Latest news with #AkshayKumar-starrer
India Today
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- India Today
Welcome to Jungle shooting paused due to Pahalgam attack, not dues: Report
After reports claimed that the shoot of Akshay Kumar-starrer 'Welcome to the Jungle' was halted due to financial issues, a new update has now emerged. While some claimed the production was paused over unpaid dues to the crew, a source close to the project clarified that the filming break was actually due to the Pahalgam attack, as the next schedule was planned in insider close to the development connected with the producer and told Hindustan Times that the claims of financial issues are not true. "The entire schedule was locked, which included helicopters, over 250 horses with horsemen, and 1200 junior artists. But, everything is on track, all 34 actors are excited and set to commence the last marathon schedule and will begin post-rains in a different location.'The film's shoot was halted last month. The source added, '70 per cent of the shoot of Welcome to the Jungle is already done. The remaining 30 per cent was to be scheduled in Kashmir, but because of the unfortunate Pahalgam attack, the plan got pushed." Earlier, Pinkvilla reported that the real reason behind the delay is that the cast, including the big stars, have not been paid two to three schedules of 'Welcome To The Jungle' have been cancelled over the last six months, leaving the actors and their team confused about the prospects. The actors have been allotting dates for the shoot of Welcome To The Jungle to producer Firoz Nadiadwala, and the same stands cancelled at the last minute due to logistical and financial issues," a source informed the entertainment portal.'Welcome To The Jungle' marks the third instalment in the popular 'Welcome' comedy franchise. Originally slated for release on December 20, 2024, the film boasts a star-studded cast, including veteran actor Sanjay Dutt. However, reports suggest that Dutt has exited the project. It is said that repeated shoot delays and numerous script changes are the key reasons for his film features actors Suniel Shetty, Arshad Warsi, Paresh Rawal, Johnny Lever, Rajpal Yadav, Tusshar Kapoor, Shreyas Talpade, Krushna Abhishek, Kiku Sharda, Daler Mehndi, Mika Singh, Rahul Dev, Mukesh Tiwari, Sharib Hashmi, Inaamulhaq, Zakir Hussain, Yashpal Sharma, Raveena Tandon, Lara Dutta, Jacqueline Fernandez, Disha Patani and Vrihi Kodvara.
Indian Express
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Indian Express
Our kids deserve better than Housefull 5, a broken censor board, and biased audience
In an age where cinema holds immense power to influence culture and shape young minds, the double standards of the Indian censor board are not just baffling — they are dangerous. Take Housefull 5, the latest instalment of a franchise that has long thrived on adult comedy, double entendre, objectification of women and slapstick vulgarity has been given a U/A certificate, green-lighting it for 'family viewing' with parental guidance. In sharp contrast, Oh My God 2, a film designed to educate teenagers on sex education and adolescent health was slapped with an 'A' certificate, making it inaccessible to the very audience it aimed to enlighten. This contradiction not just exposes the gaping hole in how the censor board defines appropriate content, and what it truly believes is 'safe' for children but also highlights a deeper societal discomfort with truth-telling. Especially, when it comes to sex education. I witnessed this contradiction firsthand at the screening of Housefull 5 at a multiplex packed with over a hundred people. The audience was a full house of families–from toddlers to seniors, all drawn in by the promise of a 'family entertainer' as implied by the U/A certificate. The Mukesh tobacco ad played, the lights dimmed, anticipation was high. But the moment the film began, a sense of unease settled in. Billionaire Ranjeet Dobriyal (played by Ranjeet) dies just before his 100th birthday bash on a cruise ship. Soon, characters played by Shreyas Talpade, Dino Morea, Fardeen Khan, Chitrangada Singh, and others are introduced. The discomfort starts early: a female lawyer (played by Soundarya Sharma), enters in a highly sexualised manner with Ranjeet's will, sits provocatively, and becomes the target of a crass joke where the character of Shreyas Talpade uses rolled-up paper as binoculars as she crosses her legs. Some chuckled, others looked on, squirming in their seats. ALSO READ | Housefull 5 director blames viewers for focusing on 'skin show, objectification of women' in the Akshay Kumar-starrer: 'The plot is driven by women' But this was just the beginning. In one scene, Soundarya's cleavage is emphasised through two clumsy paper-dropping incidents, drawing the gaze of camera and male characters. One might expect grown adults to roll their eyes at such dated attempts at humour. But when a child, barely 10, sitting near me laughed at the scene, the real problem is obvious — what were they laughing at and what were they learning? As the film progressed, the scenes grew more disturbing. Akshay Kumar, Abhishek Bachchan, and Riteish Deshmukh each show up with Nargis Fakhri, Jacqueline Fernandez, and Sonam Bajwa, respectively, to stake their claim to Ranjeet's empire–the only clue being that Jolly, his heir, has a foreigner wife and a burn mark on his butt. What follows is a slew of jokes centred around skin show, sexual positions, and degrading female characters. Especially when Akshay Kumar asks Nargis Fakhri to show off her body to prove she is a 'foreigner' woman. Phrases like '69' and visual gags of women being inappropriately touched in the dark pass off as punchlines. The curiosity these scenes brought in children's eyes wasn't comic–it was loaded with questions no parent had prepared to answer. And who could blame them? The CBFC told them this was 'safe' to watch — that this was 'family-friendly entertainment.' ALSO READ | Housefull 5A and Housefull 5B ending explained: Who are the killers in this Akshay Kumar-starrer? But so was not the fate of Oh My God 2, a film that dared to do what our education system often avoids. With Akshay Kumar in a divine avatar, the 2023 film approached topics like masturbation and puberty not with vulgarity, but with empathy and clarity. It was not flawless but a sincere effort to destigmatise topics that are often hushed in Indian homes and classrooms. But the CBFC found it to be 'too explicit', delayed it, ordered multiple cuts, and finally stamped with an 'A' certificate. Rather than focusing on the content and its purpose, censor board was busy taking issue with Akshay Kumar originally playing Lord Shiva in OMG2, forcing the makers to recast him as 'Shiv ka Das' to avoid offending religious sentiments. However, it didn't find an issue with the way women were objectified, crass dialogues and voyeurism in Housefull 5–and labelled it U/A. The most sobering reality is not just the system–it's us, the audience. Housefull 5, despite its regressive humour and objectification of women, is racing ahead at the box office. Tickets are selling out, laughter echoes in packed theatres, and it is being labelled as 'mass entertainer'. We are the same people who laugh at sexist jokes in movies like Housefull 5 or watch it with our children in theatres but often be the first one to raise moral alarms when a web series depicts nudity, intimacy, or profanity–even when done in context. The double standards of the censor board only reflect the double standard of our society. Jyothi Jha works as a Copy Editor at the Indian Express. She brings in more than 5 years of experience where she has covered Entertainment majorly for TV9, NDTV and Republic Media. Apart from Entertainment, she has been an anchor, copy editor and managed production team under the Politics and Daily News segment. She's passionate about Journalism and it has always been her first choice, she believes in what George Orwell had once said, " Journalism is printing what someone else does not want you to do, rest everything is public relations". ... Read More
Indian Express
13-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Indian Express
Housefull 5 director defends Akshay Kumar-starrer amid criticism over sexist humour: ‘My characters are flawed, so they will do things which are unacceptable'
Housefull 5, which released last week and continues to perform strongly at the box office, has also faced significant criticism. Much of the backlash centers around the film's jokes, which many have called extremely sexist and patriarchal in nature. Additionally, the film's politically incorrect humor and adult-themed vulgarity have raised eyebrows, especially given that it received a U/A certificate from the censor board, allowing viewers aged 12 and above to watch it freely. Many critics and viewers have questioned how such content was deemed appropriate for this rating. In a conversation with Bollywood Hungama, Housefull 5 director Tarun Mansukhani addressed the criticisms head-on. Defending the film's controversial humour and politics, he said, 'See, my characters are flawed and so naturally they will do certain things that are not societally agreeable. I'm not here to make a film so placid, where all the characters are wonderful people. We're talking about a murder mystery, each one of them is capable of murder. These are characters who are sexist, who are misogynistic, that's who they are as characters. It doesn't mean the actors are like that as human beings. It's not a reflection of real life, nor that actor, or me as a director, or the producer.' Also Read | Housefull 5 director blames viewers for focusing on 'skin show, objectification of women' in the Akshay Kumar-starrer: 'The plot is driven by women' Further explaining his stance, Mansukhani added, 'Other than that, I'm also saying I have stripped the men, you see, Dino was naked in two sequences. All three male leads have shown their butts in the film. Why isn't anyone saying I'm sexist towards men? You're picking and choosing what you want to say about the film.' He also mentioned that the criticism doesn't bother him much. According to him, while making the film, he wasn't focused on how people would react to such content. His primary goal was simply to entertain the audience and earn their appreciation. Despite the negative reviews, Housefull 5 has crossed the Rs 200 crore mark globally within a week of its release.
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Business Standard
13-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Business Standard
Housefull 5 box office collection day 8: Akshay's movie crosses 200 cr
Akshay Kumar starrer Housefull 5 continues its impressive run at the box office as it enters its second weekend. According to industry tracker Sacnilk, the film has amassed a domestic net collection of ₹127.25 crore in its first 7 days. On the global front, Housefull 5 has crossed the ₹200 crore mark, outpacing several recent releases. Housefull 5 box office collection day 8 The movie has observed a dip since Monday; however, it might get back on track on its second weekend. On day 8, the Akshay Kumar-starrer minted around ₹ 0.78 crore, and this number will surely surge by the end of the day. Made with a budget of Rs 240 crore, the movie has already crossed Rs 200 crore mark at the box office worldwide. Housefull 5: Day-wise collection Housefull 5 Day 1 Collection (Fri) ₹24 Cr Housefull 5 Day 2 Collection (Sat) ₹31 Cr Housefull 5 Day 3 Collection (Sun) ₹32.5 Cr Housefull 5 Day 4 Collection (Mon) ₹13 Cr Housefull 5 Day 5 Collection (Tue) ₹11.25 Cr Day 6 Collection (Wed) ₹8.5 Cr Housefull 5 Day 7 Collection (Thu) ₹7 Cr Housefull 5 Week 1 Collection ₹127.25 Cr Housefull 5 Day 8 Collection (Fri) ₹0.78 Cr Housefull 5 Total Collection ₹128.03 Cr Housefull 5 cast Directed by Tarun Mansukhani, Housefull 5 features a massive ensemble cast including Akshay Kumar, Abhishek Bachchan, Riteish Deshmukh, Johnny Lever, Jacqueline Fernandez, Chunky Panday, R Madhavan, Sanjay Dutt, Jackie Shroff, Sonam Bajwa, Nargis Fakhri, Nana Patekar, and many more. With rising collections and audience curiosity around the whodunit twist, Housefull 5 is poised to become one of the biggest Bollywood hits of 2025.
Mint
08-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Mint
Housefull 5 Box Office Collection Day 2: Akshay Kumar's movie crosses ₹50 crore mark, mints THIS amount so far
Livemint Published 8 Jun 2025, 07:11 AM IST Housefull 5 Box Office Collection day 2: Akshay Kumar's film released on Friday, June 6, 2025. Housefull 5 Box Office Collection day 2: Akshay Kumar-starrer movie crossed the ₹ 50 crore mark within two days of its release, according to industry tracker Sacnilk. The film's total box office collection after the second day stood at ₹ 54 crore.
