ShowBiz

Chennai, Sep 17 (IANS) Well-known Malayalam actor Neeraj Madhav, whose performance in the just released Tamil film, 'Vendhu Thanindhadhu Kaadu', has come in for much praise, is on cloud nine that he has also written and sung for A. R. Rahman in the film.

Taking to Instagram, the actor posted a picture of himself with director Gautham Vasudev Menon and music director A. R. Rahman.

He wrote: "Yes, I wrote and sang for A. R. Rahman! Manifest and dreams do come true!

"I was trying so hard to keep this to myself, those who watched 'Vendhu Thanindhadhu Kaadu would already know, but now I can tell the world!"

"During my speech at the 'Vendhu Thanindhadhu Kaadu' audio launch, I happened to sing a verse dedicated to A. R. Rahman in front of him. The next thing I know, I'm sitting with the legend himself in his studio and making this track!"

"True fanboy moment ! 'Venthu Thaninthath Kaadu' in theatres now. My Tamil debut as an actor and a rapper! #bucketlist #ARR #VTK"

--IANS
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New Delhi, Sep 17 (IANS) Actress Shefali Shah, who can rightly be tagged as the reigning queen of the digital space with her work in the OTT space such as 'Delhi Crime', 'Jalsa' and 'Human' among many others, aces in culinary arts as well.

Asked if the art of cooking helps her unwind, Shefali in a conversation with IANS said: "I enjoy it because it is not forced on me and I don't have to do it everyday. So I do it in my time, my leisure listening to music, and having a glass of wine. Doing my own thing. I enjoy doing it. I haven't done it for some time. In lockdown I was doing it everyday."

"The fact that I like cooking and I know my way around in the kitchen.It helped me in 'Jalsa' and 'Juice' because cooking was an integral part of all these characters, including 'Darlings'."

Shefali has been ruling the OTT space with her work, does that add an extra pressure for her?

"It is overwhelming. Humbling. With so much love and it feels good that all the hard work that I have put in becoming all these characters have reached across all the audiences. It's acknowledged and appreciated..."

"I am always pressurised when I go on set. I don't know what I will do or how I will do this. It's just a part of who I am," said the actress, whose performance as the strong-headed police officer Vartika Chaturvedi in the Netflix series has been widely appreciated by audiences and critics alike.

--IANS
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Chennai, Sep 17 (IANS) Rashmika Mandanna, who was running between the shoot of 'Varisu' and the promotions of 'GoodBye', has been enjoying the delicious food the national capital has to offer.

Recently, Rashmika travelled to Delhi for the promotions of 'GoodBye'. The actress had a great time in the city and shared a picture on her social media with a lot of food on her table. She added a note with the image that said: "When in Dilli..let's hog on-dal makhani, butter chicken, paneer bhurji, seekh kabab, makai di rotti, dahi kabab...Okay I ordered a lot."

As she got ready to depart from Delhi, Rashmika wrote: "Thank you Delhi you were too sweet! Next time, let's go for a momo date."

On the work front, the actress has an interesting line-up with films like 'Pushpa 2', 'Animal', 'Goodbye' under her kitty along with 'Mission Majnu' opposite Sidharth Malhotra, and 'Varisu' with Vijay.

--IANS
mani/kvd

Los Angeles, Sep 17 (IANS) Actress Demi Moore will be seen starring alongside Tom Holland in the second season of 'Feud'.

The second season of the Ryan Murphy anthology will tell the true story of how Truman Capote was friends with numerous members of New York high society until he published excerpts of his unfinished novel "Answered Prayers," with the excerpts serving as a tell-all about the city's elite, reports Variety.

According to sources, Moore would star as socialite Ann Woodward, a former showgirl and radio actress who was infamously accused of murdering her husband in 1955.

Moore joins previously announced cast members Tom Hollander, Diane Lane, Calista Flockhart, Naomi Watts and Chloe Sevigny, with Hollander set to play Capote.

This is the latest TV role Moore has taken on in recent years.

She has previously been on shows like 'Brave New World' at Peacock, 'Empire' at Fox, and lent her voice to 'Animals'.

She also appeared on the soap opera 'General Hospital' early in her career.

She is primarily known for her roles in films such as G.I. Jane, Striptease, Indecent Proposal, Ghost, and A Few Good Men.

Gus Van Sant is onboard to direct the entire eight-episode season of 'Feud'.

It was originally reported that the new season of 'Feud' was meant to focus on Charles, Prince of Wales, and Diana, Princess of Wales, though that concept was eventually abandoned. The first season of 'Feud' aired back in 2017 and starred Jessica Lange and Susan Sarandon.

That season focused on the relationship between Joan Crawford (Lange) and Bette Davis (Sarandon) during the making of the 1962 film "What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?"

--IANS
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Chennai, Sep 17 (IANS) The makers of director Praveen Sattaru's action thriller 'The Ghost', featuring Telugu superstar Akkineni Nagarjuna in the lead, have now released the first single from the film, titled 'Vegam'.

The romantic number, featuring Nagarjuna and Sonal Chauhan, has high retention value, thanks to its mellifluous music.

The chemistry between the two actors in the song is sparkling. The duo of Bharath and Saurab has scored this soothing melody with a romantic feel.

Singers Kapil Kapilan and Ramya Behara seem to have breathed life into the number with their vocals. Krishna Madineni impresses with his conversational style lyrics.

Suniel Narang, in association with Puskur Ram Mohan Rao, and Sharrath Marar is producing 'The Ghost' on a lavish scale under the banners of Sree Venkateshwara Cinemas LLP and Northstar Entertainment.

Mukesh G and Brahma Kadali are the cinematographer and art director, respectively, while Dinesh Subbarayan and Kaecha have choreographed the stunts.

The movie, which also features Gul Panag and Anikha Surendran, will hit the screens on October 5.

--IANS
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Chennai, Sep 17 (IANS) Telugu actor Varun Tej, who has carved a name for himself in the Telugu industry, has now dropped hints on what his next film is likely to be about.

The actor has released a small video about his new film, without disclosing much details.

The sneak peak video of Varun Tej's 13 shows the actor reading a script with eagerness. Quote about bravery in the background gives a hint of the valour of the character that Varun is to play in the film. There is a delightful smile on Varun Tej's face in the end, indicating his satisfaction with the script.

He finally keeps a toy aircraft that resembles a fighter plane on the script even as the sound of a plane taking off is heard.

As the video suggests, the story is set in a war backdrop and is based on true events.

The unique manner in which the project has been announced has created curiosity. The clip gives away the fact that an announcement regarding the project will be made on September 19.

--IANS
mani/kvd

Chennai, Sep 17 (IANS) The makers of director Siddharth Ramaswamy's upcoming web series, 'Fall', featuring actress Anjali in the lead, have now released the first look of the series.

The series, which is part of the Hotstar Specials, will release on the OTT platform Disney+ Hotstar.

Apart from Anjali, the upcoming web series will also feature S.P.B. Charan, Sonia Agarwal, Santhosh Pratap, Namita Krishnamoorthy, Thalaivasal Vijay, and Poornima Bagyaraj among other stars.

'Fall' follows the story of a young women who has no memory of the 24 hours prior to her alleged suicide attempt. The show is about how she tries to piece together what really happened only to realise she can trust no one, not even her closest friends and family as she discovers secrets, lies and the unspeakable truths locked deep in her memory.

Siddarth Ramaswamy, apart from directing the series, has also handled the cinematography for this series. Kishan C. Chezhiyan is in charge of editing while Ajesh is composing music for the show.

Distributed by Armoza Formats, an ITV company, 'Fall' is an adaptation of the award-winning series 'Vertige', written by Michelle Allen and produced by Productions Pixcom Inc.

--IANS
mani/kvd

Chennai, Sep 17 (IANS) Telugu star Nani has released the trailer of director Pradeep Varma's debut film, 'Alluri', featuring actor Sree Vishnu in the lead. The trailer begins with Tanikella Bharani's inspirational words to a youngster.

Sree Vishnu is introduced as police officer, Alluri, who sports a unique style in tackling criminals. The trailer shows that Alluri turns violent only when there is no other option left.

Ideally, he prefers to deal with cases in a non-violent manner. He brings about a change in naxalites and criminals but he has bigger hurdles to overcome. He even sacrifices his personal life for his police job.

Alluri's is an inspirational journey, going by the trailer. Kayadu Lohar plays Sree Vishnu's wife in the film.

Pradeep Varma makes a good impression with his writing and taking. Raj Thota's camera work is neat and Harshavardhan Rameshwar strengthens the narrative with his captivating background score. It's evident through the trailer that Alluri is going to be a gripping police drama.

The film's pre-release event will be held at the N Convention in Hyderabad on September 18 with Allu Arjun gracing it as the chief guest.

Dharmendra Kakarala and Vital are handling editing and art departments respectively.

'Alluri', which will be releasing worldwide on September 23, has been produced by Bekkem Venugopal for Lucky Media and is being presented by Bekkem Babita.

--IANS
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Mumbai, Sep 17 (IANS) Actress Kangana Ranaut wished Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his birthday on Saturday. She shared a picture and penned a note for him praising him as a leader and said that nothing could erase his legacy.

Kangana took to her Instagram story where she shared a picture of herself shaking hands with the Prime Minister.

Alongside the image, she wrote: "From selling tea on railway platforms as a child to becoming the most powerful man on this planet."

"What an incredible journey we wish you a long long life but like Rama like Krishna like Gandhi you are immortal now etched forever in the conscious of this nation and beyond, you will live forever, Nothing can erase your legacy that's why I call you an Avatar... blessed to have you as our leader."

She also mentioned: "Happy Birthday Honourable Prime Minister @narendramodi."

--IANS
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By Ila Sankrityayan
New Delhi, Sep 16 (IANS) 'Pushpa' star Rashmika Mandanna, who is making her Hindi cinema debut with Amitabh Bachchan and Neena Gupta in 'Goodbye', said her character Tara is the complete opposite of her and also shared anecdotes about working with the Big B.


She said, in fact, that Tara is more like her sister, Shiman, who is 16 years younger to her and demands a rational explanation for all that she's asked to do.

"I am not at all like Tara, who doesn't believe in rituals and questions everything," Rashmika said in an interview with IANS. "I have great faith in all the rituals and superstitions. I think my sister is more like her. She wants an explanation for everything. Like, why are you doing this or why have I been asked to do this? So, yeah, Tara and my sister are quite similar in this way."

She also talked about her bond with her sister. The relationship between them is more like that of a mother and daughter, rather than that of two sisters. Rashmika said: "My sister is very close to me and shares everything about her friends. If she has a fight with them, she tells me about it, not my mother."

The 26-year-old actress, who's now also called the 'national crush' post 'Pushpa', said that in the initial days of the shoot she came with her pup because he was she was too small.

"In the middle of it all, I got to know that she was ill and was stressing out, but the moment the people on the sets got to know about it, they came with a vet," Rashmika said. "This is the energy that we had on the sets. It was extremely special."

Talking about her first foray into Hindi cinema, Rashmika told IANS: "I think initially it was very intimidating. But after that, I think it came to a point when we all sort of just blended in so beautifully as a family, even if we're just a couple of actors coming in and performing."

On sharing screen space with the Big B, Rashmika said: "I think for me, Bachchan sir was the picture of professionalism. Of course, he has his own aura, but he is most professional and at heart a simple man. The combination is so beautiful."

Whenever she would be shooting with the Big B and Neena Gupta, Rashmika used to have one big complaint: "Everyone used to blend in so well and have fun. I would notice this and ask them, 'How do you guys know each other?' And they would said that they had been working together for a long time. That's when I told them that I want to be part of their group."

Recalling an incident on the sets, Rashmika said: "We were reading our lines and practising the dialogues as Vikas (Behl) sir wanted the longest cut in one go. Bachchan sir was there, I was there and so were the others. Suddenly, Bachchan sir is like, now I want to go home. Why are we wasting time? I was like, did I say something wrong, because this line was not there in the dialogue. We all used to have a lot of fun like this."

Referring to her initial hesitation to take on the role, Rashmika said during her conversation with IANS: "When Vikas sir came with the script I was like, how I am going to do this. I am just a fun- loving and easy-going person and I asked him, 'Have you approached the right person?'. The character is the complete opposite of me, but he showed confidence in me."

She continued: "I just got to know that my eyes can emote either sadness or anger, and these are two emotions I can express very well. Right now, I am experimenting with my craft; There's no fun in doing the same thing again and again."

Rashmika, who made her acting debut with the 2016 Kannada film 'Kirik Party' and launched in Telugu with 'Chalo' and in Tamil with 'Sulthan', is entering Bollywood with 'Goodbye'.

Directed by Vikas Bahl, and produced by Ekta Kapoor and Shobha Kapoor, the film also features Sunil Grover, Pavail Gulati, Ashish Vidyarthi, Elli AvrRam, Sahil Mehta and Shivin Narang in supporting roles. 'Goodbye' is set to release on October 7.

--IANS
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