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NTR Gets Legal Protection for Personality and Publicity Rights

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Actor Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao (NTR) has received legal protection for his personality and publicity rights. His team released an official statement confirming that the Delhi High Court has passed an order safeguarding his name, image, and identity from unauthorized commercial misuse.

The court acted on a petition filed by NTR, citing widespread misuse of his identity across digital platforms. The order prohibits the unauthorized use of his name and popular identifiers such as “NTR,” “Jr NTR,” “Tarak,” “Man of Masses,” and “Young Tiger,” along with his image and likeness. Any such misuse must be removed as per the law.

The High Court recognized NTR’s celebrity status and ruled that his name and image are closely associated with him, giving him proprietary rights over his personality. The court also stated that personality and publicity rights are part of the right to life and freedom under the Constitution.

Digital platforms have been directed to act against infringing content, including AI-generated material and morphed images. The legal protection order aims to protect NTR’s identity and reputation and warns that any misuse will lead to strict legal action.

Did Varanasi Team drop a bombshell?

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Mahesh Babu and SS Rajamouli’s much-awaited film Varanasi has not officially announced its release date so far. Earlier, the film was expected to be released in the summer of 2027. But a few days ago, inside reports suggested that the release might be pushed to the end of 2027 or even early 2028.

Now, a picture from an Instagram reel is going viral on social media. The image appears to show a release date poster with a Varanasi-themed backdrop. The date mentioned on the poster is April 7, 2027, which falls on a Wednesday and also benefits from the Ugadi festival holiday.

Fans Excited About Buzz Around Varanasi Release Date

If the Varanasi team has indeed announced the release date without any prior official statement, it has come as a big surprise to audiences. It remains to be seen how the makers will officially respond to this development.

One thing is certain: if the April 7, 2027, release date turns out to be true, it would be a perfect choice. With the Ugadi holiday and the beginning of the summer vacation season, the film is expected to attract huge crowds to theatres.

Rajinikanth’s Autobiography in the Making

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Superstar Rajinikanth has begun working on his autobiography, and the news has created great excitement among fans. His daughter, Soundarya Rajinikanth, said that his life story is sure to become a global sensation.

Soundarya revealed that her father is currently writing his autobiography while she was promoting her latest film. She said the book will explore many lesser-known aspects of Rajinikanth’s life, showing his journey from humble beginnings to becoming one of the biggest legends in cinema.

Rajinikanth (Shivaji Rao Gaekwad), born in 1950, is a legendary Indian actor, producer, and screenwriter, having been predominantly active in Tamil cinema for over five decades. He began his career as a bus conductor, making his debut in 1975 and becoming a cultural phenomenon known for his unique style, charisma, and massive box-office success. An autobiography is, therefore, a deserving project that will allow future generations to learn about him.

Rajinikanth’s Next Films

On the work front, Rajinikanth is busy with Jailer 2, directed by Nelson Dilipkumar, which is expected to release in late summer. He has also announced his next film, tentatively titled Thalaivar 173. The film will be directed by Cibi Chakravarthy of Don fame and produced by Kamal Haasan.

Dhurandhar OTT Release: Netflix Still Silent

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Dhurandhar has emerged as the biggest grosser in the history of Hindi cinema, with ₹785 crore net collections in India. The OTT viewers eagerly await its OTT release, but Netflix is still silent about Dhurandhar’s streaming update.

The film’s domestic gross stands above ₹940 crore, while the overseas gross is close to ₹300 crore, taking the total worldwide gross to around ₹1,240 crore making it the all-time biggest grosser.

As per the eight-week theatrical window, the film is scheduled to begin OTT streaming from tonight. The digital rights have been bagged by Netflix for all languages.

However, Netflix has remained silent on the streaming update of Dhurandhar and has not made any official announcement so far. This silence has left audiences frustrated, as many are eagerly waiting for the OTT release.

South Indian audiences, in particular, are waiting keenly. Despite huge demand for dubbed versions, the makers could not release them in theatres due to time constraints. The team has promised that Dhurandhar Part 2 will have a pan-India release in all languages. Because of this, audiences are now waiting for the OTT release to watch Part 1.

For the film’s team as well, it is important that Part 1 gets a wide reach in South Indian languages, so that Part 2 benefits from stronger hype across all languages. Netflix now needs to either start streaming the film from tonight or make an official announcement regarding the streaming date today.

Border 2 Box Office: From Big Start to Big Drop

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Bollywood’s latest film, Border 2, started with a huge start in India at the box office, but the film’s numbers saw drops after the extended weekend, shocking the trade. The film was released in theaters on January 23, 2026

Gadar 2, released in 2023, delivered a massive comeback for Sunny Deol, collecting over ₹500 crore nett and emerging as one of the biggest blockbusters ever in the Hindi belt. With Border 2, the trade expected a similar trend, and the film initially followed the same path with a strong opening weekend and a huge jump in collections.

Border 2 recorded an All-India tracked gross of ₹31.85 crore on Day 1, ₹39.55 crore on Day 2, ₹56 crore on Day 3, and ₹60.25 crore on Day 4, indicating Gadar 2-level momentum during the extended weekend. However, the collections saw a sharp fall thereafter, with Day 5 bringing in ₹20.9 crore and Day 6 dropping further to ₹13.7 crore.

The total All-India tracked gross for six days now stands at around ₹223 crore, translating to approximately ₹195 crore nett. With this trend, reaching the ₹500 crore nett mark looks out of reach.

If the film does not regain strong momentum this weekend, even the ₹400 crore nett milestone will be very difficult to achieve. That said, Border 2 is still a commercial blockbuster, as its breakeven is around ₹300 crore nett, which the film should comfortably achieve, though it appears set to miss the sensational Gadar 2-range performance that many in the trade had anticipated.

Sankranthi 2026 Releases: US Market Disappoints

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In the Telugu states and across India, Sankranthi 2026 releases Mana Shankara Vara Prasad Garu, Anaganaga Oka Raju, and Nari Nari Naduma Murari buyers have seen massive profits and huge overflows.

But in the USA market, buyers did not see any major profits from Sankranthi 2026 releases. The breakeven for Mana Shankara Vara Prasad Garu was valued at $3.25M+, and the film has collected around $3.3M, just crossing the breakeven mark.

USA buyers did not see the expected profits from the Sankranthi 2026 releases

Similarly, Anaganaga Oka Raju had a breakeven of $1.7M and collected about $1.75M. Nari Nari Naduma Murari had a breakeven of $700K and has collected around $750K so far. From here on, all three films may still add some numbers, but overall, they have only managed to achieve breakeven for buyers, including expenses, without delivering big profits as they did in the Telugu states.

Coming to The Raja Saab, the USA has turned out to be the most disappointing territory. The breakeven was valued at $7.4M, while the film has collected only $2.35M so far, just around 30% of the breakeven value. Ravi Teja’s Bhartha Mahasayulaku Wignyapthi ended with collections of just $213K, turning out to be a huge disaster.

Overall, for USA buyers, two films disappointed in a significant way, and the same trend was seen in the Telugu states as well. However, for the other three films, Telugu states’ buyers made big profits, whereas in the USA, they only managed to achieve breakeven status with no significant profit.

Jana Nayagan: Makers Withdraw Censor Case

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Buzz in the Tamil film industry suggests that the makers of Jana Nayagan have decided to withdraw the court case related to the film’s censor certificate. This move marks a change in strategy after the issue was taken to court over certification concerns.

The production team is expected to officially inform the single judge about the withdrawal when the case comes up for hearing. Once this is done, all legal proceedings related to the censor certificate will come to an end.

After withdrawing the case, Jana Nayagan will be sent to the Revising Committee for further review. This process is expected to take around one more month. According to sources, the revising committee may suggest more cuts and audio mutes than in the earlier version, depending on their observations and recommendations.

Jana Nayagan’s Court Proceedings Details:

  • January 6–9: The producers filed a writ petition in the Madras High Court after the CBFC referred the film to a “revising committee” at the last minute.
  • January 9: Single Judge Justice P.T. Asha ruled in favor of the makers, quashing the CBFC’s decision and ordering the immediate issuance of a U/A 16+ certificate.
  • January 9 (Evening): On an urgent appeal by the CBFC, a Division Bench stayed the Single Judge’s order, citing that the board was not given sufficient time to respond.
  • January 12–15: The producers moved the Supreme Court of India to challenge the stay. The Supreme Court declined to interfere, questioning the “blistering pace” of the initial order and directing the parties back to the Madras High Court.
  • January 20–27: The Madras High Court Division Bench reserved its order after hearing marathon arguments.

Shankar’s Dream Film Gets Producer Amid Multiple Restrictions

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Director Shankar had mentioned many times that Velpari, the historical big-budget film, is his dream project. But due to the failures of Indian 2 and Game Changer, he could not get the producers onboard for the film. 

According to Tamil media buzz, Bollywood production house Pen Media is set to produce director Shankar’s magnum opus, Velpari. The production has asked for the exact budget and schedule required for the film and has also requested a written assurance from Shankar that the budget will not be exceeded.

Velpari: Shankar’s Dream Project Set to Begin?

Meanwhile, Shankar is currently working on the pre-production and budget estimation for the film. This is good and right from producers, as Shankar has exceeded planned budgets continuously on recent movies, so asking him for a proper plan and proceedings will set things accordingly. 

Shankar’s Velpari is a big, three-part fantasy-historical movie based on Su Venkatesan’s Tamil novel, Veera Yuga Nayakan Velpari. It’s aiming for a worldwide audience and will tell the story of the legendary Tamil ruler Vel Pari and how he fought against the three Tamil kingdoms.

Stream Roshan’s Champion Tonight on OTT

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Champion is Roshan Meka’s second film after his debut Pelli SandaD, which failed to leave a mark at the box office. The latest update is that the film is now ready for its digital release. OTT audiences can stream Champion on Netflix starting tonight.

The film was released in theatres on December 25, 2025. Directed by Pradeep Advaitam, it was produced by Swapna Cinema and Vyjayanthi Films, the banners behind acclaimed films like Mahanati, Kalki 2898 AD, and Sita Ramam. Despite the strong production backing, it ended up as a major box-office failure.

Can Champion turn the tide with its digital release?

Netflix has acquired the digital streaming rights, and viewers can stream Champion from January 29, 2026. The movie also marks the Telugu debut of actress Anaswara Rajan.

Champion follows the journey of a young football player who dreams of playing for an English club. As he comes closer to achieving his goal, he gets caught up in the freedom struggle and rises against British rule during the Razakar period in Telangana.

Shruti Haasan’s Powerful Entry in Dulquer Salmaan’s Next

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Dulquer Salmaan is gearing up for his next Pan-India film, Aakasamlo Oka Tara, directed by Pavan Sadineni. The film is presented by Geetha Arts and Swapna Cinema and produced by Sandeep Gunnam and Ramya Gunnam.

The makers have officially introduced Shruti Haasan in a crucial role in Dulquer Salmaan’s next film. Her first look shows her in a serious and intense avatar, hinting that her character will play an important part in the story and bring a major turn in the film’s narrative.

The film stars Satvika Veeravalli as the female lead and features music by GV Prakash Kumar, cinematography by Sujith Sarang, and production design by Shwetha Sabu Cyril.

Introducing Satvika Veeravalli – Aakasamlo Oka Tara

Currently in the final stages of production, Aakasamlo Oka Tara is set for a Pan-India theatrical release in Summer 2026 in Telugu, Tamil, Hindi, and Malayalam.