# Jio Studios backs out of Brahmastra 2, Namit Malhotra in talks

2026-08-25T03:53:33+00:00 | Entertainment | Indian Opinion Desk

Corroboration: 3 independent outlets

Bollywood Hungama reports that Ayan Mukerji's Starlight Pictures, which holds the IP rights, is in advanced talks with Namit Malhotra of Prime Focus to produce Brahmastra 2. Prime Focus was a VFX partner on the first film and is currently working on Ramayana. No deal has been finalized. Earlier, talks with Jio Studios, Dharma Productions, and Yash Raj Films all failed. m9.news says big studios are rejecting the sequel due to underwhelming box office returns and low audience hype, and that Dharma Productions has also walked away. 123telugu.com confirms Jio Studios backed out. The search for a studio partner continues. If no deal is reached, production will be delayed.

## Indian Opinion Analysis

Bollywood Hungama and 123telugu.com treat the Jio Studios pullout as one step in a normal production search, while m9.news frames it as a crisis of rejection by major studios and includes unverified netizen comments as news. The balanced read is that studios often pass on big-budget sequels, and the advanced talks with Namit Malhotra suggest the project is still moving forward. The next concrete milestone is whether a deal with Prime Focus is signed in the coming weeks.

## Coverage

Coverage: 3 sources, 2 neutral, 1 sensationalist
- 123telugu.com (neutral report) <https://www.123telugu.com/mnews/jio-studios-not-backing-ranbir-kapoors-brahmastra-2-prp.html>
  Straight report of Bollywood Hungama's scoop, no added drama
- m9.news (sensationalist) <https://www.m9.news/bollywood/brahmastra-2-studio-crisis-production-delay/>
  Leads with rejection drama and netizen criticism, frames as crisis
- bollywoodhungama.com (neutral report) <https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/news/bollywood/scoop-ayan-mukerji-in-advanced-talks-with-ramayana-producer-namit-malhotra-to-come-on-board-as-studio-partner-for-brahmastra-2/>
  Original scoop with sourcing, leads with new Namit Malhotra angle

This brief was synthesised by AI from the 3 sources linked above, so one read covers every framing they carry.
Updated: this story now draws on 3 sources. Last updated 2026-08-26T11:46:36+00:00.

Tags: Ayan Mukerji, Brahmastra 2, Dharma Productions, Jio Studios, Ranbir Kapoor, Yash Raj Films
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Cite: https://indianopinion.org/jio-studios-yrf-dharma-pass-on-ranbir-kapoors-brahmastra-2/#story-in-brief

How this brief was made: an AI model read the reports linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. Stance labels are editorial classifications of how each outlet framed this story, assigned by the same model, not ratings of the outlets. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/