Vivek Agnihotri's directorial The Kashmir Files has taken the box-office by storm. The film which opened to limited screens and minimal promotions surprised everyone with its performance at the box office. The Kashmir Files narrates the story of the exodus of the Kashmiri Pandits during the Kashmir Insurgency stars Anupam Kher, Mithun Chakraborty, Darshan Kumaar, Pallavi Joshi, among others.

Several Hindi film celebrities, too, have praised the film. After Aamir Khan and Akshay Kumar, Salman Khan, too, has reportedly congratulated Anupam Kher on the success of the film. On Times Now Navbharat's Frankly Speaking, Kher spoke about the celebs who personally reached out to him after watching the film. But individually, I must say, Salman Khan called me the other day and congratulated me," he said.

Kher also spoke about the Hindi film industry's silence over the success of the film. The senior actor brushed it off saying that everyone was just surprised at the film's performance at the box office.

“As far as the Hindi film industry is concerned, I think they're too much in a shock. Aisa kabhi hua nahi hai. Whenever a shocking thing happens, it's a very very strange reaction. Like ab Sholay bani thi, yeh mujhe Ramesh Sippy ji ne khud bataya, toh pehle teen week chali hi nahi qki logon ko samajh nahi aaya ki Hindustan me aisi film bhi ban sakti hai. Pehle teen week, it was declared a flop, but then it became a cult film. Hum Aapke Hain Kaun, premiere huwa tha toh the industry was saying, 'Oh my God! Yeh kya banaya diya hai, yeh toh shaadi ka video hai'. But it turned out to be the biggest grosser," said the actor.

ALSO READ: Akshay Kumar praises Vivek Agnihotri’s The Kashmir Files- “The wave of the film has drowned my film Bachchhan Paandey as well”

The Board of Directors of INOX Leisure Limited (INOX) and the Board of Directors of PVR Limited (PVR), at their respective meetings held today, have approved an all stock amalgamation of INOX with PVR. The amalgamation is subject to approval of the shareholders of INOX and PVR respectively, stock exchanges, SEBI and such other regulatory approvals as may be required. Upon obtaining all approvals, when the merger becomes effective, INOX will merge with PVR. Shareholders of INOX will receive shares of PVR in exchange of shares in INOX at the approved share exchange (“swap”) ratio.

Merger Terms
Post the merger, the promoters of INOX will become co-promoters in the merged entity along with the existing promoters of PVR. Upon effectiveness of the scheme, the Board of Directors of the merged company would be re-constituted with total board strength of 10 members and both the promoter families having equal representation on the Board with 2 board seats each. Pavan Kumar Jain would be appointed as the Non- Executive Chairman of the Board. Ajay Bijli would be appointed as the Managing Director and Sanjeev Kumar would be appointed as the Executive Director. Siddharth Jain would be appointed as Non-Executive Non-Independent Director in the combined entity. The combined entity will be named as PVR INOX Limited with branding of existing screens to continue as INOX and PVR respectively. New cinemas opened post the merger will be branded as PVR INOX.

Drushti Desai, Registered Valuer, Partner at Bansi S. Mehta & Co. and SSPA & Co Chartered Accountants, the Independent Valuers appointed by INOX and PVR respectively, have recommended a share exchange ratio, which has been accepted by the respective Boards. Ernst & Young Merchant Banking Services LLP provided the Fairness Opinion to INOX, while Axis Capital Limited provided a Fairness Opinion to PVR on the share exchange ratio. Accordingly, INOX shareholders will receive 3 shares of PVR for 10 shares of INOX.

Post the merger, INOX Promoters will have 16.66% stake while PVR Promoters will have 10.62% stake in the combined entity. Strategic rationale and benefits With INOX operating 675 screens across 160 properties in 72 cities and PVR currently operating 871 screens across 181 properties in 73 cities and, the combined entity will become the largest film exhibition company in India operating 1546 screens across 341 properties across 109 cities. The combination would augur well for the growth of the Indian cinema exhibition industry, besides
ensuring tremendous value creation for all stakeholders, including customers, real estate developers, content producers, technology service providers, the state exchequer and above all, the employees. With consumers at the core of the decision, the merger would focus on using the
strengths of both the organisations to provide an exceptional customer service and cinema experience to Indian moviegoers. While strongly countering the adversities posed by the advent of various OTT platforms and the after-effects of the pandemic, the combined entity would also
work towards taking world-class cinema experience closer to the consumers in Tier 2 and 3 markets.

Commenting on the announcement, Siddharth Jain, Director – INOX Leisure Ltd said, “Coming together of two iconic cinema brands, which are driven by passion, is certainly the most historic moment in the Indian cinema exhibition industry. Both companies have set high service benchmarks in an endeavor to offer the best cinema experience in the world, to the most passionate moviegoers, and would continue to do so as a unified entity. As we head into the industry’s revival amidst headwinds, this decisive partnership would bring in enhanced
productivity through scale, a deeper reach in newer markets and numerous cost optimization opportunities, and continue to delight cinema fans with world-class experiences and landmark innovations.”

Commenting on the announcement, Ajay Bijli, Chairman and Managing Director of PVR said – “This is a momentous occasion that brings together two companies with significantly complementary strengths. The partnership of these two brands will put consumer at the center of its vision and deliver an unparalleled movie going experience to them. The film exhibition sector has been one of the worst impacted sectors on account of the pandemic and creating scale to achieve efficiencies is critical for the long-term survival of the business and fight the
onslaught of digital OTT platforms.”

EY is the exclusive financial advisor on the transaction. Dhruva Advisors and Khaitan & Co acted as the transaction tax advisors and legal advisors respectively to INOX.

Actor Aamir Khan revealed that he had considered quitting the film industry in the past two years during the COVID-19 pandemic. He, however, did not announce his decision as he thought people might look at it as a marketing tactic ahead of the release of his ambitious film Laal Singh Chaddha. Aamir also revealed that his ex-wife Kiran Rao was in tears when he told her about his decision. 

“No, I quit. Nobody knows this. I'm saying for the first time, you will be shocked. I had informed my family that I won't be doing any films from now onwards. Neither I'll act nor I will produce any films. I don't want to do all this. I just want to spend my time with you all. Kiran and her parents, Reena and her parents, my children, my family are there. I felt that. I understand it was a response in anger. My family was shocked as I was conveying it to them in such an intense way. Nobody argued with me. Then I thought I should tell people that I won't be acting in films now. Then I said if I tell people they will say, ‘This is his marketing scheme as his film Laal Singh Chaddha is about to release, he is announcing his retirement.” Aamir Khan told at ABP Ideas of India Event in Mumbai when asked if he wanted to quit the film industry. 

“So I thought it's better to not say this. Anyway, my film comes after three or four years. Once Laal Singh Chaddha gets released nobody will realise if I'm doing anything for the next three or four years. By then I'll leave the industry and nobody will know. So I decided not to say anything and three months passed like this. One day, my children told me that you are an extreme person, don't do this. It will be better if you find a balance in life. I had quit films. In my heart, I had left films. My children and Kiran explained to me I am doing the wrong thing. Kiran cried and said, 'When I see you, I see films residing inside you. What are you saying I'm unable to understand'. A lot happened in two years, I quit the industry and came back," he added. 

Aamir also said that he had started working with his daughter Ira Khan after quitting the industry. He joked that his children told him that the time he spent with them in three months was more than what he spent in the last 30 years and that they were a bit tired of him. 

On the work front, Aamir will next be seen in the film Laal Singh Chaddha which is set to release on August 11. Directed by Advait Chandan, the film also features Kareena Kapoor, Mona Singh, and Naga Chaitanya. 

ALSO READ: Aamir Khan says he will watch The Kashmir Files – “Whatever happened with the Kashmiri Pandits was really sad”

Popular Punjabi singer Daler Mehndi has bought a piece of land in Made In India Metaverse platform PartyNite and has named it ‘Balle Balle Land’. It will also include a Daler Mehndi store that will sell NFTs (Non-Fungible tokens). The land was inaugurated on Holi and the singer has been posting updates on his Instagram. A few weeks ago, he became one of the first Indian artist to perform in the metaverse along with artists like Justin Bieber, Travis Scott and Ariana Grande.

Mehndi’s Instagram bio now reads: “First Metaverse Man, Owner of Balle Balle Land | Creator of Tunak Tunak & Tara Ra Ra | Singer | Composer|”.

He captioned his post, saying his future concerts will take place in Balle Balle Land.

 

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Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri’s The Kashmir Files is the most boiling topic of this time. The film is not only winning the hearts of the audience but also is enjoying an extraordinary run at the box office. In 13 days, the films raked in over Rs 200+ crore and are doing well internationally too, owing to our surprise, today he did a big announcement of making a genocide museum as well, along with announcing scholarship to some students.

Announcing the same, Vivek said, "I Am Buddha Foundation (which is run by him and Pallavi Joshi) will be giving five scholarships of Rs. 15 lakh to 5 students of Makhanlal Chaturvedi National University of Journalism and communication, Bhopal. Out of these 5 scholarships 3 will be given to girl students. Earlier the same foundation had made some financial contributions to the Kashmiri Hindu community in Jagti, near Jammu, and raised funds for Kashmiri community during COVID.”

Talking about the same, Pallavi Joshi said, “We have been doing a lot of nation-building work especially with the youth of India. The success of The Kashmir Files has empowered us to fulfill our dream of empowering creative young people, specifically from Kashmir."

Written and directed by Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri, the exodus drama features a stellar cast of actors including Mithun Chakraborty, Anupam Kher, Darshan Kumaar, Pallavi Joshi, and Chinmay Mandlekar.

Produced by Zee Studios and Tej Narayan Agarwal, Abhishek Agarwal, Pallavi Joshi, and Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri, The Kashmir Files, written and directed by Vivek Agnihotri released in theatres on 11th March 2022.

ALSO READ: Akshay Kumar praises Vivek Agnihotri’s The Kashmir Files- “The wave of the film has drowned my film Bachchhan Paandey as well”

As the curtains come down on the media and entertainment fortnight at the India Pavilion at Dubai Expo, Information & Broadcasting Minister, Anurag Thakur will lead a delegation to Dubai to hold some important conversations with his counterparts from other countries.

Bollywood superstar Ranveer Singh, who has become the face of the Indian entertainment industry with his shape-shifting, generation-defining performances like 83, Gully Boy, Padmaavat, Bajirao Mastani, etc, and back to back blockbusters, will represent the Indian media and entertainment industry at the world expo. After a decade-long journey in the Hindi film industry, Ranveer has established himself as the best actor and the biggest superstar of his generation and is thus, the perfect choice to showcase Indian cinema to the world. He will be felicitated by Anurag for his incredible contribution to the Indian film industry.

Ranveer will join Anurag Thakur on March 27 and will be a part of several important meetings, including an in-depth conversation about the media industry with the I&B minister. He will also attend a dinner hosted by the Consulate General of India in Dubai.

ALSO READ: Ranveer Singh gives a glimpse of his afternoon sailing session; fans say, “Aap bhi Doobey?”

Filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri has been in the news over the past few weeks for the resounding success of his film The Kashmir Files. However, on Friday, the director landed in the lap of controversy for a reason not associated with the film. He reportedly stated that the term Bhopali means “homosexual” in local parlance. Following the comment, Congress leaders of the state demanded an apology from him for "insulting" the city in Madhya Pradesh.

A video of Vivek Agnihotri's interview to an online channel went viral ahead of his visit to Bhopal on Friday to participate in a film festival. The clip, which is said to be three weeks old, has the filmmaker say in Hindi, "I have grown up in Bhopal, but I am not a Bhopali. Because Bhopali has a different connotation. You can ask any Bhopali. I will explain it to you in private. If someone says he is Bhopali, it generally means he is homosexual, a person with Nawabi likings."

Congress leader Digvijay Singh took to his Twitter to raise an objection to the comment. "Vivek Agnihotri ji, this might be your personal experience. This is not the experience of an ordinary Bhopal resident. I have been associated with Bhopal and Bhopalis since 1977, but my experience has not been so. The influence of company has an effect, wherever you may live," Mr Singh tweeted.

Former state minister PC Sharma demanded an apology from the filmmaker. He said that Agnihotri has committed a crime by using words like homosexual for the people of Bhopal. Meanwhile, MP Congress's media in-charge KK Mishra questioned whether the state home Minister Narottam Mishra will take action against the filmmaker as he has done for other film producers in the recent past.

ALSO READ: Madhya Pradesh CM grants land and logistical support to The Kashmir Files director Vivek Agnihotri to build a genocide museum