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Hindi language films stood at 33 in 2023, 34 in 2024 and 39 in 2025.Experts say sentiments around high-risk titles have remained soft, and in many cases, filmmakers have struggled to convince top stars to forego unreasonably high fees.“Everyone is worried and cautious at the moment. Over-the-top (OTT) content platforms are no longer buying films as they used to and linking rights to the box office, which remains unpredictable.

honhar birwan ke hote chikne paat—suggests that the signs of future success are visible early. It sums up the early years of Dhirajlal Hirachand Ambani—Dhirubhai—one of India’s greatest industrial empire builders, whose youth too shimmered with portents.Ambani passed away in July 2002, leaving behind a giant conglomerate whose market capitalization today exceeds $250 billion and a legacy that continues to shape Indian business.While the details of his professional life are household lore now, repeated across newspapers, magazines, and films, it’s his early life, vividly captured in Dhirubhai Ambani: The Man I Knew by Kokilaben, that provides fascinating clues to his career.

Dear reader, as 2025, a year of global tumult and volatility, rolls by, Mint's reporters and columnists look around the corner on what is coming in 2026—to help you know what to expect and prepare for it. Tell us what you think at [email protected] hits and mid-budget flicks alike lit up Indian cinemas in 2025, proving that viewers flock to theatres regardless of scale or star value, and raising hopes of an encore in the coming year.While trade experts expect 2025 to close with collections of ₹13,000-13,500 crore across languages, about 10-14% higher than the previous year, the failure of films such as War 2 and Sikandar featuring big stars, and franchise films like Thamma, signals that big names alone aren't enough.That said, surprise hits such as Chhaava, Saiyaara and Tere Ishk Mein, along with the breakout numbers of industries like Gujarati, Marathi and Malayalam, underscore the growing space for all kinds of content in theatres, unlike the perception built immediately after the pandemic when only larger-than-life titles were finding draw in cinemas.Devang Sampat, managing director of Cinepolis India, identified three highlights of the year.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. PORT CHESTER, N.Y.—“Avatar: Fire and Ash," a visual spectacle and the third installment in this blockbuster franchise, is the sort of movie made for the big screen. Its holiday arrival was eagerly anticipated by cinema owners still working to lure people back after the pandemic.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. In India’s film industry, where timing drives both buzz and box-office, a single last-minute court order can upend an entire release cycle—an industry-wide risk underscored by the recent case of Akhanda 2. The last-minute postponement of Telugu actor Nandamuri Balakrishna’s action adventure film earlier this month, after a Madras High Court order put a stay on its screening following an appeal filed by Eros International Media Ltd, proves that theatrical films continue to fall prey to delays arising from prolonged legal disputes.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. For big-budget Hindi films, the real payoff increasingly hinges on whether a first hit can sustain a second.

I am glad that Homebound’s shortlisting for an Oscar nomination gives me an opportunity to say something tangential. Modern poverty, even if it comes with a smartphone, is worse than ancient poverty. The film, directed by Neeraj Ghaywan, and written by him with Shreedhar Dubey and Varun Grover, shows two young men trying to escape poverty through the processes that India tells its young will save them.

Amul and for India’s self-reliance in dairy.The impact was transformative. Buffalo milk was abundant in India, and millions of small farmers depended on it for income. By giving producers direct access to markets through cooperatives, the Amul model ensured fair prices and regular payments.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. A barometer check of India's obsession with its movie stars can be had on weekends outside an unmistakable bungalow in Juhu, central Mumbai. Bollywood star Amitabh Bachchan, when he's in town and can, steps on to a raised platform at the gates of his home, Jalsa, Sunday evenings to wave at a thronging crowd of fans.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. A drastic slowdown in the streaming business has delivered a major blow to Hackman Capital Partners, the largest independent owner and operator of soundstages. Now, whatever the outcome of Netflix’s and Paramount’s battle for Warner Bros.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Music label and entertainment company Saregama India Ltd will invest in filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali-promoted Bhansali Productions Pvt. Ltd as part of a strategic partnership to enhance their output of content, the two companies said in a statement.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. BENGALURU : Bollywood celebrities are known for investing in residential properties. Now, they are chasing India’s office boom.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Netflix’s audacious bid for Warner Bros Discovery has sent ripples through Hollywood, and landed squarely in Indian cinemas, where exhibitors see both a looming disruption and a surprising opportunity.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. On 5 December, Netflix signed an agreement to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery's (WBD) studio and streaming businesses for an enterprise value of $82.7 billion.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. For two years, Curtis “50 Cent" Jackson oversaw work on a documentary about a hip-hop rival he has personally trolled on the internet for even longer. His efforts paid off: “Sean Combs: The Reckoning," a four-part series executive-produced by Jackson, has been perched at No.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Earlier this week, Netflix Inc. made headlines with its $82.7 billion acquisition of Warner Bros.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. In Jay Kelly, director Noah Baumbach joins forces with George Clooney to deliver a sharply observed, melancholic study of celebrity, memory and regret. Clooney plays Kelly, a Hollywood icon forced to shake off the stardust and confront the impact of his choices.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. A debate is raging over the accounting treatment of Nvidia chips and other equipment that tech companies are splurging on. This time, some of the AI companies’ critics may be overreaching.

India? Symbols of national pride and struggle shouldn’t be seen from a religious prism as they transcend such limited boundaries.The uninitiated should know that Vande Mataram is not just a film song. Bengali author Bankim Chandra Chatterjee penned it in 1875. Later he included the song in his famous novel “Anand Math”.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Several dubbed south Indian films have struck a popular chord with Hindi-speaking audiences and found box-office success in the past. Yet, makers of recent mid-budget Tamil, Telugu, or Malayalam movies such as The Girlfriend and Kaantha have refrained from aggressive distribution and marketing push in north India.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Like all the old Hollywood studios, Warner Bros. has taken a twisted path into the present, filled with mergers and acquisitions—the latest a proposed sale to Netflix for $82.7 billion, including assumed debt.