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By:

Bharati Dubey

17 May 2026 at 1:38:10 am

After Don-3 controversy, Ranveer’s next film goes on floors

Mumbai: After months of attention surrounding his reported exit from Don 3, Ranveer Singh has finally moved on to his next major cinematic venture. The actor’s ambitious survival spectacle Pralay has officially gone on floors in Mumbai today, marking the beginning of filming on one of the most ambitious and scale-driven projects in Indian cinema. Headlined by Ranveer Singh and directed by Jai Mehta, Pralay is an original end-of-the-world action thriller that promises to take audiences into a...

After Don-3 controversy, Ranveer’s next film goes on floors

Mumbai: After months of attention surrounding his reported exit from Don 3, Ranveer Singh has finally moved on to his next major cinematic venture. The actor’s ambitious survival spectacle Pralay has officially gone on floors in Mumbai today, marking the beginning of filming on one of the most ambitious and scale-driven projects in Indian cinema. Headlined by Ranveer Singh and directed by Jai Mehta, Pralay is an original end-of-the-world action thriller that promises to take audiences into a world on the brink of annihilation. Produced by Ananya Birla’s Birla Studios, Hansal Mehta and Sahil Saigal’s True Story Films, and Maa Kasam Films, the film combines large-scale spectacle with a deeply human story of survival, courage and the instinct to fight for what matters most. The film marks Ranveer’s next major motion picture following Dhurandhar and Dhurandhar – The Revenge, which emerged as the highest-grossing film of all time. With Pralay, the actor once again ventures into unexplored cinematic territory, taking on a disruptive new concept that demands both physical intensity and emotional conviction. Ranveer will also serve as a producer on the film. The project comes at an important point in the actor’s career. His reported exit from Don 3 had generated considerable buzz, particularly as he was expected to carry forward one of Indian cinema’s most iconic franchises. With Pralay, Ranveer now turns the page with an entirely original story rather than stepping into another established universe. Joining him is Lokah breakout actress Kalyani Priyadarshan, who plays a pivotal role in the film and brings together another exciting performer from the new generation of Indian talent. For Ananya Birla, Pralay represents Birla Studios’ ambition to push the boundaries of mainstream Indian cinema by collaborating with contemporary creative forces. For True Story Films’ Hansal Mehta and Sahil Saigal, the project reflects their commitment to disruptive storytelling and content-driven cinema. Behind the camera, Jai Mehta leads the ambitious project. His work on Scam 1992: The Harshad Mehta Story, which he co-directed with Hansal Mehta, and Lootere has earned widespread acclaim. With Pralay, he steps into a significantly larger canvas, bringing together an ensemble of creative and technical talent from India and around the world. Set against the unmistakable pulse and landscape of Mumbai, Pralay follows a relentless journey of survival against the terrifying possibility of an end-of-the-world catastrophe. The film aims to marry breathtaking spectacle with an emotional core, exploring what people are willing to do to survive when the world as they know it begins to collapse. The makers are shooting extensively at live locations in and around Mumbai, embracing the physicality and unpredictability of real-world environments. The approach is designed to add scale, texture and realism to the apocalyptic world while creating an immersive theatrical experience. The film had already undergone several months of highly technical and intensive pre-production before cameras began rolling. Its ambitious mounting and unusual premise have made Pralay one of the most talked-about upcoming projects in Indian cinema.

‘Anatomy’ of Landfill- Open Dumping Ground

Updated: Nov 18, 2024

Landfill

In my article last week, I had written about the basic composition of garbage that piles up on a dumping ground in hundreds and thousands of tons. If it was only plastic waste, there wouldn’t be much problem. If, it was only the waste papers, cardboards and tetra packs, there wouldn’t be much problem. If, it was only clothing or textile material, there wouldn’t be much problem. If, it was only the electrical and electronic waste, there wouldn’t be much problem. If, it was only the kitchen waste, there wouldn’t be much problem.


So the problem, not just one..but many problems leading to NIMBY mentality of the people is because of such deadly mixture of the waste materials that get accumulated on a dumping ground. There are multiple reasons for people protesting and refusing to have a dumping ground in the vicinity of their residences. While having an open dumping ground is financially and technically much more advantageous for the urban local bodies, it is extremely hazardous for the environment and poses threat to health as well.


Let’s see now how it is advantageous to the urban local bodies to have open dumping ground. First, there is no need to ‘prepare’ the site for accommodating the waste material. It gets dumped as it is brought by those trucks or compacters to the site. Secondly, there is no need to have a system for ‘compaction’ of the waste. In fact, compaction is essential process to minimize the volume of waste such that more waste can be accommodated in relatively smaller space. But it requires additional machinery and, of course, additional costs. Next there is no provision for management of the ‘leachate’. Oh! Come on. What is this stuff? Hold on very easy to understand.


As the waste on such open dumping ground is heterogenous, many entities in this huge pile or heap react with each other and in the process, generate a deadly, hazardous toxic liquid, ‘LEACHATE’.


Being liquidish, leachate slowly runs down and accumulates at the bottom of the garbage pile, and further sips or percolates down in the soil. This results in severe loss of soil biodiversity. Extremely useful organisms like soil bacteria, earthworms and many other cannot tolerate the toxicants present in this leachate. This ultimately results in contamination and degradation of the soil.


Many good quality, fertile soils have been severely degraded because of this. Such soil is practically ‘dead’ and is rendered useless for the growth of any vegetation whatsoever. Ok. Soil is lost. What next? Well, when it rains, this leachate further flows down below the soil and eventually enters the underground aquifers thereby polluting the groundwater which is such a precious natural resource on which we, the humans are dependent. Understood? Furthermore, such chemical reactions also generate toxic and foul smelling gases which spread easily through the air adding to the air pollution. More about this in the next article.


(The author is an environment specialist. Views personal.)

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