Company type | Public |
---|---|
Industry | Entertainment |
Predecessor | Mirchi Movies Ltd |
Founded | 2014 |
Founder | Vineet Jain |
Headquarters | Mumbai, Maharashtra, India |
Key people | |
Products | Films |
Services | Film production and distribution |
Junglee Pictures is a film production and distribution company that was established by Vineet Jain of The Times Group in 2014. As of 2022, the company has produced nine Hindi films.
Their first release came out in 2015 with Zoya Akhtar's family drama Dil Dhadakne Do , and in the same year, they produced Meghna Gulzar's crime drama Talvar , which won two National Film Awards.
Junglee Pictures went on to collaborate with the actor Ayushmann Khurrana in three films, the romantic comedy Bareilly Ki Barfi (2017), the comedy-drama Badhaai Ho (2018), and campus medical comedy film, Doctor G (2022). Badhaai Ho (2018) became the company's highest-grossing release. They also reunited with Gulzar in the Alia Bhatt-starring spy film Raazi (2018), which ranks among the highest-grossing female-led Hindi films.
Before Junglee Pictures, The Times Group was already involved into film production and distribution through Times Infotainment Media Limited. Their first feature film was Being Cyrus (2005), an Indian English-language drama directed by Homi Adajania and starring Saif Ali Khan and Naseeruddin Shah. Later, they rebranded the company as Mirchi Movies and produced Hindi and Tamil movies such as Hari Puttar: A Comedy of Terrors (2008) Velli Thirai (2008) Aloo Chaat (2009) and With Love, Delhi! (2011) [3]
In February 2014, Vineet Jain of The Times Group re-established the company as Junglee Pictures. [4] The newly formed company's first film release came the following year with Dil Dhadakne Do , a family drama directed by Zoya Akhtar, which featured an ensemble cast headlined by Anil Kapoor, Shefali Shah, Priyanka Chopra, Ranveer Singh, Anushka Sharma and Farhan Akhtar. [5] A significant portion of the film was photographed in the Pullmantur Cruises ship MS Sovereign. [6] The film received positive reviews for its performances and direction, but received criticism for its running time and climax. [7] It earned ₹145 crores against a budget of ₹83 crores. [8]
The company's second film release came in the same year with Bangistan (2015), a comedy directed by Karan Anshuman, and starring Riteish Deshmukh and Pulkit Samrat. [9] Keen to "tell stories that were inspired by real incidents", [2] Junglee Pictures next produced Talvar , a partly fictional retelling of the 2008 Noida double murder case. Starring Irrfan Khan, Konkona Sen Sharma, Neeraj Kabi and Sohum Shah, the film was directed by Meghna Gulzar and penned by Vishal Bhardwaj. [10] [11] Bhardwaj has said that his screenplay was influenced by the Rashomon effect (in which the same event is given different interpretations by the individuals involved). [12] Rajeev Masand termed the film a "gripping, then baffling, and ultimately disturbing account" of the murder, "deliberately unsentimental and melodrama-free". [13] Joe Leydon of Variety called the film's screenplay "solidly constructed" and its narrative "satisfyingly brisk". [14] Talvar won two awards each at the National Film Awards and the Filmfare Award ceremonies, including the Best Adapted Screenplay Award for Bhardwaj at the former. [15] [16]
In 2017, the company produced the romantic comedy Bareilly Ki Barfi , directed by Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari and written by Nitesh Tiwari and Shreyas Jain. It starred Ayushmann Khurrana, Kriti Sanon and Rajkummar Rao and tells the story of a love triangle involving a headstrong young woman living in Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh. [17] [18] Rohit Vats of Hindustan Times praised the film for effectively capturing "the flavour of small-town India". [19] It emerged as a sleeper hit. [20] At the 63rd Filmfare Awards, the film won Best Director for Tiwari and Best Supporting Actor for Rao. [21]
Junglee Pictures had two film releases in 2018. The spy film Raazi marked their second collaboration with Meghna Gulzar. [22] [23] Starring Alia Bhatt and Vicky Kaushal, the film is an adaptation of Harinder Sikka's novel Calling Sehmat , which was inspired by real events of a Kashmiri spy who married a Pakistani policeman prior to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. [24] [25] The film emerged as one of the highest-grossing Hindi films featuring a female protagonist. [26] The company's second film release that year came with Badhaai Ho , starring Ayushmann Khurrana, Neena Gupta, Gajraj Rao, and Sanya Malhotra, which is about a middle-aged couple who get pregnant much to the disappointment of their adult son. [27] [28] [29] [30] [31] Both Raazi and Badhaai Ho gained critical acclaim and rank among the highest-grossing Hindi films of 2018. [32] [33] The latter earned over ₹221 crores to emerge as the company's biggest commercial success. [34] [35] Both films also won several awards at the 64th Filmfare Awards, with Raazi winning a leading five, including Best Film and Best Director for Gulzar. [36]
The company's sole film release of 2019 came with Chuck Russell's Junglee , an adventure film starring Vidyut Jammwal, which performed poorly at the box office. [37] Future projects of the company include Vishal Bhardwaj's crime film based on the murder of Pradyuman Thakur. [38] Junglee Pictures will also produce an as-yet untitled web series adapted from Arnab Ray's novel The Mahabharata Murders. [39] [40]
In March 2020, Junglee Pictures announced spiritual sequel of Badhaai Ho, titled Badhaai Do starring Rajkummar Rao and Bhumi Pednekar. On 11 February 2022, Badhaai Do released in theatres to critical acclaim.
Their ninth film, Doctor G is slated for release on 14 October 2022. It is a campus medical comedy film directed by Anubhuti Kashyap (in her directorial debut). It stars Ayushmann Khurrana (third collaboration with actor) and Rakul Preet Singh
Their tenth film, Babli Bouncer , was released on 23 September 2022. It is a comedy-drama film directed by Madhur Bhandarkar. The film stars Tamannaah Bhatia in the lead role, marking her first collaboration with the production house.
In May 2023, Junglee Pictures announced their upcoming film Ulajh , directed by Sudhanshu Saria. The film stars Janhvi Kapoor, Gulshan Devaiah, and Roshan Mathew, and is set in the world of Indian Foreign Services. The film was released on 2 August 2024. [41]
In June 2024, Junglee Pictures, under the name of Maverik Movies Pvt Ltd, announced their upcoming film Varaaham, directed by Sanal V Devan. The cast includes Suresh Gopi, Suraj Venjaramoodu,Gautham Vasudev Menon, Navya Nair, and Prachi Tehlan, among others. [42]
In September 2024, the company announced their upcoming film Dosa King, directed by T. J. Gnanavel. [43]
† | Denotes films that have not yet been released |
The Filmfare Best Director Award is one of the main awards presented given by the annual Filmfare Awards to recognise directors working in Hindi cinema. It was first presented in 1954 in the inaugural year.
Neena Gupta is an Indian actress and television director who works in Hindi films and television along with few Malayalam films. She has received several awards including three National Film Awards, a Filmfare Award and two Filmfare OTT Awards.
Gulzar is an Indian Urdu poet, lyricist, author, screenwriter, and film director known for his works in Hindi cinema. He is regarded as one of greatest Urdu poets of this era. He started his career with music director S.D. Burman as a lyricist in the 1963 film Bandini and worked with many music directors including R. D. Burman, Salil Chowdhury, Vishal Bhardwaj and A. R. Rahman. Gulzar also writes poetry, dialogues and scripts. He directed films such as Aandhi and Mausam during the 1970s and the TV series Mirza Ghalib in the 1980s. He also directed Kirdaar in 1993.
Ayushmann Khurrana is an Indian actor and singer who works in Hindi films. Known for his portrayals of ordinary men often battling social norms, he is the recipient of several awards, including a National Film Award and four Filmfare Awards. He has appeared in Forbes India's Celebrity 100 list of 2013 and 2019, and Time named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2020.
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Meghna Gulzar is an Indian writer, director and producer. She is best known for directing critically acclaimed films; Talvar (2015) and Raazi (2018). Born to Gulzar and actress Raakhee, Gulzar joined her father as an assistant to his films and became a screenwriter for her father's 1999 directorial Hu Tu. Meghna later became an independent director and directed her first film, the drama Filhaal... (2002), though she did not achieve directorial success that decade.
Vishal Bhardwaj is an Indian filmmaker, music composer and playback singer. He is known for his work in Hindi cinema, and is the recipient of nine National Film Awards with nominations for eleven Filmfare Awards.
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Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari is an Indian film director and writer. After working in advertising for several years, she made her debut by directing the comedy-drama Nil Battey Sannata (2016). The film garnered great reviews and Tiwari went on to direct its Tamil remake entitled Amma Kanakku. She had previously served as the Executive Creative Director at Leo Burnett before she moved on to pursue a filmmaking career. Tiwari won the Filmfare Award for Best Director for the romantic comedy-drama Bareilly Ki Barfi (2017).
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The 25th Star Screen Awards ceremony honoured the best Indian Hindi-language films of 2018. The ceremony was held on 16 December 2018 and broadcast in India on Star Plus on 31 December 2018. Actors Ayushmann Khurrana and Vicky Kaushal hosted the event with comedian Sunil Grover, who hosted the technical awards segment. Additionally, Salman Khan introduced and concluded the awards ceremony.
The 64th Filmfare Awards ceremony, presented by The Times Group, honored the best Indian Hindi-language films of 2018. The ceremony was held on 23 March 2019 in Mumbai.
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