Serene Productions has entered into a binding agreement to invest Rs 1,000 crore in production house Dharma Productions and Dharmatic Entertainment (Dharma), the company said in a statement.

Subsequently, Serene Productions will hold a 50 per cent stake in Dharma, with Johar retaining the remaining 50 per cent ownership, it added.

“Poonawalla’s investment values Dharma at Rs 2,000 crore,” the statement said.

“We hope to build and grow Dharma and scale even greater heights in the years to come,” Poonawalla said on the investment.

On the investment by Serene Productions, Johar said, “This partnership represents a perfect blend of our emotional storytelling prowess and forward-thinking business strategies. It’s about honouring our roots while embracing the future of global entertainment.”

Under the new structure, Johar as the Executive Chairman will spearhead the company’s creative vision, while Apoorva Mehta, in his role as the Chief Executive Officer, will work with Johar in steering the strategic direction and overseeing the operations, the statement said.

The collaboration aims to further transform content creation, distribution, and audience engagement by integrating advanced technologies and pioneering production methods, it added.

The development comes at a time when India’s entertainment industry has experienced significant expansion, driven by surging digital penetration and a diverse audience seeking high-quality content across multiple platforms, with growing global relevance, the company said.

The Amar Kaushik-directed horror comedy, a sequel to the 2019 film “Stree”, has emerged as the highest-grossing Hindi film of all time at the domestic box office, with a collection of over Rs 600 crore.

At an event on Friday evening, where the iconic magazine Screen was relaunched, Kapoor called the film a “pure cinematic joy” and praised the collaborative effort of the crew and her co-stars Rajkummar Rao, Pankaj Tripathi, Abhishek Banerjee, and Aparshakti Khurana.

“We have brilliant actors in the film. We have some really entertaining dialogues. So, it has been a fabulous team effort and pure cinematic joy. I’m really proud to be a part of this film,” Kapoor said.

For Kapoor, it all began with “Stree”, set in the small town of Chanderi, Madhya Pradesh, where an evil spirit named ‘Stree’ abducts men during the festival season. The story was based on the urban legend of “Nale Ba,” which went viral in Karnataka in the 1990s.

“It was about six years ago, and Maddock Films was just up and coming as a production house. All the actors were at very different stages in our careers. We were also growing in our own ways,” she said.

“My personal reaction when I heard the first part was that I felt like I hadn’t heard a film like that before. It was based on an urban legend, and I was literally falling off the sofa when I heard it. I was so glad that they came to me for this film, which is pure entertainment. I was genuinely laughing at the dialogues and the scenes,” she added.

Kapoor, 37, said the movie and her character received immense love from audiences.

“My character is this mysterious girl who comes and goes, and you’re constantly wondering about her presence. So, it all began there. And hats off to our producer, our writers, and my director for really cracking the sequel because it’s important to not make a sequel for the sake of it.

“You really have to have some substance if you’re going to bring people to the theatre and garner genuine appreciation. I feel they stayed true to how a sequel should be made. They did a super job by cracking the story of “Stree 2″, getting all the entertainment factors into the film,” she said.

Kapoor, known for movies such as “Aashiqui 2”, “Ek Villain”, “Chhichhore”, and “Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar”, also opened up about her approach to selecting films.

“I believe that my best is yet to come, and I definitely want to feel, when I am going to be a part of a film, that it is going to be something exciting for me as an actor… To be a part of a particular story that is really riveting, that may have a message subliminally passed on to the audience. I am in that headspace right now,” she said.

The actor also said her pace of work has changed.

“There was a time when I was doing a lot of films back to back, and now it’s the opposite. It’s like one film in three years… And it’s fine. I found my comfort in that now because I feel like I want to be a part of films where I feel truly fulfilled and can push myself as an actor while doing something different from what I’ve done before,” she added.

Kapoor also noted that it’s not necessary to have a constant stream of film releases.

“My next film hasn’t even been announced, and it’s okay. It takes a lot for you and for anybody to be a part of a film. It takes months. It takes a lot of work and a lot of prep. I feel that from the bottom of my heart,” she said.

Siddique, the former Maharashtra minister known for his starry iftar parties and Bollywood connections, was gunned down on October 12 outside his MLA son Zeeshan Siddique’s Mumbai office.

According to police, Siddique may have been targeted by gangster Lawrence Bishnoi because of his proximity to Khan.

On Saturday’s Weekend ka Vaar episode of “Bigg Boss 18”, on which the actor serves as the host, Khan said he wanted to give the popular reality series a miss.

“Yaar, qasam khuda ki what all I am going through in my life and I have to come and handle this (arguments between housemates)… I feel that I shouldn’t have come here today. But you have to do what you have to do,” Khan can be seen saying as per several videos circulating on social media.

“Mere par bhi bahut saare laanchan lagaye gaye hain (I have been accused of many things). I know what my parents go through,” he added in another clip.

It could not be immediately confirmed whether this episode was filmed before or after Siddique’s killing.

Though Khan didn’t share a post condoling Siddique’s passing on social media, he visited the slain politician’s Bandra residence last Sunday hours before his burial service.

The Mumbai traffic police received a threat message demanding Rs 5 crore from the Bollywood actor, following which the Crime Branch began a probe an official said on Friday.

A case was registered at Worli police under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for threat and extortion after the city’s traffic control room received the message on its WhatsApp helpline on Thursday afternoon, he said.

Khan had earlier received death threats from the Bishnoi gang whose members had also opened fire outside the actor’s Bandra home in April.

This marks his fifth project with the streamer after the International Emmy Award-winning “Landing”, “Abroad Understanding”, “Losing It”, and “For India”.

In a press release issued by Netflix, the new globetrotting special offers “a unique narrative of self-discovery and global connection”.

“As he moves from familiar stages to unexpected settings, he uncovers a profound truth: kindness is the only true universal language. In an era where roasts dominate the comedy landscape, Vir boldly challenges the norm by embracing joy and encouraging the world to share happiness freely,” it read.

Das said comedy has the power to bring people together, no matter where they come from.

“With this special, we are trying to bring something fresh to comedy by sharing stories and experiences that celebrate love and kindness while showing that laughter really is a universal language. This special will be an unapologetic direct shot of happiness to the heart.

“In my fifth special partnership with Netflix, I’m honoured to be able to showcase Indian comedy on a global stage and I can’t wait for audiences everywhere to join me on this journey,” the comedian said in a statement.

At the 2023 International Emmy Awards, Das won the best comedy award for “Landing”. He shared the trophy with the much acclaimed British series “Derry Girls”.

The comic is set to host this year’s International Emmy Awards, becoming the first Indian to do so. The ceremony will be held in New York City on November 25.

In a podcast, the actor — whose movies have featured aspirational songs like “Chaand Taare” (“Yes Boss”) and “Yeh Tara Woh Tara” (“Swades”) — reiterated how he missed out on showing his work to his parents — Meer Taj Mohammed Khan and Lateef Fatima — as they died before he joined films.

“For some reason, I always felt I’ll make films which are very big, so that my mom and dad can see them from heaven. I still think my mom’s a star, and it works. I think I even know the star she is,” Shah Rukh said on the “Locarno Meets” podcast.

The actor sat down for the conversation in August when he was in Switzerland to receive the Pardo alla Carriera award-Locarno Tourism at the 77th Locarno Film Festival, becoming the first Indian film personality to do so. The official YouTube page of the festival shared the interview last night.

It was also for his mother, a Dilip Kumar fan, that he worked in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s “Devdas”. The 2002 film was the screen adaptation of Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay’s 1917 novel. Kumar had played the character in a 1955 film of the same name.

“So I just felt that if I made Devdas, she would really like it. She would appreciate it. In spite of senior actors telling me, ‘Don’t do it,’ I just wanted to do it, maybe just to tell my mom, ‘Hey mom, I did Devdas.’ For me, it was that first and also working with Mr. Bhansali,” he added.

Shah Rukh, who normally doesn’t drink, said he started consuming alcohol after playing Devdas in the movie.

“It (drinking) might have helped (with the character), but I started drinking after the film and that’s one downside to it. I didn’t want you to feel love for him (character), but I didn’t want you to hate him. Nor did I want you to like him for being an alcoholic who runs away from every girl that he falls in love with. I just wanted him to appear indescribable,” he said.

The 58-year-old also said how he is asked by his team to “control myself” when it comes to his sense of humour.

“I can make people laugh and it’s very inappropriate at times so I try to control myself. I’m told by my team all the time ‘Don’t… People don’t understand your humour.’ Now people have become very sensitive, you say something and somebody gets disturbed. It’s better to not have a sense of humour.”

As an actor, however, he believes comedy is a serious business. He has starred in comedies such as “Duplicate”, “Baadshah”, “Chamatkar”, “Chennai Express”, and “Happy New Year”.

“I did a film called ‘Chennai Express’, that was a big learning experience. And it did well. People laughed at the jokes and I was relieved. I’ve not jumped into a comedy after that, I’m waiting,” he said.

Shah Rukh recalled an interaction with a group of German women 10-15 years ago.

“I asked them why do you like my films? They said ‘We have a button to make coffee, we have a button to go up the escalator, you are the button for making us cry’.”

The actor, who started his career in theatre and went on to become a familiar face on Indian television in the 1980s and ’90s, said God and the audience have been kind to him in the past 35 years.

“I feel like I have a choice that I can make. So, every six-eight months, I wake up with the thought that I want to do a horror film and I hope somebody offers me a horror film. And if not that, I have a plan B—let’s do comedy,” he added.

Shah Rukh is set to star in “King”, directed by Sujoy Ghosh.

The film is based on the book “The Case That Shook the Empire” by Raghu Palat and Pushpa Palat.

Scheduled to be released in theatres on March 14, 2025, the untitled movie is backed by Karan Johar’s Dharma Production in collaboration with Kumar’s Cape of Good Films and Leo Media Collective.

The film will mark the directorial debut of writer Karan Singh Tyagi.

“An unknown story an unheard truth. Starring Akshay Kumar, R. Madhavan & Ananya Panday – this untitled film is releasing in cinemas on 14th March, 2025. Directed by Karan Singh Tyagi,” Dharma Productions posted on social media.

According to the studio, the film centres around the “shocking cover-up of a massacre that pushed India’s top barrister C Sankaran Nair to fight an unprecedented battle against the British Empire”.

“The Case That Shook the Empire” was published in 2019 by Bloomsbury India and explored the 1924 defamation trial in which Michael O’Dwyer, former Lieutenant Governor of Punjab and the architect of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, sued Nair.

Nair had criticised British atrocities in Punjab in his book, leading to the widely reported trial that exposed the brutalities of British rule in India.

Back to work
According to India Today, Salman shot for an episode of Bigg Boss 18 late on Thursday night. He arrived on the set with heavy security. As per a source, Salman stayed at his chalet within the premises to ensure his safety ahead of the scheduled call time on Friday.

Salman’s filming schedule will continue uninterrupted, despite the heightened security concerns. To ensure his safety, the actor’s team is working closely with production and channel officials to coordinate his movements.

Several stringent security measures have been implemented on set, with over 60 personnel deployed to safeguard the area. In fact, access to the compound has also been restricted. The guards have been told to check theAadhar card before allowing any individual inside the compound.

In addition to this, the Bigg Boss 18 crew has been asked to remain on-site until the shoot ends. Salman shoots for weekend specials, Weekend Ka Vaar episodes, as a host of the show.

Fresh threats against Salman Khan
Earlier in the day it was reported that a threatening message was received on a WhatsApp number of Mumbai Traffic Police, in which ₹5 crore was demanded from Salman.