PVR INOX expects strong festive season, clocks 50 pc occupancy during Dussehra

Buoyed by a robust Dussehra weekend, cinema exhibitor PVR INOX Ltd is looking forward to a strong festive season, having already crossed 50 per cent occupancy.

This Dussehra, which also marked Gandhi Jayanti, has already seen over 8.5 lakh admissions, with occupancy crossing 50 per cent, the company said.

“This festive season, our theatres are alive with the energy of audiences across India,” PVR INOX Ltd CEO – Revenue & Operations, Gautam Dutta, said in a statement.

Also Read: Art is expression, not business, says Manish Mundra

With the second quarter already showing robust growth, the company said it is “poised for an exciting season ahead”, with upcoming releases looking even more promising.

While both Bollywood and Hollywood movies, including ‘Kantara: A Legend Chapter 1’, ‘Jolly LLB’ and ‘One Battle After Another’, have been attracting patrons to the theatre, PVR INOX said regional cinema has also shone brightly.

“Titles like Idli Kadai (Tamil/Telugu), Maria (Tamil), Vada Pav (Marathi), and Nikka Zaildar 4 (Punjabi) are making a strong impact at the box office, reflecting the richness and diversity of India’s cultural storytelling,” the company said.

PVR INOX has 1,757 screens across 353 properties in 111 cities in India and Sri Lanka.

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10 years in hiding: Rohini ashram’s self-styled godman, accused of rape, found dead

Cutting through a narrow alleyway in Rohini Sector 5, the eyes fall upon a decrepit and almost hideous building towering over the locality. Moss creeps across the façade, obscuring lettering that once read Adhyatmik Ishwariya Vishwa Vidyalaya. The structure juts out like a sore thumb within the residential area.

Once central to a harrowing case that cut a devastating gash across the country, the building now serves mostly as a sad reminder of its past. While one self-proclaimed godman, Swami Chaitanyananda Saraswati, has gone into hiding following allegations of sexual abuse at a private institute, another remains at large — and has been for more than a decade.

Saraswati faces five cases, including charges of sexual harassment, fraud and forgery. Virendra Dev Dixit, lived on till the age of 82, according to the CBI, while the agency failing to apprehend him during his lifetime. His death was confirmed on September 30, with the investigative agency informing a special court about the development.