Theatre | Business Upturn

Live! From The Warehouse packs a punch of relevance and raw talent

Entertainment Desk — Sat, 31 Jan 2026 05:59:09 +0000

Live! From The Warehouse is a bold, timely dark comic thriller theatre play that dives into the high-stakes chaos of social media obsession and teenage friendship under pressure. Written and directed by Shashwat Srivastava, this original 90-minute play, no-interval production centres on two 17-year-old classmates whose attempt at a viral prank reel with a stolen gun goes horribly wrong, locking them inside an abandoned warehouse as tensions escalate.

Srivastava’s script stands out for its freshness, restraint and sharp relevance. He blends humour with tension while touching on themes of viral fame, fractured family dynamics, betrayal, and the relentless need for online validation — without becoming preachy. The writing feels contemporary and honest, raising questions about what young people sacrifice to be seen while maintaining an engaging dramatic pace. As director, Srivastava keeps the two-hander tight and focused, using minimal staging to heighten the claustrophobic atmosphere.

Actor Vrishab Wig brings strong energy and commitment to his role, leaning into the character’s impulsive nature and emotional volatility. His physicality and expressive delivery add momentum to key moments, capturing the restless intensity of a teenager caught in escalating consequences. While occasionally theatrical in style, his performance contributes to the play’s heightened tone and keeps the narrative moving with urgency.

Co-actor Aryaman Krishna Aggarwal offers a measured and grounded counterbalance, drawing attention through quieter moments and internalised reactions. His controlled presence adds emotional texture, allowing the dynamic between the two characters to evolve naturally. Together, the young performers create a believable partnership that sustains tension and engagement throughout.

Minimalist yet effective design — smart lighting shifts and atmospheric sound — supports the rising stakes without overshadowing the performances. For audiences in Mumbai, Delhi, or on the tour circuit, this production delivers fresh writing, confident direction and promising young talent. A few uneven patches appear, but the play’s relevance, pace, and sincerity make it an engaging piece of contemporary Indian theatre.

Play rating: ★★★★

Here’s why PVR and Inox will close down over 50 theatres in the next 6 months

Viditha Ganji — Mon, 15 May 2023 15:55:39 +0000

India’s multiplex chain operator PVR-Inox has announced its plan to shut down around 50 cinema screens in the next six months. These screens either operate at a loss or are located in malls that have reached the end of their life cycle, with little possibility of rejuvenation. In response to this move, the company has accounted for an accelerated depreciation charge and written off the Written Down Value (WDV) of these assets in its financial records.

Despite the closures, PVR and INOX jointly introduced 168 new screens across 30 cinemas in the last fiscal year. The companies have set a target to open an additional 150-175 screens in FY’24. However, the company has decided to reschedule the handover of new sites for fit-outs to the next calendar year, as part of its strategy to ensure a robust recovery in the box office before proceeding with further expansions.

Currently, PVR’s screen portfolio consists of 1,689 screens across 361 cinemas located in 115 cities in India and Sri Lanka, including 38 management screens. The recent merger between PVR and Inox was successfully concluded in the quarter ending March. Ajay Bijli, the Managing Director of PVR Inox, expressed his views on the merger, stating that it will serve as a significant milestone for both the company and the Indian film industry as a whole.

Despite the underperformance and volatility of Hindi movies and significantly low releases from Hollywood in the previous year, the company witnessed a robust recovery during FY23. The exhibition business has witnessed strong growth, driven by the exceptional performance of regional cinema, an increase in ticket prices, and a substantial increase in consumption of food and beverages by patrons.

“The year gone by marks the 1st full year of uninhibited operations for the exhibition industry. There was considerable volatility in box office quarter on quarter. We believe that the 2 major factors that marred the industry in FY’23 – underperformance of Hindi films and less number of Hollywood releases, will both ease out in FY’24,” said Ajay Bijli, Managing Director, PVR INOX Ltd.

The company is confident of achieving operational synergies of INR 225 crore over the next 12-24 months from the recently concluded merger with INOX.

Centre plans to open 10,000 movie theatres in rural areas by 2024

Aryan Jakhar — Mon, 05 Dec 2022 17:17:25 +0000

By the end of 2024, 10,000 movie theatres in rural areas will be opened by the government-run CSC e-Governance Services in partnership with October Cinemas, according to a statement released on Monday.

A contract between October Cinemas and CSC, an SPV under the Ministry of Electronics and IT, calls for the opening of these facilities.

The agreement was signed with the intention of opening approximately 1 lakh small movie theatres with seating capacities of 100 to 200 people each in rural areas. The agreement period’s timetable is not yet known.

“The concept of cinema halls in villages is still new. The aim is to start small cinema halls with around 100 seats. CSC cinema halls will open new avenues for our VLEs (Village-Level Entrepreneurs).”

“Entertainment sector is booming in India and our VLEs will help in the growth of the sector in rural and semi-urban areas. CSC cinema halls, which will also work as a commercial hub, will make our services more accessible to the people in rural areas,” CSC Managing Director Sanjay Kumar Rakesh said.

According to the MOU, CSC (Common Service Centre) intends to open 1,500 movie theatres by the end of 2023, serving as a hub for numerous CSC activities in rural areas.

“We are launching CSC Rural Cinema for the entertainment of villagers in remote areas. India is the world’s largest entertainment market in terms of movie consumption. Our venture will have features to control piracy of films. We have already got over 5,000 express of interest requests from VLEs. We hope to make around 10,000 cinema halls operational in rural areas by the end of 2024,” Punit Desai, Managing Director of October Cinemas.

He claimed that operating these movie theatres, which will have video parlour cinema licences, would require an expenditure of about Rs 15 lakh.

THALAIVI Release Date: Kangana Ranaut fulfills her promise, ‘Thalaivi’ is going to be released in theaters on this day

Sudhanshu Mishra — Mon, 23 Aug 2021 11:27:10 +0000

The release date of Kangana Ranaut’s most awaited film ‘Thalaivi’ is finally out. Kangana Ranaut had assured that this film will not be broadcasted on OTT but in cinema halls and the same is going to happen. This film of Kangana is fixed to be released in theaters on 10 September. The film ‘Thalaivi’, is a biopic based on former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa.

After Akshay Kumar’s ‘Bell Bottom’, Kangana Ranaut’s ‘Thalaivi’ is the second such big film, which is ready for release in theatres. Kangana Ranaut had indicated to her fans in the morning that she is going to make a big announcement related to this film.

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A post shared by Kangana Ranaut (@kanganaranaut)

Earlier there were reports that this film will be released on the OTT platform. It was believed, that the OTT premiere of this film has been offered. Now, this film will first be released in cinemas across the country, after that it will be released for OTT. After the coming in theaters, ‘Thalaivi’ will be released on Netflix in Hindi and Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, and Malayalam languages on Prime Video.

The trailer of this film of Kangana was released at the end of March, which received a lot of praise. The first song of this film has also been released on 2 April. The film was earlier set to release on 23 April. But its release was postponed due to rising corona cases in the country. But now finally on September 10, people will be able to watch this film in theaters.

Mumbai Police requests Naseeruddin Shah to avoid taking evening walks

Mahesh Sharma — Wed, 02 Jun 2021 15:05:13 +0000

Naseeruddin Shah went for an evening walk on Wednesday but quickly came home when the Mumbai Police told him not to go out. According to an insider, Shah immediately changed his decision as the police began urging everyone to avoid walks according to COVID rules.
Naseer is frequently seen on nighttime walks, avoiding paparazzi and minding his own business as he walks through the city streets with enthusiasm.

Naseeruddin Shah goes for a walk two or three times a week. Last year, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the veteran actor was photographed on a nighttime walk with wife Ratna Pathak Shah. Naseeruddin and Ratna Pathak Shah are frequently spotted along the famous Carter Road promenade because they live in Bandra.
Naseeruddin Shah, a winner of multiple National Film Award , is not just a film enthusiast but also a well-known theatre personality. After an eight-month absence owing to the pandemic, the actor returned to the stage in 2020. He returned to Prithvi Theatre to portray Gabriel Emanuel’s ‘Einstein,’ directed by his wife, actress Ratna Pathak Shah.

During lockdown the actor had staged performances online. Speaking about the same, he had told BT, “Nothing can compensate for the high of being on stage in front of people, but performing without an audience has its own challenges and advantages. In time, we will conquer the challenges and figure out the advantages fully because performing online does seem to be an inescapable part of the future.”

COVID SOPs: Cinema Halls to run with 100% Seating Capacity

Chirag Jha — Sun, 31 Jan 2021 07:07:02 +0000

On Saturday, Ministry of Home Affairs allowed cinema halls to run with 100% audience capacity from 1st February. After that, a new set of SOPs for cinema halls is released by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.

Still after allowing full capacity, basic COVID protocols will be followed like use of masks and six-feet distance in the waiting area. Also, there will be availability of touch-free hand sanitizers and spitting shall be strictly prohibited.

Also, there will be staggered show timings to avoid crowd at the time of entry-exit.

Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting Prakash Javadekar took his Twitter handle to share this good news. He wrote, “Good news for Cinema lovers: Today, issued the revised SOP for the film exhibition, 100% occupancy will be allowed in theatres from 1st February, but all Ministry of Health and Family Welfare’s COVID-19 guidelines will have to be followed.”

Good news for Cinema lovers:

Today, Issued the revised SOP for the film exhibition, 100% occupancy will be allowed in theatres from 1st February, but all @MoHFW_INDIA #COVID19 guidelines will have to be followed.https://t.co/5vfZtAoHXW @MIB_India pic.twitter.com/89qZpSiMhq

— Prakash Javadekar (@PrakashJavdekar) January 31, 2021

The news is a big sound of relief for film makers and hall owners. The past few months have been very tough for film makers and producers. Theatre owners are also ready to welcome back their audience in full capacity.

Akshay Kumar’s Laxmmi Bomb to stream on Disney+Hotstar from 9th November, to release in theatres overseas

Ayanabha Banerjee — Wed, 30 Sep 2020 12:35:53 +0000

Akshay Kumar is a superstar who is well known to take on unique projects. His upcoming movie, titled ‘Laxmmi Bomb’ which is a horror-comedy, is also a remake of the Tamil film Muni 2: Kanchana. The film has been written and directed by Raghava Lawrence and is his Hindi directorial debut.

The movie was scheduled for a release on 22nd May but got postponed due to the pandemic. The makers had then declared that they would skip a theatrical release and would release the movie on Disney+ Hotstar on 9th November 2020. Now, the production house of the movie, Fox Star Studios, took to their Twitter handle to reveal that the movie will have a theatrical release in Australia, New Zealand, and UAE. The production house tweeted “This Diwali, #LaxmmiBomb to release on 9th November in Australia, New Zealand and UAE. #YehDiwaliLaxmmiBombWaali Collision symbol #FoxStarStudios”

Check out the tweet:

This Diwali, #LaxmmiBomb to release on 9th November in Australia, New Zealand and UAE.#YehDiwaliLaxmmiBombWaali 💥 #FoxStarStudios pic.twitter.com/23HsgQHpxo

— Star Studios (@starstudios_) September 30, 2020

‘Laxmmi Bomb’ also stars Kiara Advani and Tusshar Kapoor. The superstar plays the role of a transgender ghost in the movie.

Cinema halls to remain shut till August 31: Ministry of Home Affairs

Shipra Parashar — Thu, 30 Jul 2020 05:40:39 +0000

The Ministry of Home Affairs released nationwide Unlock 3 guidelines yesterday, which opened up some more activities outside the containment zones, but cinema halls along with other places still remain shut. The guideline further revealed that the restriction on cinema halls will remain in place till August 31.

The entertainment industry has been hit hard by the four-month-long COVID-19 lockdown. As shoots for several films have already begun and with cinema halls still getting no-go from the government, more and more production houses are going to take the second possibility, which is the digital OTT release. The trend started with Amitabh Bachchan and Ayushmann’s starrer Gulabo Sitabo which was released on Amazon Prime.

Meanwhile, Disney+Hotstar have lined up seven new releases which include Laxmmi Bomb (Akshay Kumar and Kiara Advani), Bhuj: The Pride of India (Ajay Devgn, Sonakshi Sinha and Sanjay Dutt), Sadak 2 (Alia Bhatt, Aditya Roy Kapur and Pooja Bhatt), The Big Bull (Abhishek Bachchan), Khuda Haafiz (Vidyut Jammwal) and Lootcase (Kunal Kemmu and Rasika Dugal). Other OTT platforms like Netflix have also bought digital rights of Janhvi Kapoor-starrer ‘Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl’.