Sanya Malhotra announces her next titled Pagglait
Actress Sanya Malhotra who has created a niche for herself with her promising performances and impressionable character portrayals in just a bunch of movies has another surprise for us! Staying true to her habit of choosing varied roles, Sanya is set to star in another edgy film, Pagglait.
Today, the actress shared pictures of the first-day shoot on her Instagram story. The actress is seen holding a film clap in the picture. Makers have kept the details under wrap and not much is known about the film’s story and other casts of the film. In another picture shared, Sanya has given us a glimpse of the puja-muhurat calling it, ‘film arambh’.
Apart from this, Sanya will be seen next in Shakuntala Devi where she is working alongside Vidya Balan. She will be playing the role of Shakuntala Devi’s daughter Anupama Banerjee in this one and another project, Anurag Basu’s untitled next opposite Aditya Roy Kapur. Both films are slated to release early next year.
Sanya Malhotra made a power-packed debut with Dangal, where she played the role of a wrestler. Later, she went on to star in 2018’s surprise hit Badhaai Ho and critically acclaimed Pataakha and later, Photograph where she proved her mettle once again- with each of her projects. Her performance in both these films proved that she is a star to watch out and well, even the coveted Berlinale hailed Sanya as one of their top five breakout stars of the year from across the world.
Looking at Sanya’s choice of films till now, one can be sure that Pagglait will also be a unique film which will bring to us, yet another stellar performance from the actress.
As for the film, Pagglait is being directed by Umesh Bist and produced by Guneet Monga under her banner Sikhya Entertainment. The film will hit the screens in the year 2020.
Aamir Khan reveals why he apologized for Thugs Of Hindostan failure
Aamir Khan has always taken time to make his films but they have been very successful. But, last year, with Thugs Of Hindostan, he faced a big failure as the audience and critics were disappointed with the fantasy drama. Aamir had come forward and apologized to his fans for disappointing them.
Recently, when asked why he apologized for the film, he said he was not being kind enough but taking responsibility for it. He said that he has always felt responsible for his work but for the last 18-19 years, he did not have a film that did not do well. When it was a highly anticipated film, people really had high expectations. He said that he was sorry, hurt and upset that they went wrong. He added that he felt he should address it and apologize to the people for not living up to the expectations.
Aamir Khan further said that you learn more from an unsuccessful film. He said that he has learnt a lot but that should be discussed with his team. When asked how these days big-budget films do not guarantee success, he said that the audience does not come to watch films because of the budget. If they like the film, it does well. It could be a small or big-budget film.
Meanwhile, on the work front, Aamir Khan is currently shooting for Laal Singh Chaddha which is releasing in December 2020.
Kriti Kharbanda admits to dating Pulkit Samrat; says he is here to stay
For a long time, there have been rumours of Pagalapanti co-stars Pulkit Samrat and Kriti Kharbanda dating each other. Well, the rumours have now proven to be true. Kriti Kharbanda in a recent interview to a daily said that she is indeed dating co-star Pulkit.
Speaking about her relationship with Pulkit, Kriti said that they are not rumours. She said that they are dating each other and she wanted her parents to be the first to know about it. The actress believes that there is the right time to talk about everything and for them, it took five months to make their relationship public. The Housefull 4 actress said that she is in a very happy place and has no qualms admitting that she is dating Pulkit Samrat.
In an earlier interview with a news agency, Kriti said that they share great chemistry and that Pulkit is special to her. Kriti is all praise for the Fukrey actor. Talking about the chemistry they share, she said that they even complete each other’s sentences while talking. She said that they no more need to talk to each other to understand what the other has to say. She further said that Pulkit is very impressive in the way he carries himself and the respect he has towards his seniors and co-stars. She said that he is a good person and is here to stay.
Pulkit and Kriti have earlier worked together in the 2018 movie Veerey Ki Wedding and will next be seen together in the film Pagalpanti.
Rishi Kapoor says artistes should have public roads, flyovers and airports named after them instead of politicians
Actor Rishi Kapoor is known to speak his heart out on several matters. Recently, in an interview, the actor expressed how he feels that the government does not treat the artist community well. He feels that artistes are not honoured enough in India, the way it happens abroad. Rishi Kapoor has been a part of the film industry for five decades now. The actor said that our nation is known worldwide for cinema, music and culture. He questioned whether the government recognizes our artistes as much as other nations do.
He further said that there are icons like Pandit Ravi Shankar, Ustad Allah Rakha, Lata Mangeshkar who need to be honoured. He also said that the contribution of Raj Kapoor and Prithviraj Kapoor are celebrated worldwide but not in India. He also said that that all the new airports, flyovers and roads are named after politicians and not artistes.
Rishi Kapoor recently got back from the US after a year. There, the actor observed how artistes are getting recognition abroad, and the young generation is well versed with their cultural history. Citing examples from the US, the actor said that there are places named after Elvis Presley and Michael Jackson and many more artistes. The young generation is aware of their contribution.
The 102 Not Out actor said that politicians are changing names with an agenda and that artists are not honoured enough in their lifetime.
Meanwhile, Rishi Kapoor is currently gearing up for the release of his upcoming film The Body directed by Jeetu Joseph and co-starring Emraan Hashmi, Shobita Dhulipalia and Vedhika. The film is slated to hit the theatres on December 13.
“Yes I’m doing Sardar Udham Singh,” October actress Banita Sandhu is back in Shoojit Sircar’s Udham Singh
October came and went. And though the beautiful film fetched Varun Dhawan and his director Shoojit Sircar a truckload of acclaim, British-born debutante Banita Sadhu did not benefit from the glowing reviews at all. After a long break she is back in India. Having just completed the Tamil version of Sandeep Vanga’s Arjun Reddy, Banita is now a part of Shoojit Sircar’s historical Sardar Udham Singh where Vicky Kaushal plays the title role.
Confirming her return to her October director’s cinema Banita says, “Yes I am in Sardar Udham Singh. We shot for it in Punjab. Vicky Kaushal is amazing and it was great to be back working with the October team again.”
About her role of the wild drinking snorting fornicating Arjun Reddy’s love interest in Adithya Varma the Tamil version of the controversial film, Banita says, “I haven’t watched the final film yet, so I wouldn’t be able to say how my role has shaped up. But Vikram sir (legendary Tamil actor Vikram whose son Dhruv makes his debut in Adithya Varma) and I worked to give my character more agency and autonomy in the film. I hope that gets translated on screen.”
Has Akshay Kumar signed a 3 FILM DEAL with Yash Raj Films?
Just a couple of days ago, the first image of Akshay Kumar and Manushi Chillar from the set of the film Prithviraj was released. The two were seen at the muharat shot of the film that commenced last week. Now, just a few days’ later rumours have surfaced that Akshay Kumar has apparently signed a three film deal with Yash Raj Films. Hearing this, we at Bollywood Hungama just had to dig a bit deeper to find out whether there was any truth to this.
For all those Akshay Kumar fans who were hoping to see Akshay in multiple YRF movies we unfortunately do not have any Good Newwz. As per sources close to the production house the said rumour is totally baseless. Commenting on the same our well-placed source says, “There is no such deal. Yash Raj Films and Akshay Kumar have a deal for just one project which is Prithviraj. There is no three film deal between the two.” However, offering a ray of the hope, the source continues, “Though there is no three film deal between Akshay and YRF, the two could very well collaborate with each other for any future venture on a standalone basis.” Well, we guess some rumours are just too good to be true.
As for the film, Prithviraj is said to be a historic drama based on the life Samrat Prithviraj Chauhan. Helmed by Chandraprakash Dwivedi, the film will see Akshay essaying Prithviraj while Manushi will play the role of princess Sanyogita. Produced by Yash Raj Films, the venture is being readied for release in Diwali 2020.
Jersey Remake: Mrunal Thakur joins Shahid Kapoor starrer
Ever since it was announced that Shahid Kapoor would be next seen in Jersey, everyone is eagerly waiting to know more about his role. The film is a remake of Telugu star Nani’s film with the same name. In October end, the actor began to prep for the film and continuing his training in cricket. Now, it has been learnt that Mrunal Thakur has joined the remake. 
Jersey is an official remake of the critically acclaimed and commercially successful Telugu film of the same name. Gowtham Tinnanuri, the director of the original version and who is directing the Hindi version as well, only saw Mrunal as his first choice for the role, Gowtham says “After Shahid came on board, I only had Mrunal on my mind for the lead opposite him, I loved her performance and confidence in Super 30 opposite Hrithik Roshan and felt she’s perfectly fit for the part in Jersey and will do full justice to the role.”
Looking at the original version, Mrunal’s character will be the anchor to Shahid’s, who goes on an emotional journey against all odds to play cricket for the country in his mid 30’s, when it’s time for most people to retire from competitive sports.
Mrunal says “I’m super excited to play the lead opposite Shahid in Jersey! When I saw the original film I was bowled over by its passionate emotional journey, it felt like I had lived a full lifetime of experiences in those two-plus hours. So deep was the affect of the film on me that I couldn’t get it out of my heart the whole night so I immediately watched it again the next day, I can’t wait for Hindi audiences to experience a similar impact!”
Meanwhile, Shahid Kapoor has dived deep into the prep of the film. The paparazzi caught him several times during the game practice and we can say that the cricket fever mode is activated.
Jersey remake will be directed by Gowtam Tinnanauri who helmed the critically acclaimed and commercially successful original as well. Produced by Allu Aravind, Aman Gill, Dil Raju, the film is releasing on August 28, 2020.
Kriti Kharbanda dropped out of Amitabh Bachchan, Emraan Hashmi starrer Chehre?
Kriti Kharbanda is still basking in the success of Housefull 4. The film, starring her alongside Akshay Kumar, Riteish Deshmukh and Bobby Deol among others, was widely loved by the audience and also raked in good money. Meanwhile, Kriti was also cast in Rumi Jaffery’s Chehre, which stars Amitabh Bachchan and Emraan Hashmi in lead roles.
However, if the latest buzz is anything to go by, then she isn’t a part of the project anymore. Although she began shooting, a fallout between her and the makers of Chehre reportedly took place after she threw a couple of tantrums. Apparently, there was also considerable mismanagement regarding dates and times from her team’s end. Although the makers tried to accommodate to Kriti’s demands, it didn’t work out finally and both parties decided not to work together.
Meanwhile, Kriti had finished the first schedule and was set to begin a fresh one. But given the present situation, the makers will now have to look out for a new face and Kriti’s parts will need to be re-shot. We reached out to Kriti’s team to know more about the same, but are yet to hear back from them.
Chehre, a mystery thriller, is scheduled to release on 21st February, 2020.
Meanwhile, Kriti Kharbanda is promoting her next flick Pagalpanti which is releasing on November 22, 2019.
Manushi Chhillar gives her first shot for Prithviraj on same day she won Miss World two years back
Two years back, on November 18, Manushi Chhillar conquered the world as she was crowned Miss World after wowing everyone with her ethereal beauty and razor-sharp intelligence. Today, as coincidence would have it, Manushi gave her first shot for her big Bollywood debut Prithviraj, in which she is paired opposite actor Akshay Kumar.
Manushi is overjoyed that two of her life’s biggest milestones fall on the same day. Manushi said, “It is really a beautiful coincidence that I gave my first shot for Prithviraj on the same day that I had won Miss World two years back. November 18th is definitely one of the most special days of my life and I’m thrilled that two of my life’s biggest milestones fall on the same day.”
Elaborating on how she was feeling after she gave her first shot for the biggest historical film releasing in Diwali 2020, Manushi adds, “Giving the first shot for my debut film was simply surreal. I feel a lot of gratitude today. I know I have a lot of hard work to do to prove myself as an actor and I’m prepared to do just that. I wish the universe showers the film and me with tons of good luck.”
Frozen 2: Maniesh Paul to be the voice of Kristoff
After Priyanka Chopra and Parineeti Chopra, actor Maniesh Paul has been roped in for the Disney film Frozen 2. He will be giving voice to the character of Kristoff. Maniesh Paul while talking about the project to a news agency said that it is extremely overwhelming to be the voice of Kristoff, He said that his daughter is a huge fan of the franchise and said that it took him some time to compose himself an understanding that he is doing it for his daughter.
Disney India has roped in Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Parineeti Chopra to voice for Elsa and Anna respectively in the Hindi version of the film. Meanwhile, actress Shruti Hassan and Nithya Menen have lent their voice to the character of Elsa in Tamil and Telugu respectively.
The second part of the Disney franchise promises to be more intense as it traces the pasts of Princesses Anna and Elsa, voiced by Kristen Bell and Idina Menzel in Hollywood version, respectively, and piece together their present. Directed by Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee, Frozen 2 will release in India in English, Hindi, Tamil and Telugu on November 22.
“Wanted to direct a story where I feel like I will be able to tell something specific”, shares Ira Khan on her directorial debut
Announcing her theatrical debut with Euripide’s Medea recently, Ira Khan is surely turning heads with the preparations that are underway to bring the play together. Ira Khan who has grabbed the attention ever since she has announced her directorial debut with a theatre play, Euripide’s Medea which is a Greek tragedy and talking about her journey, here’s a lot to know!
Talking about why she chose to mark her debut with Medea, Ira says, “I wanted to direct a story where I feel like I will be able to tell something specific. I like this play because I wanted to tell the story in my way.”
Elaborating on what enticed her towards the classic tale of Medea, Ira shares, “I find Greek mythology interesting and dramatic. These myths are absurd. I always knew that if I want to do a play, then I would do a classical story. And when I started the process, I really liked Medea because it is still relevant; we do see such cases happening even today.”Ira Khan has been a student of Greek tragedy and German literature and has a special interest in Classical literature.
Euripides’ Medea is being directed by Ira Khan, presented by Entropy and Produced by Sarika’s production house NautankiSa Productions.
Amitabh Bachchan starrer Jhund gets copyright violation notice from Hyderabad based filmmaker
Amitabh Bachchan starrer Jhund got into legal trouble after a Hyderabad based filmmaker Nandi Chinni Kumar sent legal notices to makers of the film for copyright infringement. Nandi Chinni Kumar is an independent filmmaker. He addressed the notices to the director and producer Nagraj Manjule, producer Krishan Kumar, T-series Chairman and Managing Director Bhushan Kumar, Amitabh Bachchan and slum soccer founder Vijay Barse on whose life the film is said to be based on.
Talking to a news agency, Kumar said that he got a reply to the notice only from T-series but it is ‘very vague’. Kumar alleged that he was cheated and criminally intimidated by the makers of the film. He plans to move to the court to get a stay on the release of the film on any platform.
The filmmaker claims that he bought exclusive rights in 2017 to make a movie on the life of Akhilesh Paul, a slum soccer player who was the Indian captain at the Homeless World Cup.
According to the report, Kumar had planned to write and direct the multilingual movie tentatively titled Slum Soccer on the life of Akhilesh on how he went to lead India at the Homeless World Cup.
The filmmaker claims to have registered the story and script with Telangana cinema writers association on June 11, 2018. Nagraj Manjule’s film is based on the life of Akhilesh Paul’s coach Vijay Barse. But, reportedly, Kumar claimed that a large part of Jhund focuses on Akhilesh’s story, thus allegedly violating the copyrights.
Salman Khan sings for Dabangg 3
When it comes to making a film, Salman Khan has become quite a multi-tasker. Not only does he play the central character he also helps with the direction and editing. And of course the music. It is reliably learnt that Salman Khan will sing for himself for the first time in his career for Dabangg 3.
A source which is not yet allowed to speak about this sensational happening says, “Salman has sung earlier for the Sooraj Pancholi starrer Hero and for Mahesh Manjrekar’s Marathi film FU. But this would be the first time he will sing a song for himself in Dabangg 3.”
The source says it would a fast-paced trippy song and not a slow dreamy love ballad. Fans don’t care whether it’s trippy or dreamy so long as Salman sings.
SCOOP! Here’s why Netflix dropped Ronnie Screwvala’s dance flick Bhangra Paa Le from their release list
Earlier this month we had reported that Ronnie Screwvala’s dance flick Bhangra Paa Le was heading for a release on the OTT platform Netflix directly. In fact, the film was also catalogued for release on the streaming giant. Post us reporting about the film going for a direct OTT release, Ronnie Screwvala took to the microblogging site Twitter claiming that the reportage was “premature” and “just to create headlines” as he said, “Why does media continue to share false information – make it sound line breaking news – where actually it’s not factual – many times premature and almost always just to create headlines eroding credibility always!” Now, just a few weeks later the streaming giant Netflix has removed the film from their soon to release list, and here’s why.
Apparently, post the debacle of the Sushant Singh Rajput – Jacqueline Fernandez starrer Drive that released on the platform, the upper echelons at Netflix decided to revisit their acquisitions and remunerations. Based on this, Netflix reopened negotiations with Screwvala for Bhangra Paa Le offering a different deal with a much lower remuneration rate. Given this new development, Screwvala is yet to take a call on whether the film should be sold to the streaming major or not, and hence it does not feature on Netflix’s catalogue.
Commenting on the same, a source close to the development says, “After Drive, Netflix is taking a serious approach towards acquisition and re-evaluating decisions that had been taken earlier. Because of this, the deal that was locked with Ronnie Screwvala was subject to re-evaluation and the filmmaker was offered a much lower remuneration for the rights. Since Screwvala has not responded yet to the new offer, Netflix has removed the film from its forthcoming release catalogue.”
Well, we guess it is a waiting game for now to see whether Bhangra Paa Le releases on Netflix under the new agreement or whether Ronnie Screwvala will eventually opt for a theatrical release followed by an OTT release.
IFFI to pay tributes to the actors and filmmakers we lost this year
International Film Festival of India (IFFI) has introduced a new section wherein they will tribute the filmmakers and stars that we have lost this past year. This new section has been introduced to mark the 50th year of the film festival.
The festival which will be held from November 20 to 28 will showcase films featuring late celebrities like Vidya Sinha, Kader Khan, Veeru Devgan, Rajkumar Barjatiya, Mrinal Sen, Girish Karnad, Khayyam, Rama Guha Thakurta, Vijaya Mulay, Ram Mohan, and M J Radhakrishana.
The opening ceremony will be hosted by Karan Johar in Goa and this time, IFFI has surely raised the bar by this special tribute.
Fashion designer Manish Malhotra’s father passes away
Ace fashion designer Manish Malhotra’s father took his last breath this morning. While the exact reason of death is not yet announced, he was in his early 90s and had been suffering from a number of ailments owing to his age.
Upon hearing the loss, Manish’s close friend Karan Johar was one of the first people to reach the former’s Mumbai residence in Bandra, to pay a visit to the grieving family. Later, Shabana Azmi and Sophie Choudry also dropped in.
We convey our deepest condolences to the family.
Dostana 2: This Stree actor joins Kartik Aaryan and Janhvi Kapoor
After the fun that John Abraham, Abhishek Bachchan and Priyanka Chopra’s Dostana offered us in 2008, it’s now time for Dostana 2. Kartik Aaryan and Janhvi Kapoor have already dived deep into the first schedule and are in Chandigarh now. But guess what? We just had an interesting addition to the cast.
Actor Abhishek Banerjee, who put up a great show in Rajkummar Rao and Shraddha Kapoor’s Stree and was also seen in Ayushmann Khurrana’s Bala, will be seen playing a pivotal part in Dostana 2 as well. In a recent interview, he opened up on knowing director Collin D’Cunha for a while now and also revealed that he worked with Collin in Secret Superstar, as a casting director. Calling Dostana one of his favourite films, Abhishek said he was glad to be a part of the sequel.
Post their schedule in Chandigarh the actors were supposed to head to Delhi for a fresh schedule. However, the hazardous pollution of the capital city led the makers to call off their Delhi schedule.
Dostana 2 will also mark the Bollywood debut of TV actor Lakshya. It is slated to release in 2020.
Rani Mukerji starrer Mardaani 2 is inspired by the horrifying Yamuna Expressway crimes?
Rani Mukerji’s Mardaani 2 has struck a chord with audiences with its brilliant spine-chilling trailer that sees Rani in a chase against time to capture a brutal serial rapist. The trailer has wowed everyone for its raw, gritty and edgy portrayal of how India is seeing a rise in violent crimes by juveniles and sparked a conversation of this grim reality.
Rani is reprising the role of the fearless and committed Superintendent of Police, Shivani Shivaji Roy in Mardaani 2. She had delivered a knock-out performance in the superhit and hugely acclaimed prequel, Mardaani, in which she took on the kingpin of a child trafficking racket. Audiences are expecting no less from Rani especially after the superb trailer of the film in which she is seen taking on a villain who systematically targets women.
In Mardaani 2, Rani has been pitted against a very young yet dangerous villain who can be called pure evil. There is a lot of debate about what real-life incidents inspired the storyline of Mardaani 2 and we seem to have found an answer.
“Two years back, a violent crime rocked the nation. It happened on the Yamuna Expressway where four women were raped. The modus operandi of the criminal was simple. Use a vehicle to carry out these crimes. If you see Mardaani 2 trailer, the villain clearly uses a car to pick up unsuspecting women and then carries out his plan. The incidents on the Yamuna Expressway were brutal. The accused snatched a car and then looted and raped women. When arrested, the young criminals were seen with no remorse resulting in cops to suspect that all similar incidents could have been conducted by them. This incident and the nature of the cold-blooded, non-repenting criminals was the inspiration behind Mardaani 2,” says a source close to the project.
When contacted, Gopi Puthran, writer-director of Mardaani 2, says, “Ideas for films like Mardaani 2 tend to come from some real-life inspirations because of the horrific nature of crimes that you read about in papers, do shock you and stay with you. My film is inspired by various such incidents that happened across the country. Mardaani 2 focusses on such crimes committed by juveniles, how they are on the rise across the nation and we need to pay heed to this. The fact that underage boys are committing such violence makes the crimes deadlier and more menacing because how do you recognise them when they could be walking, talking or sitting next to you and your family. Mardaani 2 highlights this social issue.”
Produced by Aditya Chopra, Mardaani 2 will be Rani’s next release after the global blockbuster Hichki that delivered 250 crores worldwide. Mardaani 2 is set to hit theatres on 13th December.
