TECH COMPARING

Thirteen years after its theatrical release, Hansal Mehta’s National Award-winning biographical drama Shahid has finally found a streaming home. The Rajkummar Rao-starrer is now available on Prime Video, bringing the critically acclaimed film to a wider audience after years of limited digital availability. Released in 2013, Shahid is based on the life of lawyer and human rights activist Shahid Azmi, who was assassinated in Mumbai in 2010. Rajkummar Rao plays the titular character, with Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub, Prabhleen Sandhu and Baljinder Kaur in supporting roles. The film earned major recognition at the 61st National Film Awards. Hansal Mehta won Best Director, while Rajkummar Rao shared the Best Actor award with Malayalam actor Suraj Venjaramoodu. The official National Film Awards citation described Shahid as a film tracing the true story of a slain human rights activist and lawyer against the backdrop of communal violence in Mumbai. Apurva Asrani reflects on Shahid’s long wait for...

The team of the Marathi film Gondhal met Hon’ble Chief Minister of Maharashtra Devendra Fadnavis to discuss the film’s journey after being selected as India’s official entry to the Oscars. The meeting was initiated by filmmaker and IFTDA President Ashoke Pandit and led by Ameet Satam, President, BJP Mumbai. The delegation made an appeal to the Chief Minister to extend financial and infrastructural support to the makers of Gondhal, particularly for the film’s promotional and representation-related activities in the United States. Written, directed and produced by Santosh Davakhar, Gondhal is produced by Diksha Davakhar. With the film now representing India on an international platform, the team highlighted the need for the right support and resources to help take the film’s journey forward in America. The delegation included Ashok Dubey, General Secretary, FWICE; Nishant Ujwal and filmmaker Swapna Waghmare Joshi from IFTDA, along with members of the film’s cast, including Kishore Kadam...

Yash Raj Films’ much-awaited revenge thriller series Akka has locked its release date. Bollywood Hungama has exclusively learned that the Keerthy Suresh and Radhika Apte starrer period gangster series will premiere on October 30 on Netflix. Akka is finally set to arrive on Netflix nearly three years after it went into production in November 2023. Mounted as Yash Raj Entertainment’s biggest tentpole streaming project to date, the series is set in the 1980s and revolves around a matriarchal society in a fictional city in South India. The show follows a pair of gangster queens whose matriarchal rule is challenged when an outsider brings an unseen threat, spiralling the all-powerful sisterhood into a storm of violence and survival. South Indian sensation Keerthy Suresh makes her streaming debut with the project and will be pitted against acting powerhouse Radhika Apte. Directed by debutant Dharmaraj Shetty, the series is a large-scale thriller revolving around fierce and powerful women na...

In a major development that has sent ripples across the film industry, the Income Tax Department on Monday, September 28, conducted search operations at around 12 locations in Mumbai linked to actor Rakul Preet Singh, her father-in-law and veteran producer Vashu Bhagnani, and Panorama Studios. Bollywood Hungama has further learnt that a search operation is also underway at filmmaker Ali Abbas Zafar’s office. According to a report in TV9, the action was initiated following information received by the Income Tax Department regarding substantial sums allegedly being remitted overseas under heads such as film shoots, foreign distribution and production expenses. Investigating officials are reportedly examining whether these transactions involved tax evasion or other financial irregularities. Multiple teams of the Income Tax Department are carrying out searches and examining documents and financial records at various premises across Mumbai. At the time of publishing, the operations were st...

Ankur Rathee is currently being seen in Netflix’s Best of the Best, a South Asian dance drama led by Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, Priyanka Kedia, Chaneil Kular and Rathee. The film, which explores identity, ambition and friendship through the world of competitive South Asian dance teams in the US, has also marked a new phase in Rathee’s international career. Rather than focusing on his Hollywood debut, which was announced previously, the actor has now opened up about his experience of playing Ronak, the charismatic and competitive captain of UCLA’s South Asian dance team. For Rathee, the role offered an opportunity to revisit a part of his own college experience. The actor was a member of South Asian and contemporary dance teams during his time at Princeton, and he drew from those experiences while portraying Ronak. “What made Ronak particularly exciting was the opportunity to revisit a part of myself I hadn’t accessed in years. I was a college dancer, I’ve lived the intensity of these team...

Microdramas are no longer being discussed only inside startup offices and short-video companies. The format is now entering one of India's most influential mainstream entertainment-industry forums. FICCI FRAMES 2026, to be held in Mumbai on September 29 and 30, has included a dedicated session titled Microdrama, Mega Business: The Next Content Disruption in its programme. The panel will examine how snackable fiction, creator-led series and platform-first originals are changing content creation, distribution and monetisation. Significantly, the discussion brings together representatives from different parts of the emerging ecosystem — Meta, Zee Entertainment's BULLET Microdrama, Eloelo Group, Kuku and the creative community. That places microdramas on an agenda otherwise populated by some of India's biggest entertainment names. FICCI FRAMES 2026 will feature discussions involving Ayushmann Khurrana, Ekta Kapoor, Ajay Devgn, filmmaker Sriram Raghavan and senior executives fr...