Lights, Camera, Scoop: Casting 'SOTY 3', Building 'Mulk 2', the 'Kesari 2' Conundrum and Pricey 'Jaat'

It was a relatively buzzing week for the Hindi film industry, with announcements of some long-pending titles going on floors while other high-profile projects got axed (farewell, Citadel: Honey Bunny). Bollywood's dry phase notwithstanding, filmmakers managed to keep the news cycle running with new developments on their projects.

The debut edition of The Hollywood Reporter India's weekly column, Lights, Camera, Scoop, will attempt to put the spotlight on the newsmakers of the week—and unravel the behind-the-scenes madness of the big Bollywood machinery.

The Student Before Shanaya

The third franchise of Dharma Production's Student of the Year is finally going on floors—although with some tweaks in its format. Unlike the previous two instalments, which were theatrical outings, Student of the Year 3 will be a six-episode JioHotstar series, headlined by Shanaya Kapoor in a dual role.

However, reliable sources in the industry have revealed that much before the newest Kapoor on the block came on board, the makers were eyeing another fresh face to lead the series—Alaya F.

After debuting with the Saif Ali Khan starrer Jawaani Jaaneman (2020), Alaya was among the front-runners for the series when it was first being developed around the pandemic. According to insiders, talks fell through because Alaya was committed to a series being mounted by another production house and decided not to commit to back-to-back OTT shows.

Others in the know also suggest an alternative reason: her involvement in other OTT projects around that time might have diminished her "freshness" factor, crucial for being part of a franchise like Student of the Year, which has catapulted stars like Alia Bhatt, Varun Dhawan, Sidharth Malhotra, Ananya Panday and Tara Sutaria. SOTY 3, directed by Reema Maya, goes on floors soon with a start-to-finish schedule.

The New Mulk

The 2018 legal drama Mulk was a game-changer for filmmaker Anubhav Sinha, as it marked the beginning of his politically-charged 2.0 phase, as well as for its lead star Taapsee Pannu. The duo then collaborated for their second celebrated outing Thappad (2020), and are now back on set for their third reunion: Mulk 2.

While the first instalment of Mulk, also starring Rishi Kapoor, centered on islamophobia and the bigotry faced by a Muslim family, industry sources suggest the new film will tackle sensitive topics like rape, victim-shaming, and societal scrutiny. The film is already being shot and is reportedly penned by screenwriter Gaurav Solanki, who was behind Sinha's acclaimed Article 15.

The Jallianwala Bagh Massacre on Screen

It is that time of the year again when Bollywood witnesses a familiar trend: two projects with similar themes releasing in close succession. Ram Madhvani's SonyLIV series, The Waking of a Nation, premiered just a month before another film centered around the Jallianwala Bagh massacre hit the big screen: Akshay Kumar's Kesari Chapter 2.

Though sharing the same storytelling DNA of the 1919 tragedy (the film follows Indian lawyer C. Sankaran Nair while the show is based on a fictional version of him), Madhvani's primary concern wasn't the impending release of Kesari 2. Instead, six months before the release of his series, he fretted over his show's title, The Waking of a Nation, worrying it might be too cerebral.

A panicked Madhvani, known for acclaimed projects like Neerja (2016) and Aarya, approached the streamer to consider a title change: Saazish (Conspiracy), while being self-aware that it sounded like an '70s Hindi film title. The other option was calling the show Amritsar.

Madhvani then commissioned Ormax to research potential titles, and the agency found that all the options worked well for the show. Ultimately, SonyLIV suggested Madhvani stick to The Waking of a Nation, a title that aligned with his original vision.

"I have a feeling that a title does create its own barriers and limitations, and even now I don't know whether I should have called it something else. I think the title is a bit bombastic, even though I love it," the filmmaker said candidly in a closed-door talk at Soho House, where he was in conversation with novelist Reenita Malhotra.

How's the 'Jaat'?

A lot was riding on Sunny Deol with his latest actioner Jaat, to solidify that he can pull an audience without a franchise, after his smashing 2023 comeback with Gadar 2. When Jaat hit the screens on April 10th, to no one's surprise, it had a lukewarm opening. But over the next three days, benefiting from the extended holiday weekend, Jaat pulled in bigger numbers, breaching the ₹50 crore mark. But there was a catch.

A still from the film.

While the Gopichand Malineni directorial put up a decent number at the box-office, what held back the film from emerging as a grand success right away, was its high production cost. According to multiple trade insiders, Telugu cinema's mega production house Mythri Movie Makers mounted Jaat on a whopping ₹100 crore-plus budget, with Deol's fee reportedly accounting for half of it.

The high landing cost has now put the film in a spot, as it has to punch in a lot more to be a "profitable" venture. However, the makers pulled in a masterstroke — as Jaat neared the second weekend and the collections slightly dipped — by announcing its sequel.

The timing was crucial, as it suddenly turned Jaat into a franchise film, which suggested that the makers were thrilled with its collections. By April 18, the second Friday, it would also be able to take on another franchise film in Kesari Chapter 2. Jaat is now set to enter the second weekend with a strong hold.

While there are no other details about Jaat 2, Malineni will begin work on the screenplay of the sequel only after finishing his next Telugu film, where he reunites with his Veera Simha Reddy star Nandamuri Balakrishna.