ShowBiz

New Delhi, Oct 2 (IANS) TV actor Shalin Bhanot, who is well-known for his negative role in 'Naagin', was the third contestant to join the 'Bigg Boss 16' house. He amazed the host with his dance moves and also shared with him his wish to host the reality show.

He also said he doesn't know how to cook, to which Salman replied that Bigg Boss will now make sure he learns to cook inside the house.

The host then asked Shalin if he knew how to clean the house. Shalin replied with a 'No'. Salman responded by saying Shalin would have to do all this inside the house.

Shalin added that many people interpret him differently, but he is the completely opposite of the negative character he plays in 'Naagin'.

Shalin has also acted in 'Saat Phere: Saloni Ka Safar', 'Kulvaddhu', and done a cameo on the show 'Kaajjal'. And he has participated in the dance reality show 'Nach Baliye 4'.

--IANS
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New Delhi, Oct 1 (IANS) The entertainingly controversial reality show hosted by Salman Khan is back with its 16th season.

As the host introduces the new season and asks viewers to "expect the most unexpected", he assures them that this season is going to be different and it won't be easy to guess what's going to happen next.

Salman then went on to introduce Nimrit Kaur Ahluwalia of 'Chhoti Sardarni' fame as the first contestant.

A lawyer when she's not on screen, Nimrit engaged in banter with the host and accused him of "breaking hearts" by "not being shirtless" on the show. She also said that apart from being shirtless in movies, he should host Weekend Ka Waar in the same condition.

She also recalled a childhood incident and revealed how she met Salman in Ladakh when she was in Class VII and took a picture with him, which made her popular in school. She always called him her "lucky charm".

'Bigg Boss 16' airs on Colors.

--IANS
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Mumbai, Oct 1 (IANS) Salman Khan's body double Sagar Pandey passed away and the Bollywood superstar paid an emotional tribute to him.

Pandey was a body double to the actor in films such as 'Bajrangi Bhaijaan' among 50 other movies. According to media reports, he passed away on Friday after suferring a cardiac arrest.

Salman shared a throwback picture from the sets of the 2015 film 'Bajrangi Bhaijaan' directed by Kabir Khan. In the image, he is seen posing with Pandey with "RIP" written.

Alongside the picture, Salman wrote a thank you note for Pandey for being with him.

He wrote: "Dil se shukar adda kar raha hoon for being there with me. May your soul rest in peace brother Sagar. Thank u #RIP #SagarPandey."

On the acting front, Salman will be seen in the third installment of 'Tiger'. He will also be seen in 'Kisi Ka Bhaia Kisi Ki Jaan.'

--IANS
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Chennai, Oct 1 (IANS) Director Gina Prince-Bythewood's 'The Woman King' is to release in India on October 14 this year, its makers have announced.

Inspired by real women warriors - an all-female fighting force called the Agojie, the historical epic movie follows their story as they fought battle after battle in order to protect the African kingdom of Dahomey in the 1800s.

Touted as this season's Academy award contender, 'The Woman King' is also only one of two movies this year to have received the A+ CinemaScore - one of the most prestigious and credible scores to be conferred upon movies based on audience surveys.

More significantly, it is helmed by women on all fronts.

From the Academy, Golden Globe and Primetime Emmy award winning actor Viola Davis to International Emmy award winning Thuso Mbedu, to Lashana Lynch, who has made history as the first Black woman to be cast as 007, to Sheila Atim in the cast to Gina Prince-Bythewood, who has directed the film, the film has only women helming the affairs.

Written by Dana Stevens and Maria Bello, the film has been produced by Cathy Schulman and has cinematography by Polly Morgan.

The Viola Davis-starrer is now all set to make its way to theatres in India on October 14. The movie will release across India in English and Tamil.

--IANS
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Mumbai, Oct 1 (IANS) Bollywood star couple Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh put all rumours about their separation to rest by sharing flirty exchanges on social media.

Ranveer shared a picture of him on Instagram, where he is seen dressed in a bubble gum pink suit. He completed the look by keeping his hair untied.

He captioned it with a pink heart emoji.

Putting a full stop to speculations about their split, Deepika dropped a flirty message on the comment section.

She wrote: "Edible."

To which, Ranveer replied with a smirk and a kiss emoji.

This is not the first time Deepika and Ranveer have engaged on PDA on social media. The power-couple keep sharing pictures and loved-up comments on their social media for each other.

Ranveer and Deepika tied the knot in December 2018 after falling in love with each other on the sets of Sanjay Leela Bhansali's 'Goliyon Ki Raasleela.. Ram-Leela', which released in 2013.

--IANS
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Mumbai, Oct 1 (IANS) Bollywood star Ajay Devgn is all set to hit the goal once again with his performance in 'Maidaan', which will be released on February 17, next year.

Ajay's 'Maidaan' is the true story of the unknown hero, Syed Abdul Rahim, who brought glory to India. It is based on the golden era of Indian football.

Directed by Amit Ravindernath Sharma of the 'Badhai Ho' fame, 'Maidaan' also features Priyamani, Gajraj Rao and the well-known Bengali actor Rudranil Ghosh.

Produced by Zee Studios, Boney Kapoor, Akash Chawla, and Arunava Joy Sengupta, screenplay and dialogues are written by Saiwyn Quadras and Ritesh Shah respectively.

Currently, Ajay awaits the release of his film 'Thank God', which also stars Sidharth Malhotra, Rakul Preet Singh and Nora Fatehi. The film is directed by Indra Kumar.

--IANS
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Mumbai, Oct 1 (IANS) Krushna Abhishek will be seen hosting a segment on the controversial reality show 'Bigg Boss' titled 'Bigg Buzz', where evicted contestants would be grilled by comedian and actor after they leave the house.

Krushna shared: 'Bigg Boss' has been the most loved reality show since its very first season, and I'm thrilled to be hosting 'Bigg Buzz' where I get to take the class and have some fun with the evicted contestants and share the inside news with the audience."

He added: "Ghar ke andar Bigg Boss unki class lenge, aur ghar ke bahar mein. With the new format of this show, I will take it to another level. I am looking forward to the contestants spilling the beans on the show and adding more masala and tadka to the show with my presence."

The show will be aired on Voot exclusively starting October 9.

--IANS
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Hyderabad, Oct 1 (IANS) Four of the five children in conflict with the law (CCL) held as accused in the Jubilee Hills gang rape-case, are to be tried as adults, the Juvenile Board ruled on Friday.

The five along with a sixth person had been held in the sensational case that had rocked the state a few months ago.

The fifth CCL, who is the son of an MIM lawmaker is to be tried as a juvenile, ruled principal magistrate G Radhika. His case is to be transferred to the children's court.

The magistrate did not concur with a board member who had opined that the children in conflict with the law (CCL) may have been lured by the welcoming approach of the victim and that they do not have legal education and hence unable to understand the legal consequences."

Noting that CCL were neither under the influence of alcohol or other substances, the principal concluded there were no compelling circumstances for them to commit the crime.

The sensational case had the opposition parties attacking the ruling TRS party in Telangana and the police department shielding the MLA's son by invoking milder sections of the law against him.

--IANS
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By Vikas Datta
Films, especially of Bollywood, are usually escapist from the uncompromising reality and leverage a willing suspension of disbelief by the viewer for the simulacrum of our world they create.


However, this accomplished Indian film-maker was adept in making movies that recreated the ethos and concerns of the middle class, which seemed like their own experiences, not a contrived story.

Hrishikesh Mukherjee eschewed formulaic 'masala' potboilers (with plenty of flailing fists, sultry beauties and unspeakable villains or those of love triangles and misunderstandings) or intense "art movies", to create a unique "middle-of-the road" and popular films - wide-ranging and even provocative - but also guaranteed to touch you.

He was also deft in using established stars against their typecast images - heartthrob Rajesh Khanna in a deglamourised role of a terminally-ill but still cheerful patient and later, as a humble cook with a secret agenda, action man Dharmendra displaying his sensitive side as a man of principle who meets a tragic end, and in another film, his comic genius in a gambit to show up an uppity relative, and Amitabh Bachchan - well before he became a household name - as a cynical doctor, and then, as an insecure and jealous singer.

Mukherjee, who would have turned 100 on this day (September 30), only made 42 films in a four decade-odd career - with a ten-year hiatus between the second-last and the last - but they stand out for their insightful look into believable human problems and foibles, prosaic but edifying themes which never transgressed into preaching or agendas, lively music, and generous helpings of humour (whenever apt).

They also easily swung across genres, created some of the most memorable characters seen onscreen (remember Dhurandar Bhatawadekar?), and reprised plots and motifs in various innovative ways - an incident sad and poignant in one, and flighty and humorous in the next - using the same actors, eg. Dharmendra and Sharmila Tagore in "Satyakam" and "Chupke Chupke".

Part of this can be attributed to his background. A chemistry graduate from the University of Calcutta and a science teacher too, he chose a career in films, working first as a cameraman, and then as film editor, in New Theatres in the late 1940s. He then worked with Bimal Roy in Mumbai as film editor and assistant director from 1951, before branching out as an independent filmmaker towards the end of the decade.

His skill as editor and focus on the script, as many of those who worked with him attest, helped to ensure the finesse in his films - most scenes were shot in two or maximum three takes.

While Mukhejee is best known for the rather sombre "Anand" (1971), and the laugh riots "Chupke Chupke" (1975), and "Gol Maal" (1979), he had a wide and varied repertoire - right from his debut "Musafir" (1957), which was not only of the first "portmanteau" film, comprising three separate episodes linked by a single theme, but a casting coup in being the only film to star Dilip Kumar and Kishore Kumar.

However, it was not successful commercially and he only hit the limelight with his second outing "Anari", which transformed Raj Kapoor's Chaplinesque persona to a more believable avatar and fetched the showman his first Filmfare Award for acting.

These were followed by the sensitive and ahead of its time "Anuradha" (1960) with Balraj Sahni and Leela Naidu, the effervescent "Asli Naqli" (1962) with Dev Anand and Sadhana, the enigmatic "Sanjh Aur Savera" (1964), where Guru Dutt, in his final screen performance, was paired with Meena Kumari, "Gaban" (1966), starring Sunil Dutt, and possibly one of the best screen adaptations of a Premchand work, the morbid "Satyakam" (1969) with Dharmendra in his most unusual role, among many others.

However, it was Chatterjee's work in the 1970s that comprises some landmark Indian films - While "Anand" came out in 1971, so did "Guddi", where Dharmendra, who plays himself, teams up with a young Jaya Bhaduri's uncle (Utpal Dutt) to acquaint her with the reality of the film industry, "Bawarchi" (1972) where Rajesh Khanna cooks up concord and understanding in a fractious family, "Abhimaan" and "Namak Haraam" (1973), the Wodehousian "Chupke Chupke" (1975), and then "Gol Maal" (1979), where the Amol Palekar and Utpal Dutt chemistry was stupendous.

He kept up the pace in the 1980s with "Khubsoorat" (1980), with Rekha and Rakesh Roshan, "Naram Garam" (1981) with favourites Palekar and Dutt joined by Swaroop Sampat and Shatrughan Sinha, "Rang Birangi" (1983), where Palekar was joined by Parveen Babi, Deepti Naval and Farooq Sheikh, and "Kissise Na Kehna" (1983) with Dutt, Deepti Naval and Farooq Sheikh.

However, it was by this time, he seemed to lose steam and though he worked till the end of the decade, the usual sparkle was lacking with the changing mores and norms and most of his actors going back to doing what they were better known for. He emerged in the end 1990s with "Jhooth Bole Kauwa Kaate", starring Anil Kapoor, Juhi Chawla and Amrish Puri, but this was his swan song, ahead of his death in 2006.

(Vikas Datta can be contacted at vikas.d@ians.in)

--IANS
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By Vikas Datta
Hindi movies are known for their heroes/heroines, but the villains, or rather, actors in villainous roles, are the heavy lifters. As against Dilip Kumar's around 70, Rajesh Khanna's over 170 and Amitabh Bachchan's 250-odd films, Prem Chopra appeared in 370-odd over 60 years, Pran - the template for the Hindi film villain - in over 380 films in 67 years, and Madan Puri went on to clock well over 400 in more than four decades.


With his pervasive presence in movies, of all types from the 1940s to the 1980s, a popular saying in the times was -- "if you wanted to make a movie then all you needed was an Arriflex camera, some raw film, and Madan Puri".

Whether the film was mythological or historic, a social or family drama, a romantic or crime thriller, featuring secret agents, hippies or NRIs, a gem of a parallel cinema, or the angry young man era, Madan Puri - who has the unique distinction of acting both with K.L. Saigal and Amitabh Bachchan - could be somewhere in it, and not necessarily in a negative role.

Born on this day (September 30) in 1915 in Punjab's Nawanshahr, Madan Puri, who is now chiefly known as the elder brother of Amrish 'Mogambo' Puri, was a versatile and multi-facetted actor, whose "everyman" face could turn saturnine, sinister, devious, haggard, or kindly, when needed.

That enabled him to portray corrupt businessmen, edgy doctors, knife-happy gangsters, stern fathers, amiable uncles, conscientious or corrupt police officers, heartless money-lenders, eccentric scientists, seedy night-club owners, sneering pimps, brutal jailors, duplicitous politicians, devious foreign agents, bloodthirsty dacoits and many more.

Madan Puri also had to his credit a double hat-trick of playing a Chinese villain, playing the role in at least six notable Hindi films - John Chang in Ashok Kumar-Madhubala crime noir "Howrah Bridge" (1958), Chang in international caper "Singapore" (1960) and Joseph Wong in the noirish "China Town" (1962), both starring Shammi Kapoor, Comrade Chang in spy thriller "Shatranj" (1969), yet another Chang in Dev Anand's "Prem Pujari" (1970), and then Wong again in "Saazish" (1975), an international crime caper starring Dharmendra and Sairu Banu.

He was also the "Captain", of an unnamed enemy power, in the spy flick "Aankhen" (1968), starring Dharmendra and Mala Sinha.

Coming from a family, broadminded (for those days) enough not to scorn the acting profession - since his cousin was the legendary K.L. Saigal, Madan Puri was fond of acting since his early days with his first starring performance being a 1936 play at Simla's Gaiety Theatre - Pran was the female lead!

Though he was not the first of his siblings to join and shine in films - eldest brother Chaman Puri was a character actor in several films - Madan Puri moved to Bombay in the early 1940s, when he was helped into films by Saigal.

After some uncredited bit roles from "Khazanchi" (1941), he, like many others, wanted and began as a hero, but these films never clicked and he found his niche as a villain - on the suggestion of Dev Anand.

Thus began an eventful career that spanned four decades, mostly as an egregious, and chronic villain, though he later switched to roles of a kindly elder, and only came to an end when he succumbed to a sudden heart attack in 1985.

His notable villainous roles, apart from the Chinese appearances, were as the jealous rich man Manilal in "Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baaje" (1955), blackmailing employee Rajan in Kishore Kumar-starrer science fiction comedy "Mr. X in Bombay" (1964), Dr. Acharya in the Agatha Christie-influenced remote isle murder thriller "Gumnaam" (1965), the volatile henchman Balbir in "Waqt" (1965), the lecherous Madan Chicagowala in "Shagird" (1967), and rival gang-leader Samant in "Deewaar" (1975), among others.

On the other hand, Madan Puri also made his mark as the faithful employee - for a change - in Shammi Kapoor's "Kashmir Ki Kali" (1964), public prosecutor Khanna in terse murder mystery/courtroom drama "Ittefaq" (1969), the nostalgic London-based expatriate Sharma in "Purab Aur Paschim" (1970) - who listens to Saigal records!, the second of three Mahesh Jetleys, who are "conspiring to murder their wives" in "Hulchul" (1971), Dilip Kumar's henchman Khushiram Khusal Singh in "Vidhaata" (1982), and many more.

His other prominent films include "Majboor" (1974), "Manoranjan" (1974), "Roti Kapda Aur Makaan" (1974), "The Godfather"-inspired "Dharmatma" (1975), "Mehbooba" (1976), "Kalicharan" (1976), "Shirdi Ke Sai Baba" (1977), "The Great Gambler" (1979), "Jaani Dushman" (1979), "Noorie" (1979), "Alibaba Aur 40 Chor" (1980), "The Burning Train" (1980), "Kranti" (1981), "Andha Kanoon" (1983), "Hero" (1983), and "Aaj Ka M.L.A. Ram Avtar" (1984).

As Madan Puri once said, he was "the aloo-pyaz that can be put in any Bollywood dish".

(Vikas Datta can be contacted at vikas.d@ians.in)

--IANS
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