday Filmworks to jointly produce acclaimed director Neeraj Pandey’s up-coming film starring Akshay Kumar. The deal will enable T-Series to market and distribute the film across the globe.

     

    The currently untitled film will see the super-hit combination of Akshay Kumar and Neeraj Pandey coming together after 2013’s ‘Special 26’ – a film that not only met with significant box office success but also remains one of the most liked and talked-about films of recent years. In his second outing with Akshay, Neeraj takes the reigns of an action-thriller shot across multiple foreign locations. Shooting has already commenced and the film is set to hit theatres worldwide on 23 January 2015.

     

    T-Series managing director Bhushan Kumar said, “I am extremely proud and happy to partner with Friday Filmworks and Crouching Tiger for Neeraj’s upcoming film. At T-Series, we have believed in backing genre-breaking content and films that connect with today’s audiences. We have always loved and respected Neeraj’s work and I look forward to him and Akshay creating magic for their fans yet again.”

     

    Shital Bhatia of Friday Filmworks added, “It is imperative for good content to be projected well and we are delighted with T-Series coming on-board. I am confident that this relationship will take the film farther and wider to its audiences.”

     

    “This alliance symbolizes the synergies that define cinema of the future in India – high quality content, impactful marketing and audience connect. We are confident that under Neeraj’s creative vision, this film will set new benchmarks for the action-thriller genre in India,” concluded Crouching Tiger Motion Pictures’ Vikram Malhotra.  

  • Neeraj Pandey’s ‘Ghalib Danger’ soon to be a major motion picture

    Neeraj Pandey’s ‘Ghalib Danger’ soon to be a major motion picture

    MUMBAI: Abundantia Entertainment and Neeraj Pandey recently announced a strategic deal in which the former would acquire rights to remake the Neeraj Pandey penned, best-selling novel ‘Ghalib Danger’ into a major Hindi film. The deal aims at the creation of a franchise for brand ‘Ghalib Danger’ and also includes the acquisition of rights to adapt the book as entertainment content across multiple platforms spanning television, digital & online media, graphic novels and gaming. 

     

    After earning widespread critical and commercial acclaim for super-hit films like A Wednesday and Special 26, Neeraj Pandey turned author to pen the gangster saga ‘Ghalib Danger’. The book, which was launched in December 2013, met with instant success to attain best-seller status in bookshops across the nation and is underway with its second print run to cater to the ever-growing demand amongst readers and fans of Pandey’s work. 

     

    The book revolves around the life of its protagonist Kamran Ali. A young taxi driver by profession, Kamran stays in Mumbai and dreams of making it big someday. A twist of fate awaits him on an eventful day as his life transforms when he saves the notorious underworld don Mirza from near death at the hands of a rival gang. As an act of gratitude and faith, Mirza takes Kamran under his wing and thus starts the journey of a small-town boy becoming the feared and revered ‘Ghalib Danger’. The lead character is a complete work of fiction and the story itself draws upon extensive research on the genre conducted by Neeraj Pandey and his team. 

     

    Speaking on the announcement and plans for the franchise, Neeraj Pandey said: “It’s always wonderful to collaborate with like-minded people and Ghalib Danger was a fantastic opportunity for Friday Filmworks and Abundantia to come together. It will be interesting to see this content getting exploited across entertainment platforms.” 

     

    Talking about this development, Abundantia Entertainment founder and CEO Vikram Malhotra added: “Abundantia is founded with the vision to support and promote progressive and clutter-breaking content. The ability to adapt a best-seller like ‘Ghalib Danger’ into a major movie and to partner with Neeraj on the film represented a significant opportunity. The gangster-thriller genre that Ghalib Danger boasts of has met with consistent success across platforms and we are delighted that we will be able to bring alivethe book for its fans all over the world”.  

     

    In a first-of-its-kind deal, Abundantia would partner with Friday Filmworks to co-produce the film and also leverage on Pandey’s and Friday Filmworks’ capability to custom-create and adapt the book across content consumption platforms.

     

    Production for the film is set to commence in the second-half of 2015 and is envisaged as a big-scale, ensemble cast entertainer.

  • ABCD, Special 26 continue to do well

    ABCD, Special 26 continue to do well

    MUMBAI: Murder 3 is a Bhatt Brothers formula that fails this time. Lacking in face value and music to back it, the film has had a weak opening and a poor opening weekend. The film managed to collect Rs 112.5 million in its opening weekend.
     

    Viviek Oberoi starrer Jayantabhai Ki Love Story, a rather under-publicised and badly released film, is a write off from day one; it managed to collect just about Rs 17 million for the opening weekend.

    Special 26 has been helped to a great extent by good word of mouth as the film, which opened slow on Friday, 8 February, went on to pick up over the next two days, peaking on Sunday and then going on to maintain steady collections through the week to end its opening seven days with Rs 418 million. The film also benefits the most due to the poor new releases — Murder 3 and Jayantabhai Ki Love Story — to hold well in its second weekend to collect Rs 116 million taking its 10 day total to Rs 534 million.

    ABCD: Any Body Can Dance has appealed to youth and multiplex patrons. Its best performance is in western India while the east is not up to mark. The film collected Rs 278 million for its first week.

    Vishwaroop has not been able to impress the Hindi moviegoer. The film collected Rs 10.5 million in its second week taking its tally to Rs 128 million.

    Race2 collected another Rs 38 million for its third week taking its total to Rs 964.3 million.

    The coming Friday will see two new releases. While Kai Po Che is the second Chetan Bhagat novel to be adapted for a film (after 3 Idiots) and has immediate identification in Western India, Zila Ghaziabad has a highly UP flavour. So much so that the Delhi-UP distributors are very enthusiastic about the film and plan to release it at all the 20 multiplexes in Ghaziabad and all five in Noida besides booking maximum single screens in the circuit.

  • Sequel of ABCD being worked on; remake of Special 26 on cards

    Sequel of ABCD being worked on; remake of Special 26 on cards

    MUMBAI: There‘s something more about the releases of last week viz ABCD – Any Body Can Dance and Special26 — one film is going to have a sequel and the other could be remade in several languages.

    First let‘s talk of the sequel.

    Buoyed by the positive response that ABCD – Any Body Can Dance has been receiving, producers UTV has roped in Remo D‘Souza once again to work on the sequel of the film.

    Confirming the same, Remo said, “Though talks of the sequel were being heard in the corridors of filmdom for quite some time, it is now that UTV has whole-heartedly backed my vision. I‘m very much excited to have been offered two more films under the banner. One of them is the sequel of ABCD on which I‘m working on right now.”

    The film will retain the cast of ABCD with a few fresh additions.

    Commented Disney UTV Studios managing director Siddharth Roy Kapur, “ABCD showcases Remo‘s ability to thrill and entertain his audience while at the same time he has sensitively handled emotion and drama. Having worked with a team of superb dancers, he has brought out the actor in each one of them. We‘re thrilled to be continuing our association with him.”

    For Special 26, filmmakers down south and the east have approached the makers of the film for the remaking rights in Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu and Bengali.

  • Special 26, ABCD hit the right notes at the BO

    Special 26, ABCD hit the right notes at the BO

    MUMBAI: Akhsay Kumar-starrer Special 26 opened slow on Friday but as the word of mouth spread, the film started picking up from Friday evening itself and went on to consolidate over the weekend. The film‘s performance is at its best at premium multiplexes.

    The film‘s cost for Indian theatrical rights is about Rs 320 to 340 million and should face no problems making it. The film has been appreciated for all round performances by the artistes as well as for its climax. The film collected Rs 265 million for its first weekend. Some extra benefit is expected on Valentine‘s Day.

    Remo D‘souza‘s ABCD: Any Body Can Dance with no stars on the billboards had an excellent opening, in fact better opening response than the star cast film Special 26. ABCD has greatly drawn the youth and its choreography has been much liked by the youth. The film had a wonderful weekend and collected Rs 184 million for its first three days. The film should get a major boost on the Valentine‘s Day.

    David with Neil Nitin Mukesh in the lead continued to do poor collecting a mere Rs 35 million for its first week with as much as Rs 15.8 million coming from the Bombay Circuit.

    Mira Nair‘s much talked about Midnight‘s Children has been rejected by moviegoers. No amount of controversies and staying in the news has helped the film which collected just Rs 12.5 million to show for its first seven days.

    Vishal Bharadwaj‘s Matru Ki BIjlee Ka has added Rs 1.2 million to its collections in its fourth week taking its tally to Rs 393.7 million.