Bollywood Tidings: Week 45, 2025

If you thought last week's Bollywood drama was intense, this week decided to turn up the heat and absolutely level up the chaos. We're talking celebrity baby announcements, health scares, box office battles, and one actress shutting down body shamers with the kind of confidence that deserves a standing ovation. Buckle up, because this is the Bollywood weekly news roundup that's about to make you forget everything else happened this week.

Katrina Kaif and Vicky Kaushal Welcome Their Baby Boy: The Internet Collectively Loses Its Mind

Mark November 7, 2025 as the date when the internet collectively melted into a puddle of joy and congratulations. Bollywood's golden couple, Katrina Kaif and Vicky Kaushal, welcomed their first child, a baby boy, and they made sure to share the good news with all of us via Instagram.

The couple posted a joint announcement that read, "Our bundle of joy has arrived. With immense love and gratitude, we welcome our baby boy. 7th November 2025. Katrina & Vicky." No fancy reveal video, no cryptic caption, just pure, straightforward joy. The little prince was born at HN Reliance Hospital at 08:23 AM, and both mother and baby are doing absolutely fine.

What followed was basically an avalanche of congratulatory messages from the entire industry. Rakul Preet Singh commented with a string of red heart emojis, Neeti Mohan screamed "VADHAYIAN," and honestly, the whole Instagram comment section became one big family group chat. The timing was particularly sweet considering that Katrina and Vicky announced their pregnancy back in September with that adorable black and white polaroid showing Katrina cradling her baby bump while Vicky held her tenderly.

By November 9, the new parents were all set to take their son home from the hospital, with Katrina's car spotted outside HN Hospital in the morning, signaling that the Kaushal family was about to become a trio. The couple, who tied the knot in December 2021 in Rajasthan with all the Bollywood glamour you'd expect, are now entering a new chapter as parents. Their fans are already losing it trying to guess when they'll reveal the baby's face and what name they've chosen for their little one.

Dharmendra's Health Scare: When Rumors Run Wilder Than Actual News

Here's where this week's plot thickened like nobody's business. The legendary Dharmendra, who's about to turn 90 in December, got admitted to Breach Candy Hospital in Mumbai, and suddenly the internet went into full panic mode with rumors flying around faster than a Bollywood gossip columnist on a hot story.

Reports started suggesting that the veteran actor was on ventilator support and in critical condition. Friends, colleagues, and fans were freaking out, hitting social media with prayers and RIP-adjacent messages. The drama reached such fever pitch that Sunny Deol's team had to issue a statement confirming that Dharmendra was stable and under observation, essentially telling the internet to chill out with the catastrophizing.

But here's the thing: the whole ventilator narrative turned out to be completely false. Sources close to the family later clarified that Dharmendra wasn't on any ventilator at all, contrary to what some outlets had been reporting. Apparently, the veteran actor was initially admitted on October 31 for routine check-ups and has been recuperating since then. While reports did mention he complained of breathlessness and some other health concerns, his team made it crystal clear that there was no cause for major concern.

What made this even more real was seeing actual family members visit the hospital. Sunny Deol showed up, Salman Khan (who famously worked with Dharmendra on Pyaar Kiya To Darna Kya) arrived looking genuinely concerned, and Dharmendra's grandsons Karan and Rajveer also visited their grandfather. Hema Malini, his wife, even shared her own update on Instagram saying, "I thank everyone for their concern about Dharam ji who is in hospital for observation. He is being continuously monitored and we are all with him. I request you all to pray for his welfare and speedy recovery."

The whole situation basically became a masterclass in how celebrity health news gets distorted on social media. One minute someone sees an actor at a hospital, the next minute there's a full-blown narrative about critical conditions and ventilators. The real story here was just that Dharmendra was getting medical attention and his family was handling it with grace and privacy requests.

HAQ Charges Forward at the Box Office: The Controversial Courtroom Drama That Refuses to Disappoint

Remember last week when we told you about the legal battle surrounding the Yami Gautam and Emraan Hashmi film HAQ? Well, despite all the courtroom drama off-screen, the actual movie decided to be a box office winner instead of a box office disaster.

The film opened to Rs 1.75 crore on its first day, which honestly seemed a bit soft for such a controversial release. But then something magical happened. Saturday saw a whopping 91 percent jump in collections, and the film earned Rs 3.35 crore. Sunday was even better with Rs 3.75 crore, bringing the opening weekend total to Rs 8.85 crore net. That's a 120 percent jump from opening day to day three, which basically means audiences were actively recommending this courtroom drama to their friends and family.

What's absolutely wild is that HAQ already beat Emraan Hashmi's previous 2025 release, Ground Zero, which only managed Rs 7.77 crore in its entire theatrical journey. HAQ accomplished that in just three days. The occupancy rates also kept climbing, with Saturday seeing 19.35 percent occupancy and Sunday reaching 23.6 percent.

This is significant because despite the Shah Bano heirs filing a petition seeking a stay on the film's release, the court didn't grant the injunction, and the movie went ahead with its theatrical release. The film's performance suggests that audiences are hungry for hard-hitting courtroom dramas that tackle sensitive social issues, especially when they're handled with the kind of performances that Yami and Emraan have delivered. The positive word-of-mouth clearly worked wonders for the film, and frankly, the whole legal controversy probably didn't hurt its box office prospects either.

De De Pyaar De 2: When Sequels Try to Replicate Magic Without the Original Recipe

Ajay Devgn, Rakul Preet Singh, and R. Madhavan's romantic comedy sequel De De Pyaar De 2 hit theatres on November 14, and honestly, the film seems to have divided the audience between people who actually enjoyed it and people who wondered why we needed this sequel in the first place.​

The film opened to Rs 10.41 crore on its first day and earned Rs 38.54 crore over its opening weekend. Now, here's the thing: while that sounds decent on the surface, the film never quite captured the lightning-in-a-bottle magic that made the first film work back in 2019. The original De De Pyaar De had people going crazy with its fresh take on modern relationships and its humor that actually landed. This sequel, while entertaining enough, felt like it was trying way too hard to recapture that formula.​

What's even more interesting is that the film was reportedly passed by the CBFC with zero cuts, which is apparently a rare occurrence according to exclusive reports from Bollywood publications. That means the makers got exactly what they wanted in terms of creative freedom, but whether that translated to a better movie is debatable. By the end of its theatrical run, the film is projected to end up somewhere in the Rs 100 crore club, which is respectable but not exactly blockbuster territory.

Tamannaah Bhatia Shuts Down Ozempic Rumors Like a Boss: My Curves Are Not Going Anywhere

If there's one actress who decided to absolutely own this week, it's Tamannaah Bhatia. The Baahubali star has been dealing with constant speculation and trolling about her body transformation, with people online convinced she must be using weight-loss drugs like Ozempic. This week, she decided enough was enough and spoke about it in an interview with Harper's Bazaar India.

Tamannaah basically said: hold my chai, I'm about to set the record straight. She revealed that she's actually been the same body type since her teenage years. What people didn't realize is that until her late 20s, she had a naturally slender frame, and that's exactly what she's rocking right now. She said, "I have been in front of the camera since the age of 15, and people have seen me grow up in front of the camera, so there is nothing to hide."

The more powerful part of her statement came when she discussed the pandemic's impact on her body and how she struggled with weight during that time. She admitted, "For me, Covid hit my body really hard, and it became difficult to keep my body at the same weight as it was in my 20s. I struggled with it. I love food, I love to eat my rice, roti, dal." But instead of apologizing for her body changing (like society expects women to do), she decided to own it.

The absolute legend moment came when she said, "My curves are not going anywhere because I am Sindhi." She went on to explain that her hip structure and waist are bone structure, not something that changes with diets or weight-loss drugs. She even called out the ridiculous standards of following global beauty ideals when our Indian curves are actually aspirational globally.

Tamannaah basically gave the middle finger to body shamers and said proudly that she's embracing Indian beauty standards instead of chasing whatever weird aesthetic the global beauty industry is pushing this week. That's the kind of confidence we need more of in Bollywood and honestly, on the internet in general.

120 Bahadur Hype Train Is Here: Farhan Akhtar's War Epic Gets a Trailer That'll Give You Goosebumps

Remember how we told you that Farhan Akhtar had this massive war film coming up? Well, this week the trailer dropped, and it's basically everything Bollywood needed: a genuine, gritty, patriotic film that doesn't feel like propaganda.

The trailer for 120 Bahadur was released on November 6, and it opens with Amitabh Bachchan's voiceover narrating the true events of the Battle of Rezang La from 1962, when 120 Indian soldiers of the 13 Kumaon Regiment stood against over 3,000 Chinese troops. This is the kind of story that deserves the big screen, and Farhan is playing Major Shaitan Singh Bhati, absolutely stealing every frame with intense presence.

What's particularly impressive is how the trailer builds tension. You see Farhan's character leading his men, declaring "Main ladey bina haar nahi manna chahta" (I don't want to accept defeat without fighting), and the cinematography just draws you in completely. Raashii Khanna makes a brief appearance as his love interest, and the ensemble cast includes some genuinely talented actors who seem committed to telling this story with authenticity.​

The film was shot across real locations in Ladakh, Rajasthan, and Mumbai, which apparently adds to the visual grandeur and the sense of authenticity. Even Salman Khan couldn't resist posting about it on his Instagram Stories, writing, "Bahut kamal trailer hai. Congratulations @faroutakhtar and the entire team of #120bahadur. Yeh kahani har Indian ke dil mein utregi" (This story will stay in the hearts of each Indian).

But here's the real tea: Kannada superstar Yash came on board to launch the trailer at an event on Thursday at 2:07 PM, which basically speaks to how massive this film's scale is. This is a genuine, big-budget war film that's positioned to be one of the most significant releases of November 2025. The film hits theatres on November 21, and honestly, if the trailer is any indication, we might be looking at one of the most authentic war films Bollywood has ever produced.

Your Weekly Bollywood Digest

This week was an absolute rollercoaster. We had a baby announcement that made the entire internet collectively scream congratulations, we had a veteran actor's health scare that spiraled into misinformation faster than you can say "fake news," we had a controversial courtroom drama proving that audiences actually want content with substance, we had an actress shutting down body shamers with the kind of confidence that deserves a national award, and we had a war film trailer that reminded us why we still get excited about Bollywood cinema.

If there's one thing this week proved, it's that Bollywood is never boring. One day you're watching a celebrity couple become parents, the next day rumors about hospital ventilators are flying everywhere, and by the end of the week you've got an actress telling the internet that Indian beauty standards are actually superior to global ones. This is the chaos we live for, this is the drama that keeps us scrolling, and honestly, if next week is even half as entertaining as this one, we're going to need our phone batteries charged to full capacity.

Stay tuned, because in Bollywood, anything can happen, and usually does.