Panorama Studios’ Drishyam 2 , starring Ajay Devgn , has just had a strong opening at the Indian box office, taking around $9m on its opening weekend and holding up strongly today (Monday, November 21). The crime drama sequel, directed by Abhishek Pathak and also starring Tabu and Akshaye Khanna, is receiving a red carpet gala screening at the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in Goa this evening. Devgn sat down with Deadline in Goa to discuss the film, which was partly filmed in the Indian beachside state, his thoughts on the current state of Hindi-language (a.k.a. Bollywood) cinema and some of his upcoming projects. Indian audiences have become much more demanding since the first Drishyam was released in 2015, Devgn starts off by explaining. “It’s not just that audiences have seen much more content during the pandemic, it’s also the way production technology has changed. We’ve upgraded everything for Drishyam 2 , because the film should not look … [Read more...] about Ajay Devgn On Bollywood Recovery, ‘RRR’ Success And Meeting Increasing Audience Demands In ‘Drishyam 2’
Drishyam 2
Indian Film Biz Needs To Focus On Story-telling, Not Just Scale, To Get Audiences Back Into Cinemas, Say IFFI Goa Panelists
A group of leading Indian filmmakers and producers discussed strategies for bringing local audiences back into cinemas following the huge rise in OTT consumption in India , at a panel at the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in Goa. “The platforms existed before the pandemic and people flirted with them, but when the pandemic happened they took OTT home and started consuming content across different languages and genres,” said Vivek Krishnani, CEO of IN10 Media Network and former Sony India head. “When cinemas opened again, people were shy to return, but the choice of content that drives them to cinemas can’t be same.” Director-producer Ramesh Sippy, whose credits include iconic Indian films such as Sholay , said this was an issue even before the rise of streaming: “There was a time when you only had to announce a film and people would rush to the cinema without knowing exactly what they were going to see. Now audiences are more discerning.” But while … [Read more...] about Indian Film Biz Needs To Focus On Story-telling, Not Just Scale, To Get Audiences Back Into Cinemas, Say IFFI Goa Panelists