India’s Bollywood bets big on ‘event cinema’

India’s Bollywood is moving decisively towards a cinema of scale and confrontation — where patriotism, spectacle, and ideological clarity increasingly trump nuance and narrative risk, industry insiders say.The shift has fuelled what experts describe as “event cinema”, as studios rely on big-budget spectacles and top-tier stars to lure audiences — especially smartphone-loving Gen Z viewers — back into theatres.That strategy appears to be working. Akshaye Rathi, a prominent film exhibitor, predicted a 45–50 percent rise in net Hindi box-office collections and a 25 percent increase in young theatre-goers this year.”The year looks poised for historic numbers,” Rathi told AFP.The industry’s financial model was shaken during the Covid-19 pandemic, which coincided with the rapid rise of streaming platforms and a shift to home viewing.But its 2026 upcoming slate, packed with patriotic war dramas, spy thrillers, mythological epics and nationalist narratives — reflects not just a commercial recalibration, analysts say, but a broader change in creative priorities.- ‘Propaganda’ -Critics argue Bollywood is increasingly producing polarising films aligned with the ideology of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu-nationalist government, using cinema’s unrivalled mass reach to shape public sentiment.”These days film themes also depend upon who is ruling at the centre — Hindu wave, propaganda… all these are big factors that filmmakers cash in on,” said movie business analyst Atul Mohan, editor of film trade magazine Complete Cinema. “But only one or two films work, not all 10 or 15.”He cited the success of 2022 blockbuster “The Kashmir Files”, depicting in harrowing detail how several hundred thousand Hindus fled Muslim militants in Indian-administered Kashmir in 1989-90.And he compared that with the 2025 film “The Bengal Files”, on alleged political violence in eastern India, which he described as a commercial “disaster”.Films centred on geopolitical conflict, internal enemies, and heroic masculinity now dominate mainstream Hindi cinema, reflecting both the political mood and the economics of theatrical survival.Last year’s gory action thriller “Dhurandhar”, meaning “formidable”, leaned heavily on hyper-nationalist tropes of Indian agents confronting Pakistan-linked foes, and became one of 2025’s highest-grossing films — following a real-life four-day border clash with Pakistan.Its sequel, “Dhurandhar 2″, again starring Ranveer Singh, is set for release in March.- ‘Gratuitous violence’ -Veteran Delhi-based film critic Arnab Banerjee said political messaging now outweighs craftsmanship.”It is not the quality of the film that matters today, it is propaganda films that are working,” said Banerjee.”The mood of the nation is such that people are lapping up these subjects. Pakistan-bashing and references to enemy countries are being accepted without questioning.”Banerjee also criticised what he called an excess of “gratuitous violence”, arguing that “it is social media hype that is deciding the film’s fate.”He pointed to “Ikkis”, a film on the 1971 India–Pakistan war released in January, which struggled commercially despite positive reviews.”It is a well-made film, but it didn’t work,” he said. “Perhaps because Pakistan is not shown as the enemy.”Director Ahmed Khan, however, said quality still ultimately determines success, citing his upcoming action-comedy “Welcome to the Jungle”, starring Akshay Kumar.”Whatever the genre — action, drama, comedy or horror — it depends on how well you’ve made it,” Khan said.He pointed to the 2025 successes of the contrasting romantic drama “Saiyaara” as well as high-octane “Dhurandhar”.”Both, poles apart in genre, did great business,” he said. “People’s mood can change any time.”

Olivia Wilde slams ICE after Minneapolis shooting

Actress and director Olivia Wilde used her red carpet appearance at the Sundance Film Festival on Saturday to slam the “murder” of an American protester, who was shot dead on the streets of Minneapolis by federal agents.Wilde, who was in Park City, Utah, for the premiere “The Invite,” which she directed and starred in, said the death of a second protester in just three weeks at the hands of federal agents was “unfathomable.””I can’t believe that we’re watching people get murdered in the street,” she told AFP.”These brave Americans who have stepped out to protest the injustice of these ICE quote/unquote ‘officers,’ and watching them be murdered. It’s unfathomable. We cannot normalize it.”Wilde’s comments come after the killing of 37-year-old ICU nurse Alex Pretti, who died after being pinned to the ground by federal agents who then shot him multiple times.Pretti’s death comes weeks after an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer shot and killed Renee Good, also 37, in her car.Wilde, who wore an “ICE OUT” badge, said the US government violence on people exercising their right to free expression was “un-American.””We may have a government that is somehow trying to make excuses for it and legitimize it, but we (Americans) don’t.”

Pakistani court jails rights activist and husband for 10 years

A Pakistani court on Saturday jailed a prominent rights activist and her husband for 10 years over “anti-state” social media posts.Imaan Mazari, a 32-year-old lawyer and vocal critic of Pakistan’s military, “disseminated highly offensive” content on her X account, according to an Islamabad court. A court statement said Mazari and her husband, fellow lawyer Hadi Ali Chattha, “will have to remain in jail for 10 years”.They were handed prison terms on three charges — including “cyber terrorism” and “intentional dissemination of false and fake information” — to run concurrently, the document said. Their sentencing came a day after Pakistani police arrested the couple again as they headed to a court hearing in the capital to face the charges.Videos circulating on social media showed police vans escorting a bar association vehicle carrying Mazari to court before it was stopped at an underpass, where masked security officials prevented journalists from filming the arrest.- ‘Severe repression’ -Mazari is the daughter of Pakistan’s former minister for human rights, Shireen Mazari, while her late father was the South Asian country’s top paediatrician. She is a pro bono lawyer on some of the most sensitive cases, including the enforced disappearances of ethnic Balochs, as well as defending the community’s top activist, Mahrang Baloch. She also represented those accused of blasphemy — an incendiary charge in Pakistan — as well as Afghans who face crackdowns by the authorities. Senate opposition leader Allama Raja Nasir Abbas said the two lawyers were convicted “solely for social media posts criticizing what they saw as state abuses and advocating for marginalized communities”. “This ruling sends a chilling message that peaceful advocacy and criticism of power will be met with severe repression,” he wrote in a post on X.  On Friday, Syed Wajid Ali Shah Gillani, president of the Islamabad High Court Bar Association, alleged in a video statement that police manhandled the couple before arresting them.Imaan Mazari told AFP on Tuesday that she and her husband feared arrest over undisclosed police cases, a move she said would be a “grave injustice”.The couple had been confined to the Islamabad High Court’s premises since Tuesday, spending nights at a lawyers’ association building, after being granted bail in a cybercrime case.Changes to the constitution and hasty legislation passed by parliament have pushed Pakistan towards tighter state control, with diminishing political and civil rights. 

India’s solar-panel boom: full throttle today, uncertain tomorrow

The race for green energy is on. India, driven by soaring electricity demand and a push to reduce reliance on China, is rapidly producing solar panels, fuelling a booming yet uncertain market.At the Adani Group’s factory in Mundra, in India’s western state of Gujarat, assembly lines churn out photovoltaic panels around the clock.Up to 10,000 a day come off the line, with most sent straight to Khavda, further north, where the Indian conglomerate is finishing what will be the world’s largest solar park.But Adani Solar’s CEO, Muralee Krishnan, says operations are “actually lagging”.”Our capacity needs to be fully used — we should work 48 hours a day.”The intensity is matched by other major producers in the world’s most populous nation.At the Tata conglomerate factory in Tirunelveli, in the southern state of Tamil Nadu, 4,000 mostly women employees also work non-stop shifts.”They operate 24/7, so you get better yield, better efficiency, better productivity,” said Praveer Sinha, CEO of Tata Power.”You cannot stop the production line… there is a rush to produce to maximise the output.”With the twin imperatives of development and lower carbon emissions, India has set itself ambitious renewable energy targets.Last year, it said half its electricity-generation capacity was now “green”, five years ahead of the timeline set in the Paris Agreement on lowering emissions.But 75 percent of electricity is still generated by coal-fired power plants, with inflexible operations and long-term coal power purchase agreements hampering renewable uptake.- ‘Make in India’ -There are signs of change.Last year, coal-fired power generation fell three percent, only the second full-year drop recorded in half a decade, according to the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air.Renewable capacity of 230 gigawatts (GW) is set to rise to 500 GW by 2030, including 280 GW of solar.But Prime Minister Narendra Modi has placed another constraint on the industry: “Make in India.”That means there is no question of importing solar panels from China, which supplies 90 percent of the world’s market.All public tenders require “local” production, which India supports with substantial subsidies that have attracted big businesses.Tata, a pioneer in solar panels since the 1990s, has been joined by Adani and Reliance, which have built state-of-the-art, highly automated factories.”The quality of the product is very, very critical,” said Ashish Khanna, CEO Adani Green Energy.”When you are building a project of this size, you also need to be very reassured of the supply chain. We cannot have a disruption or interruption in that particular process.” But for now, the technology and raw materials still come from China.And Beijing has complained to the World Trade Organization over the subsidies and restrictions on its solar panels.The solar push is so intense that Adani is considering silicon mining to secure a key raw material, company insiders say, and there are suggestions Tata Power is eyeing in-house silicon-wafer production.- ‘A huge market’ -Growth in the sector is already staggering, with solar manufacturing capacity expected to soon exceed 125 GW, according to consultancy Wood Mackenzie said.But that is triple current domestic demand, according to Wood Mackenzie analyst Yana Hryshko.Government incentives have “been highly effective in spurring factory announcements, but the industry is now seeing warning signs of rapid overcapacity”, Hryshko said in a report last year.The sector’s long-term sustainability may therefore depend on exports, with some companies already targeting global markets.”Solar is a huge market: the world will see it doubling, from 2,000 GW to 4,000 GW in four years,” said Ashish Khanna, head of the International Solar Alliance. “The question is now — will Indian manufacturers be globally competitive compared to China?” Tejpreet Chopra, from the private power company Bharat Light and Power, points out that “the problem is that it’s cheaper to import from China than to buy local”.And the level of manufacturing in China “is so much higher that it’s very difficult to match”, he added.The sector also faces “geopolitical” headwinds from US President Donald Trump’s tariffs, with Chopra adding that they make it “very difficult to sell to the United States”.Despite these challenges, the head of Tata Power, which does not yet export, remains convinced his business has a bright future.”We strongly believe,” said Praveer Sinha, “that solar will play a very important role in the renewable space of India.”