Emotional Siraj heads straight to father's grave from airport, offers prayers
Hyderabad: Mohammed Siraj went straight to the graveyard on his return from a historic tour and paid his last respects to his father who died two months ago while the India speedster was doing national team duty in Australia.
As Siraj stood and prayed in front of his father Mohammed Ghouse's grave, his two-month long wait finally came to an end.
He laid flowers at his father's grave while offering prayers before heading to his home in Al-Hasnath colony.
Siraj's 53-year-old father, who was an auto driver, had died on November 20 due to a lung ailment -- barely a week after his son landed in Australia with the Indian team.
He was given the option of returning home but the pacer chose to stay back with the team for the tour.
He made his Test debut in the second match in Melbourne and finished the Border-Gavaskar series with 13 wickets - the most by any Indian bowler as the team came from behind to script a memorable 2-1 series win.
Having got the backing of his family, Siraj's brave decision to stay back not only saw him make his India debut but also play an instrumental part in the team's victory while fulfilling his father's dream of representing the country in the highest form of the game.
"It was my (late) father's dream that Siraj should represent India in Tests. He always wanted to see him (Siraj) in blue and white jersey to represent the nation, so the dream got fulfilled," Siraj's brother Mohammed Ismail had told PTI.
Siraj bowled his heart out and picked up a maiden five-wicket haul (5/73) at the Gabba in Brisbane, Australia's fortress which was breached on Tuesday after 32 years.
"It was a great achievement by the Indian team and my brother Siraj has achieved what our father dreamt. We are happy that Siraj was able to contribute to the victory," Ismail said.
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Regional films lead box office in 2024 as Hindi cinema sees 13% decline
New Delhi: Regional cinema outshone Bollywood and Hollywood in 2024, marking a transformative year for the Indian film industry. According to the Ormax Media Box Office Report, Indian cinema’s gross collections stood at ₹11,833 crore, reflecting a 3% decline from the record ₹12,000 crore in 2023.
Hindi cinema faced a 13% drop in gross collections, falling from ₹5,380 crore in 2023 to ₹4,679 crore in 2024. Contributing just 40% to the total box office, down from 44% last year, Bollywood struggled to maintain its dominance. Dubbing of South Indian films accounted for 31% of Hindi cinema’s collections, with Pushpa 2: The Rule becoming the highest-grossing dubbed Hindi film at ₹889 crore. Excluding dubbed films, original Hindi releases saw a steep 37% decline.
Hollywood also faced challenges, with collections dropping 17% to ₹941 crore from ₹1,139 crore in 2023. The year’s top Hollywood film, Mufasa: The Lion King, earned ₹172 crore, ranking 11th in the overall box office.
The Telugu action thriller Pushpa 2: The Rule dominated globally, grossing ₹1,403 crore and becoming the highest-grossing film of the year. Its Hindi-dubbed version set a record as the highest-grossing Hindi-language film ever. Other major hits included Kalki 2898 AD (₹747 crore), Stree 2 (₹674 crore), and Tamil thriller The Greatest Of All Time. Films like Devara – Part 1 and Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 also crossed ₹300 crore each.
Regional industries recorded remarkable growth. Malayalam cinema doubled its market share to 10%, crossing ₹1,000 crore for the first time, led by the survival thriller Manjummel Boys (₹164 crore). Tamil and Telugu cinema maintained their strong positions with 15% and 20% market shares, respectively. Gujarati cinema saw a notable 66% growth, collecting ₹84 crore.
Despite robust earnings driven by higher ticket prices, theatre attendance fell to 88.3 crore, a 6% drop from 2023 and 14% below pre-pandemic levels in 2019. The average ticket price rose to ₹134, a 26% increase from ₹106 in 2019.
