Ramayana crosses ₹1,000 crore worldwide, Pyre wins back 200 shows, and Stacy Keach dies at 85

Ramayana: Part One, with Ranbir Kapoor, Yash and Sai Pallavi, has passed ₹1,000 crore at the worldwide box office in eight days. Trade tracker Sacnilk put Day 8 (Thursday 12 November) at ₹53.50 crore net in India across 24,042 shows, 24.3% below Wednesday’s ₹70.65 crore, with occupancy at 33.9%. Hindi brought ₹43 crore, Kannada ₹3.25 crore, Malayalam ₹2.80 crore, Telugu ₹2.30 crore and Tamil ₹2.15 crore. That takes the India net total to ₹564.60 crore and India gross to ₹675.05 crore; with an estimated ₹358.50 crore gross overseas, Sacnilk puts the worldwide gross at ₹1,033.55 crore. Hindustan Times noted that the India net total is now above the lifetime totals of Pathaan and Ranbir Kapoor’s Animal. These are trade estimates, and Sacnilk says its overseas figures are rough and can differ from producers’ numbers.

The second film is well under way. Cinematographer Pankaj Kumar, who shot Ramayana with Mahesh Limaye, told The Hollywood Reporter India: “We have already shot about 60 per cent of Part 2. A lot of VFX work, a lot of motion capture work is left because the second part is going to be more grand than the first part. It has lot more CG characters, like Hanuman and the whole vanar sena.” The Indian Express reported that Part 2 is now set for Diwali 2028 rather than the earlier Diwali 2027 window, a change shown in Part One’s end credits.

Vinod Kapri’s independent film Pyre is getting more than 200 extra shows across India from Friday 13 November, after the director complained last week that it had lost most of its screens once Ramayana opened. “A heartfelt thank you to our audiences for standing by this little independent film and making this possible,” he wrote on Instagram, as reported by The Indian Express; India Today said he also thanked Cinepolis and PVR Cinemas. Separately, the All India Cine Workers Association has written to Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw asking for an inquiry into the screen cuts, FIRs against any theatre owners or distributors found responsible, and a formal screen-allocation policy for small films. India Today reported that Pyre, made for about ₹2.50 crore, will open in the US and UK on 11 December and has been submitted for Academy Award and BAFTA consideration.

Karan Johar has criticised what he sees as Bollywood’s herd mentality and actors’ growing control over films. In a conversation with Anupama Chopra for The Hollywood Reporter India, quoted by The Indian Express, he said: “I’m surprised and shocked that they want to do everything but act. They want to become box-office gurus, trade analysts, perception setters, campaign makers, trailer cutters and poster makers. When are you acting exactly?” He also questioned the industry’s fixation on alpha-male roles and accepted part of the blame for creating such “monstrosities.”

In Pakistan, the long-awaited confrontation between Billo (Mahira Khan) and Baala (Wahaj Ali) in the drama Mitti De Baway has aired, and SAMAA TV reported a wave of emotional reactions online, with viewers calling the scene “totally cinematic” and praising both leads for the raw emotion of the face-off and the breakdown that follows. The serial has been one of the most talked-about dramas of the season, with fans also debating Amar Khan’s character Zarina.

Content creator Rabia Faisal, known from the family YouTube channel Sistrology with her sister Iqra Kanwal, is making her acting debut as Malahat in Geo Entertainment’s upcoming serial Bayhiss. The Current reported that Geo announced the role on Instagram (“A fresh story, a new character! Rabia Faisal as Malahat in Bayhiss”) and also introduced Areej Chaudhary as Mashal and Rabia Ali as Eshal. A premiere date has not been announced.

Actress Zoya Nasir has added her voice to the debate over newcomer Shahvir Kadwani, son of producer Abdullah Kadwani, who plays Zarrar in the drama Mohabbat and has faced online criticism and “parchi” jibes over his casting and Urdu pronunciation. In an Instagram Story reported by 24 News, she said family connections can open doors in showbiz, politics and business, but talent, conviction and credibility cannot be inherited, and advised newcomers to be patient and take supporting roles. Sanam Saeed and Javeria Saud had earlier urged audiences to stop the personal attacks and give him time.

Stacy Keach, the American actor best known as television’s private eye Mike Hammer, has died at 85. His wife, Malgosia, said in a statement that he died on 10 November at the family home in Magdalenka, Poland, “after a long and difficult battle with a serious heart condition and heart failure,” IndieWire and UPI reported. Over seven decades he built more than 200 screen credits, from Fat City and The Long Riders to Cheech and Chong’s Up in Smoke, and was a celebrated stage actor who played Hamlet several times and earned a Tony nomination for Indians on Broadway in 1969.

Brad Pitt’s next project with Apple is Connector, a drama from Sound of Metal director Darius Marder, Deadline reported. Written by Marder and his sister Nina Marder and set in 1970s New York, it follows a skywalking ironworker who takes on forces larger than himself. Pitt will also produce through Plan B with Dede Gardner and Jeremy Kleiner; the film is in development, and Deadline said Pitt was keen for it to be the next thing he shoots in 2027. It reunites the star with Apple after F1: The Movie.