Sidharth Malhotra says physical preparation for The Vvaan went beyond fitness: “Training has to support all of that”

Sidharth Malhotra is set to explore the world of Indian folklore with The Vvaan, an upcoming fantasy adventure also starring Tamannaah Bhatia.

For the actor, preparing for the role involved more than just looking fit.He worked on developing the physicality needed for a character who moves through the film's intense and challenging world.

Speaking about preparing for physically demanding roles, Sidharth said, “For me, the physical preparation always starts with understanding the character and what the world demands of him.

I don't believe you can just arrive on set and expect the physicality to come together.It has to become part of the character.”  

The actor explained that he makes a clear distinction between looking fit and being physically ready for a role.

For The Vvaan, this meant thinking about how his character moves, reacts, carries himself and survives the challenges the story presents.

“there is a difference between looking fit and being physically prepared for a role.

For Vvaan, I had to think about how this character moves, how he reacts, how he carries himself and how he physically survives everything the story puts him through.The training has to support all of that,” he said.

Sidharth has previously done specialised training for action roles.

For Yodha, he worked on close-quarter and hand-to-hand combat with Craig Macrae and his team, and also focused on his overall conditioning.His preparation for The Vvaan similarly included developing functional strength and agility suited to the character.

The actor said he enjoys the physical aspect of preparing for his films, especially when it allows him to learn something new for a role.

“I actually enjoy the physical side of preparing for a film.

I like being active, and I like pushing myself to learn something new for every character,” Sidharth said.He added, “The goal isn't to make the training visible.The goal is for the audience to believe the character when they see him on screen.”  

According to Sidharth, keeping things realistic was especially important for The Vvaan, which has a fantasy setting.

“The world of Vvaan is unlike anything I've done before.

So the responsibility was to make sure that even within this fantastical setting, the character always feels grounded and believable,” he said.

The Vvaan is based on folklore and combines elements of fantasy, adventure, mystery and humour.

The film is written by Arunabh Kumar and directed by Deepak Mishra, with Sidharth Malhotra and Tamannaah Bhatia in the lead roles.The project also marks a collaboration between TVF, Balaji Motion Pictures and 11.11 Production.

Presented by Balaji Motion Pictures, a division of Balaji Telefilms Ltd, in association with TVF and 11.11 Production, the film is produced by Shobha Kapoor, Ektaa R Kapoor, Arunabh Kumar and Niraj Kothari.

Manu Anand serves as the director of photography and visual director.

The Vvaan is scheduled to release in cinemas on September 25, 2026.

Kalyani Priyadarshan shares major update on Ranveer Singh starrer Pralay; gives a glimpse of the script

Kalyani Priyadarshan shared a look at her upcoming project, Pralay, which features Ranveer Singh and is her first film with a Bollywood actor.She posted on social media, saying she is currently working on the film in Mumbai.

She shared a photo of the script’s front page, giving fans a peek into the project.

In her post, she also mentioned that she is spending Onam away from her family since she is busy with the film.She expressed missing out on traditional celebrations and Sadhya with her loved ones.

She wrote, “Fully locked in to Pralay in Mumbai this Onam, so no Sadhya with the fam, no pretty white saree pics, no festive content.

Here’s a dump of random things from the last couple months instead.Hope you all had a truly happy Onam.”  

This update has sparked more interest in Pralay, which is set in a dystopian world with zombie apocalypse elements.

The film is the directorial debut of Jai Mehta, son of Hansal Mehta, and is produced by Applause Entertainment.

While details about the plot and Kalyani’s character are still under wraps, the story is said to blend survival elements with an emotional family narrative.

It follows a man’s struggle to protect his family in tough circumstances.

The film is currently in pre-production, with the team working on bringing it to life.

Ranveer Singh’s involvement has drawn attention to the project, especially as he continues with his busy film schedule.

For Kalyani, Pralay is her first Hindi film.

She had a successful 2025 with her role as the first female Indian superhero in Lokah Chapter 1: Chandra, which brought her more recognition beyond the Malayalam film industry.

Although the makers have not announced the release date or full storyline, Kalyani’s social media update has given fans the latest look at Pralay.

Sharing the script cover and confirming she is working on the project has increased the excitement around this Ranveer Singh starrer.

Toxic headed to emerge a BIG DISASTER; Yash-starrer records a 70 per cent drop in India on Day 2

After a strong opening of Rs.120 crore (gross) in India, the movie *Toxic*, directed by Geethu Mohandas and starring Yash, Nayanthara, Kiara Advani, Tara Sutaria, and Huma Qureshi, has seen a big drop in its earnings.Early reports show that the film's collections fell by about 70%, earning only Rs.45 crore (gross) on the second day.

The total earnings for the first two days are Rs.

165 crore, and this drop suggests the film might be ending its run soon.Of the Rs.45 crore, around Rs.30 crore (gross) came from the Hindi version, while the other four South Indian versions contributed just Rs.15 crore.

The film did badly in South India, and even the Hindi version is not doing well, though it's holding up better than the others.

The box office numbers for the next day are also not great, and the film could end up with a very poor total despite its strong start.

The movie was made with a budget of Rs.

500 crore, and the producers didn't sell the digital rights hoping that good box office numbers would help them get a better price.However, the film's failure means they might have to sell it at a very low price, which will increase their losses.

It's sad to see a movie do so badly, but in the end, the audience's opinion is the most important.

With *Toxic*, the audience hasn't connected with the world that Yash tried to create.

Mahaprabhu Jagannath Movie

Mahaprabhu Jagannath Cast & Crew

Language

Hindi

Telugu

Release Date

28 August 2026

Genre

Animation

Family

Director

Shripad Warkhedkar

Producer

Durga Prasad Dalai

Star Cast

Prachi Save Saathi ... Jagan

Sonal Kaushal ... Balram       

Adityaraj Sharma  ... Ahamasur

Writer

Pallavi Sharma

Background Music

Aviral Kumar

Music Director

Ajit Shrivastv

Screenplay

Pallavi Sharma

Shooting Location(City & Country)

India

Censor Details:

Censor Dates

2026/05/06

Censor Certificate No

DIL/1/1/2026-CUT

Runtime

1h 44min

Certification

U

The Odyssey FORCED out of IMAX despite HISTORIC Rs. 90 cr collections from 34 IMAX screens and 43% occupancy on Day 40; Toxic takes over ALL shows

For 40 days, The Odyssey had a big success at 34 IMAX theaters in India.The movie did well even in regular theaters, but in IMAX, the money it made was very strong even after six weeks.Unfortunately, this amazing run is ending because of the new movie Toxic, starring Yash, which comes out on August 26.

It's shocking that The Odyssey had to leave the IMAX screens even though it made a lot of money.

It collected about Rs.90 crores from 34 IMAX screens and had 43% of the seats filled on day 40.Now, Toxic is taking over all the IMAX showtimes.

A source told Bollywood Hungama that Toxic is getting a lot of attention and it's an IMAX release, so its distributors asked for all the IMAX shows.

But The Odyssey is still doing really well.Even after many days, many shows were full.On the last day of its run in IMAX, on August 25, the shows were packed.Lower ticket prices helped, but the fact that people still came in big numbers on day 40 is impressive.

The source said that Warner Bros, who made The Odyssey, asked for just one show in IMAX starting August 26 because the demand didn't stop.

But the distributors of Toxic insisted on all the shows.

The good news is that the IMAX screen at Broadway Cinemas in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, will keep showing The Odyssey on two days: 11:30 am and 11:00 pm.

Toxic will be shown at 7:40 am, 3:10 pm, and 7:05 pm.

In India, The Odyssey made around Rs.

184.23 crores in 40 days.More than half of this, about Rs.90-91 crores, came from the IMAX format.

In the past 40 days, The Odyssey made over Rs.

1 crore on 33 days.On August 25, the last day of its full IMAX run, the movie made Rs.71 lakhs from IMAX alone, and total collections across all formats were about Rs.83 lakhs.On that day, 43% of the seats in IMAX were filled.

An industry insider said that if The Odyssey had one more show on each IMAX screen, it could have made more than Rs.

100 crores from IMAX alone, which would be a record.

The insider also said that maybe after a week or two, The Odyssey might come back to IMAX and still has a chance to make Rs.

100 crores.However, once a film leaves IMAX, there's a risk that its popularity might drop.

The total collections of The Odyssey in 40 days:

Week 1 - Rs.

85.65 crores

Week 2 - Rs.

45.67 crores

Week 3 - Rs.

24.15 crores

Week 4 - Rs.

15.65 crores

Week 5 - Rs.

7.74 crores

Week 6 (5 days) - Rs.

5.39 crores

The total collections from the IMAX format in 40 days:

Week 1 - Rs.

27.97 crores

Week 2 - Rs.

22.45 crores

Week 3 - Rs.

16.10 crores

Week 4 - Rs.

12.11 crores

Week 5 - Rs.

6.53 crores

Week 6 (5 days) - Rs.

5.11 crores

Toxic Movie Review: TOXIC leans on style and swagger but lacks story and depth.

Toxic Review {2.0/5} & Review Rating  

Star Cast: Yash, Nayanthara, Kiara Advani, Tara Sutaria, Rukmini Vasanth, Huma Qureshi  

Director: Geetu Mohandas  

Toxic Movie Review Synopsis:  

TOXIC is about a man and the women in his life.

The story takes place in 1947, when India becomes independent, but Goa is still under Portuguese control.Salvador (Darrell D'Silva) is in charge.Raya (Yash) and his sister Ganga (Nayanthara) join Salvador’s group and move up through the ranks because of their intelligence and boldness.Raya meets Salvador’s rebellious daughter, Rebecca (Tara Sutaria), and they start a relationship.Rebecca falls deeply in love with Raya, but Raya gets attracted to Nadia (Kiara Advani), who is the owner and star performer of a circus.Nadia’s arrival brings excitement but also pain for Raya.What happens after that is the rest of the story.

Toxic Movie Story Review:  

The story between Yash and Geetu Mohandas sounded exciting at first.

But their screenplay feels weird and doesn’t fit in either commercial or artistic categories.Some of the dialogues are sharp and good, but a few are forced and too dramatic.

Geetu Mohandas's direction is not very strong.

On the positive side, she handles the grand scale of the film well.The production is impressive, and she makes the final film feel suitable for the big screen.A few scenes stand out, like Raya's introduction, his time with Ganga, and his dinner with Nadia and what happens next.The break in the film, which includes the marriage scene and the sequence in the fort, is also interesting to watch.

On the other hand, the scenes showing Raya and Ganga's childhood are a bit confusing.

Raya's joining of Salvador’s gang is not clearly explained.The track of Mellisa (Rukmini Vasanth) feels weak and childish.For a while, the story seems to be going nowhere, and it’s unclear where it's heading.The entry of Ticket (Yash) brings some energy at first, but the fight scenes again pull the film down.However, it’s the final twist that decides the film's fate.It might have been interesting if TOXIC was a film festival film, but adding this twist in a commercial movie backfires, as it might not be well received by the general audience.Another big problem is that the slow-motion scenes and Raya’s look give a strong KGF and even ANIMAL-like feel.

Toxic Movie Review Performances:  

Yash does a lot of work and it shows.

He looks stylish in action and when performing for ladies.But at times, he overacts in some scenes.Kiara Advani is the best performer in the film; her part is very interesting.Nayanthara is next.She looks amazing and her performance is great.Tara Sutaria is a pleasant surprise and leaves a big impression.Huma Qureshi is reliable as always, as is Akshay Oberoi.Rukmini Vasanth is okay, but her part comes when the audience is already losing interest in the film.Darrell D'Silva, Sudev Nair (Karmadi), and others do a fair job.

Toxic movie music and other technical aspects:  

Songs are okay.

'Tabaahi' is the best one and works well because of its melody and the way it's shown on screen.'Madhosh' and 'Waqt' are just average.Ravi Basrur's background music adds a lot to the movie's feel.

Rajeev Ravi's camera work gives the film a big, movie-like look.

The action scenes by J J Perry, Anbariv, Kecha Khamphakdee, and Amrit Singh are very intense, as expected.T P Abid's set designs are elegant.Saniya Sardhariya's clothes for Yash are stylish, while Neha R Bajaj's outfits for the other characters are fancy.The visual effects by DNEG are top-notch.Ujwal Kulkarni's editing is decent but could have been tighter, especially in the Macau scenes.

Toxic Movie Review Conclusion:  

Overall, TOXIC depends too much on style, confidence, and the KGF-like image of Yash.

It lacks a strong story and emotional depth.The acting, big scenes, action, and technical work offer some good moments, but the uneven writing, slow parts, and a climax twist that won't connect with most viewers are big problems.At the box office, TOXIC is expected to open well because of Yash's popularity, the strong buzz before the release, and the big-scale feel of the movie.However, if word of mouth doesn't support the film's quality, the earnings might drop quickly, maybe by the weekend or even by Monday.

Kriti Sanon’s Raksha Bandhan ad row: Is the outrage really about tradition or about what women wear?

Kriti Sanon probably didn’t expect that tying a rakhi in a jewellery ad would cause one of the biggest discussions of the week in Bollywood.

Kriti Sanon's Raksha Bandhan campaign for GIVA has been criticized by some people on social media.

There are two main issues.First, she is wearing a bralette-style blouse in off-white with a cape and a draped skirt, which some think is not appropriate for a traditional festival.The second issue is a scene where she ties a rakhi to her pet dog.Some people also questioned why there were no traditional items like the puja thali or tilak.So far, Kriti hasn’t commented on the criticism.

But beneath all the noise about one ad is a more important question.

Who gets to decide what an Indian woman should look like when celebrating an Indian festival?

There's definitely a valid point on the other side.

This isn’t footage from Kriti’s private Raksha Bandhan celebration.It’s an ad created by a brand for a religious and cultural festival.So audiences have the right to judge if the ad feels authentic.If someone says, "This doesn’t look like the Raksha Bandhan I know," they’re commenting on the ad.Brands often succeed or fail based on how well they connect with how people see culture.That kind of criticism shouldn’t be automatically seen as backward.

But somewhere between questioning the creative choices in the ad and discussing how much of Kriti’s body should be visible while sitting next to a man acting as her brother, the conversation changes.

It stops being about Raksha Bandhan.

It becomes about controlling how women celebrate it.And that shows a strange contradiction in Bollywood.

Audiences often watch actresses in bikinis, swimsuits, deep necklines, item songs, and intimate scenes.

Those images are seen, shared, celebrated, and sometimes become viral.Yet, when a modern outfit is used in the context of a festival, the same woman's body suddenly becomes a cultural topic.

Maybe because Indian pop culture still puts women into two different boxes.

There is the modern woman from films, fashion shoots, holidays, and Instagram.Then there is the "other" woman who appears during Diwali, Raksha Bandhan, Karwa Chauth, or weddings.

Kriti Sanon's Raksha Bandhan ad row: Is the outrage really about tradition or about what women wear?

This second woman is expected to represent tradition visually.

We are used to modernity, as long as she changes clothes before entering the festival.

There’s also another interesting angle to the controversy.

The decision to include the dog wasn’t a random joke.GIVA had already described its Raksha Bandhan campaign as "Furever Sibling," based on the idea that pets are now family for many people.The company also tied the campaign to a pet collection.In other words, what some viewers saw as being disrespectful to the festival was actually the campaign’s attempt to modernize the ritual.One can still choose to dislike that idea.

Not every tradition needs to be changed by an ad.

Not every effort to be progressive or "Gen Z friendly" works automatically.Sometimes brands try too hard to reinterpret festivals and end up losing the original simple feeling.That criticism is fair.

What’s harder to justify is the belief that there’s only one correct way to celebrate a festival in a country with hundreds of millions of families, each with different customs, clothing, relationships, and rituals.

Traditions themselves have never been fixed or unchanged.

Sisters tie rakhis to sisters.

Women tie them to friends.Children tie them to people they see as protectors.Families abroad celebrate differently than families in small towns.Some do big rituals; others just tie the thread, exchange sweets, and hug.

And yes, more and more, people are bringing their pets into almost every family event you can think of.

So the real issue with the Kriti Sanon ad might not be whether it's traditional enough.

It might be that advertising today is stuck between two versions of India that live in the same home.One side wants brands to show how lifestyles are changing.The other wants festivals, especially how they're shown in popular culture, to be protected from too much change.Neither of these feelings is made up.

The problem starts when cultural differences become judgments about the woman in the picture.

Kriti's shirt, GIVA's creative choices, and tying a rakhi to a pet can all be discussed.But maybe a woman's modesty doesn't need to be questioned.

Because if Raksha Bandhan is really about love, family, and protection, it would be funny if the biggest debate around it was about protecting society from an actress's shirt.