All posts tagged: genre

Obsession, Backrooms, Haunted 3D: Can these back-to-back films revive the pure horror genre in India?

Obsession, Backrooms, Haunted 3D: Can these back-to-back films revive the pure horror genre in India?

The box office has found an unlikely hero in recent weeks: horror. The genre has steadily found acceptance, almost becoming a guarantee of success. Still from Backrooms, a poster of Haunted 3D and a still from Obsession. The biggest example is Obsession, the low-budget supernatural thriller that has emerged as a global phenomenon. The Hollywood film, apart from an unprecedented global run, has also enjoyed a strong run in India, collecting more than ₹84 crore gross and marching towards the ₹100-crore mark. Joining it is Backrooms, adapted from the viral internet phenomenon. The film created buzz and eventually opened well here. And then came Vikram Bhatt’s Haunted 3D: Echoes of the Past. Starring Mimoh Chakraborty in the leading role, it opened better than the other seven films it released alongside in theatres, and continues to find support. Clearly, the audience is in the mood to be scared. Vikram, unfazed by the criticism for going overboard with the usage of AI shots and mediocre VFX work in Haunted, has already announced a new horror flick: 1920 …

Exclusive | SAMUK: Akshay Kumar brings India’s first alien-thriller, says ‘It’s a totally new genre for me, our films..’

Exclusive | SAMUK: Akshay Kumar brings India’s first alien-thriller, says ‘It’s a totally new genre for me, our films..’

At a time when Al is rapidly taking over various departments of filmmaking, an upcoming Indian sci-fi thriller appears to be taking a far more ambitious route: building a terrifying alien world with the help of two Hollywood veterans associated with franchises such as Mission: Impossible -The Final Reckoning (2025), Venom (2018), the Alien franchise and the Predator franchise. Headlining the film is one of India’s biggest action action stars. Akshay Kumar HT City has exclusively learnt that the project is titled Samuk, with Akshay Kumar playing the lead role. The film is being directed by Kanishk Varma and produced by Akshay Kumar, Vipul Amrutlal Shah and Ashin Shah. It also marks Akshay and Vipul’s reunion after 12 years. Also read: Welcome To The Jungle teaser: No animals harmed, just the actors Among the biggest international names attached to Samuk is Hollywood stunt coordinator Luke Tumber, a former Royal Marines Commando whose credits include Mission: Impossible-The Final Reckoning, Venom, No Time To Die (2021) and Star Wars The Rise of Skywalker (2019). Speaking about joining …

Pati Patni Aur Woh Do Director Mudassar Aziz Urges To Celebrate Comedy Films, “If Sandeep Reddy Vanga Takes Care Of Sholay Genre, Somebody Has To Follow Hrishikesh Mukherjee!”

Pati Patni Aur Woh Do Director Mudassar Aziz Urges To Celebrate Comedy Films, “If Sandeep Reddy Vanga Takes Care Of Sholay Genre, Somebody Has To Follow Hrishikesh Mukherjee!”

Exclusive: Pati Patni Aur Woh Do Director Mudassar Aziz Discusses Comedy Films ( Photo Credit – Instagram ) Can you imagine Hindi cinema without Chupke Chupke or Angoor? Without the delicious confusion, the mistaken identities, the gentle satire, and the laughter that sneaks up on you long after the credits roll? Neither can Mudassar Aziz. The filmmaker is back with Pati Patni Aur Woh Do, which is ruling the screens, and the director is currently one of mainstream Hindi cinema’s most reliable custodians of comedy. In an exclusive conversation with Koimoi, Mudassar opened up about the pressure of making sequels, why comedy remains Bollywood’s most underappreciated genre, and how someone needs to carry forward the legacy of legends like Hrishikesh Mukherjee and Gulzar. Honestly, his words deserve to be framed and hung in every Bollywood office. Mudassar Aziz talked about celebrating the legacy of Hrishikesh Mukherjee and Basu Chatterjee and celebrating comedy as a genre, amidst all the chest-thumping actioners. He asserts, “I feel the legacy that we come from has Raj Kapoor, also. It …

Michael Worldwide Opening Weekend Box Office: Jackson biopic scripts history with USD 217 million globally; Biggest for genre

Michael Worldwide Opening Weekend Box Office: Jackson biopic scripts history with USD 217 million globally; Biggest for genre

King of Pop Michael Jackson’s biopic Michael has shaken the box office with its historic debut. The movie stormed over a massive USD 217.4 million in its 5-day opening weekend at the worldwide box office. Of this, the musical biopic raked in over USD 97 million in its domestic markets, while USD 120.4 million came from the international territories.  With this sort of impressive debut, Michael emerged as the biggest opener for a biopic film at the box office, both domestically and internationally. It surpassed the previous record holder, Oppenheimer‘s USD 180.4 million, and Bohemian Rhapsody’s USD 141.7 million. That said, the Jaafer Jackson-starrer also became the first film in its genre to hit the double-century mark globally.  Box Office Collections of Michael Worldwide:  Particular Box Office Domestic USD 97 million Overseas USD 120.4 million      Total USD 217.4 million Michael performed best in its domestic markets, followed by the United Kingdom, from where it fetched around USD 15.6 million. It grossed over USD 10.2 million in France. USD 9.7 million from Mexico, followed by Brazil’s USD …

Can It Beat Stree 2’s Paid Preview Record In The Horror-Comedy Genre?

Can It Beat Stree 2’s Paid Preview Record In The Horror-Comedy Genre?

Bhooth Bangla Box Office: Can It Top Stree 2’s Paid Preview Record? (Photo Credit: Instagram) Akshay Kumar is all set to make his big screen return with Bhooth Bangla. Initially, the film was supposed to release in theaters on April 10, but due to the phenomenal run of Dhurandhar 2, the makers decided to postpone it by one week. Now, the upcoming biggie is arriving in theaters on April 17, and, interestingly, paid previews are scheduled for April 16. Since the film is a horror-comedy, it’ll be interesting to see whether it can challenge Stree 2 in paid previews. Genuine interest for Bhooth Bangla Compared to some of Akshay’s previous films, the buzz for his upcoming biggie is much better, and the biggest reason behind it is the reunion of Akshay and director Priyadarshan. Over the years, the duo has given us many cult classics, and their last work together was Khatta Meetha, released in 2010. So, after a 15-year gap, the duo is making its return, and there’s genuine interest among movie buffs. Due …

How Hansal Mehta is championing genre storytelling with Ranveer Singh`s Pralay

How Hansal Mehta is championing genre storytelling with Ranveer Singh`s Pralay

Filmmaker Hansal Mehta is betting big on genre storytelling with Pralay, a post-apocalyptic zombie survival thriller starring Ranveer Singh that anchors the expanding slate of his production banner True Story Films. Directed by Jai Mehta and produced in collaboration with Singh’s banner Maa Kasam Films, Pralay is envisioned as one of the most ambitious genre projects attempted in Indian cinema. Mehta describes the film as “a film unlike anything India has attempted before.” About Pralay A source had earlier revealed that Pralay would go on floors sometime between July and August 2026. Mounted on an estimated Rs 300 crore budget, it marks Ranveer Singh`s most expensive standalone project. A source told Pinkvilla, “Ranveer has entered into a backend profit-sharing deal and is involved in every stage, from script development to VFX planning.” Pralay reportedly follows Ranveer Singh`s fight for survival, with Mehta using the zombie framework to explore social, emotional, and moral collapse. It is said to reimagine Mumbai in The Hunger Games’ style set-up. Insiders said the makers are planning to recreate a devastated Mumbai, …

Ravi Kishan & Tejasswi Prakash Push Hindi Pulp Fiction Genre To A Nonsensical & Bizarre Zone!

Ravi Kishan & Tejasswi Prakash Push Hindi Pulp Fiction Genre To A Nonsensical & Bizarre Zone!

Psycho Saiyaan Review Ft. Ravi Kishan & Tejasswi Prakash In A Nonsensical Pulp Fiction! (Photo Credit –YouTube) Psycho Saiyaan Review: Star Rating: Cast: Tejasswi Prakash, Ravi Kishan, Anud Singh Dhaka Director: Ajay Bhuyan Streaming On: Amazon MX Player Language: Hindi Runtime: 6 episodes of 50 minutes each If you ever wondered what happens when you pick a pulp fiction from the 90s and put a gangster world of the 2010s around it, sprinkle it with some illogical testosterone-charged gundas, and you get Psycho Saiyaan. It is a web series that tries so hard to be a psychological thriller that it actually ends up giving the audience a complex and a headache for me! Directed by Ajay Bhuyan, the show is a love story between Kartik Pandey (Anud Singh Dhaka), and Charulata (Tejasswi Prakash). Charu – the most sought after woman in Katni, visits Ujjain and bumps into Kartik, a few years younger to her. They fall in love, but Charu ghosts Kartik, telling him that this love story cannot find its forever! Enters Ravi Kishan as …

Hrithik Roshan is a fan of this action scene in O Romeo, tells Shahid Kapoor: ‘You do this genre best’

Hrithik Roshan is a fan of this action scene in O Romeo, tells Shahid Kapoor: ‘You do this genre best’

Bollywood star Hrithik Roshan is all praise for Vishal Bhardwaj’s gangster drama O’Romeo, featuring Shahid Kapoor and Triptii Dimri in the lead roles. After catching the film recently, Hrithik shared his glowing review, revealing how much he enjoyed the experience and applauding Shahid’s standout performance in particular. Hrithik Roshan encouraged audiences to watch O’Romeo in theatres, mentioning a standout action sequence. Hrithik praises Shahid’s performance in O’ Romeo Taking to X (formerly Twitter) on Friday, Hrithik wrote that the film’s quirkiness gradually wins you over. He added that Shahid excels in this genre and urged audiences to watch the movie in theatres, also singling out a “running in circles” action sequence as especially brilliant. Hrithik wrote, “The quirkiness of #ORomeo eventually wins you over. I had fun. @shahidkapoor you do this genre BEST. Too good you are. Go watch it in the theatres guys. Also that running in circles action was brilliant.” Vishal Bharadwaj says O’Romeo is his most successful film In an interview with PTI, Vishal Bhardwaj described O’Romeo as one of his most …

New Christian artists push genre boundaries with rap, Afrobeats and R&B

New Christian artists push genre boundaries with rap, Afrobeats and R&B

A new wave of artists is transcending traditional notions of Christian music, drawing young global audiences to faith-based rap, Afrobeats and R&B. New Christian artists push genre boundaries with rap, Afrobeats and R&B Often boosted by social media, many of them got their start with independent labels or by uploading self-made songs to streaming platforms. Now, bigger labels and streaming services are catching on. People are looking for “something soul-feeding, something forward-looking, positive,” said James “Trig” Rosseau Sr., CEO of Holy Culture Radio. “They find a sonic coziness, but then a message that is feeding that need.” Interest in the music has proliferated since 2022, said representatives at Spotify and Amazon Music. However, breaking into the mainstream has been challenging for this group of mostly Black and/or African artists who are making music that can’t always be defined and that hasn’t been well-represented in the Christian music industry. “Over the last two years, there’s something happening momentum-wise, and it still feels underground, but now it’s starting to get the visibility that it’s deserving,” said Angela …

Happy Patel review: Vir Das` absurd comedy redefines Bollywood spy genre

Happy Patel review: Vir Das` absurd comedy redefines Bollywood spy genre

With his directorial debut, Vir Das rewrites the rules of the Bollywood spy genre, turning it into a laugh-riot.  Bollywood spies, whether it`s Salman Khan in all 3 Tiger movies or Shah Rukh Khan in Pathan, are macho, hyper-masculine men with toned six-pack abs, a perspicacious intellect and a larger-than-life, melodramatic love story. But then, in enters Happy Paisley-Smith (Vir Das), the adopted son of two of Britain`s greatest spies, who is, with his bumbling, blundering ways, to put it mildly, an utter failure at being a spy. Happy is fond of cooking and ballet, and dances to `I am an Alpha Male` while making his signature recipes, inverting every archetype of a Bollywood spy. Not only has he failed the MI-6 test 7 times, but he also doesn`t realise he`s Indian until he accidentally overhears his dads.  The movie opens with a flashback sequence in Panjore, Goa. Jimmy (Aamir Khan), the Don of Goa, chases British spies (named Agents Tea and Crumpets – yes, seriously) on a mission, screaming for the British to get out …