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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.

State of Notoriety

A spate of unsavoury incidents in varsity campuses and hospitals have exposed the deep rot in West Bengal’s institutions under the TMC.

West Bengal
West Bengal

There was a time when West Bengal prided itself on being a land of learning, a crucible of reform, and a stronghold of intellectual dissent. Today, it makes national headlines not for its ideas but for its impunity. In the span of three weeks, two alleged rapes - one inside the prestigious Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Calcutta, the other within the premises of South Calcutta Law College - have laid bare a pattern of notoriety.


Bengal’s institutions, once hailed as engines of progress, have become scenes of violence, and the state’s machinery seems either paralysed or politically compromised.


In the latest such incident, a 26-year-old IIM Calcutta student was arrested for allegedly drugging and raping a mental health counsellor within a student hostel on campus. The complainant claims she felt dizzy after sharing pizza and water with the accused, was denied access to a washroom, lost consciousness and was subsequently raped. That such an incident could unfold in one of India’s elite institutions is itself shocking. But even more troubling is how quickly this comes on the heels of an even more horrifying crime.


Late last month, a 24-year-old law student was gang-raped inside the South Calcutta Law College, dragged into a guard room by a criminal lawyer and two student accomplices. The main accused, Manojit Mishra, is a known face in the student wing of the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC), reportedly close to senior party functionaries. If colleges are meant to be sanctuaries of justice and progress, then Bengal’s campuses have become laboratories of violence and impunity.


This is symptomatic of systemic decay. From the ghastly rape and murder of a trainee doctor at RG Kar Medical College last year, to the state’s limp response to the Sandeshkhali atrocities where TMC-affiliated goons allegedly harassed and assaulted women, West Bengal has repeatedly demonstrated that law enforcement is selective, institutional accountability is absent and political connections matter more than public safety.


A formal statement from the Director-in-Charge of IIM Kolkata asserts zero tolerance and promises cooperation with police. But statements are no substitute for action in a climate where institutional silos often collude with external pressure to dilute justice.


What unites these incidents is not just violence, but the impunity that follows. It is telling that the alleged rapist in the law college case had long outlived his student tenure yet maintained a stranglehold on the institution, operating with the kind of authority that suggests more than just familiarity.


This points to a governance model that has substituted law with loyalty. The TMC, which once promised a clean break from the CPI(M)’s strong-arm legacy, has merely rebranded authoritarianism in its own colours. Syndicate-run colleges, cadre-captured panchayats, and a bureaucracy allergic to accountability seems to be the new normal in Bengal. Justice is not just delayed or denied but is actively discouraged if the perpetrator has the right political credentials.


At the heart of this rot is a leader who once commanded national admiration. Mamata Banerjee, who rose as the “David” to CPI(M)’s “Goliath,” now presides over a system she once vowed to dismantle. Her government’s record on women’s safety, civil liberty, and institutional independence is positively dystopian. When leaders lose their moral compass, it is the powerless who bleed.


For now, Bengal’s streets will see a few candlelight marches, social media will churn with outrage and the news cycle will move on. But for the victims and for the thousands of students who enter these institutions in hope, something irreversible has shifted. A society that cannot guarantee basic safety in its spaces of learning has already begun its descent into darkness.


West Bengal today is not in the news because of its thinkers, achievers or reformers. It is in the news because violence against women has become routine and silence institutional. That is a tragedy which no amount of spin can whitewash.

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