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Mumbai, Nov 13 (IANS) As the romantic musical hit film 'Aashiqui' completes 32 years, singer Kumar Sanu, who sang some of the melodious tracks of the movie recalled how the poster of the film was finalised and why the faces of the lead cast were not revealed in it.

Directed by Mahesh Bhatt, the movie is remembered for its storyline and the on-screen chemistry between Rahul Roy and Anu Aggarwal. Moreover, it also became a hit because of its melodious songs like 'Jaane Jigar Jaaneman', 'Main Duniya Bhula Dunga', 'Nazar Ke Saamne' among others sung by Kumar Sanu, Udit Narayan, Nitin Mukesh, and Anuradha Paudwal.

He shared how he and producer Gulshan Kumar decided on the poster of the film: "While discussing the poster with Gulshan ji, we wanted to create intrigue for the new actor. The thought was to not reveal their faces by hiding them under the coat. Everything in the film broke barriers, created mystery, and was different."

As the singing reality show, 'Indian Idol 13' is going to have an 'Aashiqui' special episode, the cast of the film appeared on the show along with Kumar Sanu. The contestants including Rishi Singh, Bidipta Chakraborty, Anushka Patra, Debosmita Roy, Sonakshi Kar, Senjuti Das, Sanchari Sengupta, Chirag Kotwal, Vineet Singh, Navdeep Wadali, Shivam Singh, Kavya Limaye and Rupam Bharnarhia were seen singing the famous tracks from the movie.

'Indian Idol 13' contestant Rupam from Amritsar performed on the track 'Tu Meri Zindagi Hai.'

After her performance, singer and judge Himesh Reshammiya praised her: "Rupam your tonal quality is very rustic which makes your performance stand out. It enhances your singing and adds colour to the song."

Deepak Tijori added: "Nowadays, the trend is 'be yourself'. You are a true example of it. You have a unique voice of your own."

The show is judged by Neha Kakkar, Himesh Reshammiya, and Vishal Dadlani. It airs on Sony Entertainment Television.

--IANS
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Chennai, Nov 13 (IANS) Director M. Saravanan, who has delivered critically acclaimed superhit films such as 'Engeyum Eppothum' and 'Ivan Vera Mathiri', said that the spark for his next film, 'Naadu' came from a real life incident which he witnessed in Kolli hills.

Participating in a pre-release event organised by the unit of the film, M. Saravanan said: "Characters in films these days are shown as being sharp, quick-witted and street smart. We have departed from this norm and made a film about simple people."

The director, who is known for making socially responsible films, said that the spark for this film came: "Several years ago. I had gone to the Kolli hills. An incident I witnessed there had a profound impact on me for a long time. I decided to make it into a script and that is how 'Naadu' happened."

The film, which features Bigg Boss title winner Tharshan and gifted actress Mahima Nambiar in the lead, will speak about the difficult lives that those living in the hills lead.

Sources close to the unit said that 'Naadu' will be a hard-hitting film that is bound to leave all those who watch it moved.

--IANS
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Mumbai, Nov 13 (IANS) Bollywood filmmaker-producer Karan Johar is returning to direction after his last outing 'Ae Dil Hai Mushkil' with his next movie which has quite a long title but is about what Karan and the Indian audience loves at large - a love story.

What's interesting is that the film, titled 'Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani' (love story is literally in the title itself), has set its release date for April next year.

KJo took to his Instagram to share the news of the film's release date. He shared a long note on his Instagram which stated: "After 7 years, it's time for me to return to my first home - the cinemas. I had the absolute honour of working with not one, but many illustrious actors on the set of my film."

The film has other elements of a quintessential KJo film as well -- an ensemble and a lot, definitely a lot of drama is expected.

The note further read: "The familial nostalgic feeling of an ensemble cast, creating music that captivates the hearts and a story that runs deep to the roots of our family traditions. It's that time again to huddle with your family and friends, buy popcorn and witness just sheer love & entertainment unfold on the big screen."

KJo added: "We're overwhelmed and impatiently excited to finally inform ... Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani in cinemas on 28th April 2023."

Prior to announcing the release date of the film, Karan posted a poem on his Instagram Stories, to reveal some interesting facts about the star cast which includes Ranveer, Alia Dharmendra, Shabana Azmi and Jaya Bachchan, and has Pritam as the music director and Amitabh Bhattacharya as the lyricist.

The poem translated to "Love will be revived after 7 years with music by Pritam and Amitabh Bhattacharya matching his tune. Alia will star in the film and Ranveer will have a blast, what a pair, what a film."

It concluded by noting: "Jaya will be in an unseen avatar and you will fall in love with Shabana. Dharmendra's swag is still intact, we are coming and this is a fact. So wait for the evening for my message. This film is for every age group - young ones to senior citizens)."

--IANS
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Chennai, Nov 13 (IANS) Actor Chandan Roy Sanyal, who has finished shooting his portions for the television series 'Shehar Lakhot', said that he had to go out of his comfort zone to play this role.

Chandan said: "Being able to work with Navdeep and the team was a wonderful experience. For this role, I stepped outside of my comfort zone and I am looking forward to the response from the audience. The audience will identify with my role when it is out, and I am confident that they will love seeing it as much as I did while filming it."

The actor will be seen sharing screen space alongside Priyanshu Painyuli, Shruthy Menon, and Kubra Sait.

The 'Ashram' actor finished shooting for the thriller series in Udaipur.

Devika Bhagat and Navdeep Singh collaborated on the writing and direction of this murder mystery. It centres on a man who, against his will, goes back to his hometown, where he is forced to face his history and prove his innocence.

Chandan is now shooting for his next film 'Patna Shukla'. His other upcoming projects include 'Aashram' Season 4 and Jai Mehta's 'Lootere'.

--IANS
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Visakhapatnam, Nov 13 (IANS) Amid political tension and tight security, actor and Jana Sena Party (JSP) leader Pawan Kalyan reached Vizianagaram district on Sunday to highlight alleged irregularities in a housing project for the poor.

He will visit Jagananna housing colony at Gunkalam on the outskirts of Vizianagaram and interact with beneficiaries of the colony, which is named after Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy (Jagananna).

Pawan Kalyan will launch a new programme titled 'Jagananna illu pedalaandriki kannillu' (Jagananna houses, tears for poor).

The actor's fans and JSP workers accorded a warm welcome to Pawan at various places on Visakhapatnam-Vizianagaram road. They showered petals on the actor who stood in his car and waved at the crowd.

At Anandapuram crossroads, the JSP leader was presented a huge garland with the help of a crane.

This is after a gap of three and a half years that Pawan Kalyan is visiting Vizianagaram. He had last visited the district in 2019 during the election campaign.

JSP leaders have alleged large-scale land scam in Jagananna project, the foundation stone of which was laid by the chief minister on December 30, 2020. They say that the government purchased lands from ruling YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) leaders at exorbitant prices in the guise of construction of Jagananna mega project.

A total of 12,477 houses are planned to be constructed in over 397 acres. It will also have civic infrastructure like schools, hospitals, community halls and markets.

However, the mega township's construction could not be completed. Due to delay in providing basic infrastructure, beneficiaries could not construct the houses. Increase in construction material cost and labour charges, lack of water supply, poor drainage and road network and other reasons also led to the delay in construction of houses.

According to JSP leaders, the sanctioned amount is not sufficient to meet the expenditure of the beneficiaries who came forward to construct houses on their own. The government claims to have provided additional financial assistance in the form of loans.

Ahead of Pawan Kalyan's visit, YSRCP MLA Kolagatla Veerabhadra Swamy visited the township. He alleged that JSP was unable to digest the good schemes launched for the poor.

Police have made elaborate security arrangements for Pawan Kalyan's visit as his recent visits to Visakhapatnam and Guntur had sparked tension.

Last month, Pawan Kalyan had to return from Visakhapatnam without participating in the scheduled public meeting as the police barred him from addressing any gathering following attack on convoys of a minister and some YSRCP leaders allegedly by Pawan Kalyan's supporters outside Visakhapatnam Airport.

The actor-politician on Friday night called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Visakhapatnam when the latter was on a visit to the port city. After the meeting, the first between the two leaders since 2014, Pawan Kalyan had expressed the hope that this would bring good days for Andhra Pradesh.

Pawan Kalyan, an ally of BJP, is keen to forge a grand alliance by bringing Telugu Desam Party (TDP) on board to defeat YSRCP in 2024 elections.

He had stated a few months ago that he is waiting for a roadmap from BJP to dislodge YSRCP from power.

--IANS
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Mumbai, Nov 13 (IANS) Popular Rajasthani dancer and stage performer Gori Nagori has been evicted from 'Bigg Boss 16' house because of getting less number of votes from the audience. She stayed for about 40 days inside the house.

Recently, she appeared on the Krushna Abhishek-hosted reality show 'Bigg Buzz' where she opened up about the games of the contestants inside the 'Bigg Boss' house and said that no one is real in the house and they all just pretend to be good. She also added that Shalin Bhanot is just using Tina Datta and Sumbul Touqeer for his own benefit.

While talking about the recent fight between Archana Gautam and Shiv Thakare in which she turned violent and held him by the neck and later, Shalin Bhanot and Nimrit Kaur Ahluwalia demanded her eviction, she said: "Shiv is not entirely innocent in the fight with Archana. He instigated her a lot, and all of the contestants took advantage of it to their obvious benefit."

She also added: "Shiv and I were good friends, and I wanted him to win, but we had disagreements and didn't speak to each other until last week."

Furthermore, she also made comments on the game of Tina Datta and Nimrit and said that she felt relieved after coming out of the house as they both are just 'attention seekers' and fake.

Gori said: "I'm relieved to be out of the show; I was suffocating in there, and there are no humans left in the house; everyone has turned into an animal."

She slammed Tina and Nimrit saying: "Tina and Nimrit both are attention seekers who want to be involved in everything just to be seen in the show - which looks very desperate to me - and they are not even honest and trustworthy."

Moreover, Gori said that Shalin Bhanot is using Tina and Sumbul for his benefit. In the past episodes, there were heated arguments between Shalin and Sumbul as she felt that he was supporting Tina and giving her preference.

"Shalin Bhanot is like a girgit (chameleon) who uses Tina and Sumbul in the house for his own benefit. He changes his colour depending on the situation and his comfort. Sometimes he was romantic, sometimes angry. I didn't understand him at all," she shared.

She concluded with her views on the relationship between Gautam Vig and Soundarya Sharma: "There is no truth in Gautam and Soundarya's love story. Abdu (Rozik) is totally in love with Nimrit, and Shalin is uninteresting."

'Bigg Buzz' streams on Voot.

--IANS
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Mumbai, Nov 13 (IANS) 'Bigg Boss 16' contestant Gori Nagori said that she loved the host and called him 'mamu' during her interview with 'Lehren TV'. Gori, who recently got evicted from the show, talked about the host Salman Khan and expressed her admiration for him.

She said: "I love you" - and she laughed and added: "mamu".

Later, she also revealed three names with whom she would want to keep in touch even after coming out of the Bigg Boss house: "Abdu(Rozik), Soundarya (Sharma), and Archana(Gautam)."

Gori also said that after coming out of Bigg Boss' house, she is not missing everyone: "I want to forget everyone," she said, and added: "Will talk to Soundarya."

During the Weekend Ka Vaar, the host tricked the housemates and all the contestants thought that Priyanka Chahar Choudhary will exit the house but later he revealed that Gori is evicted because of less number of votes from the audience.

Salman also called her 'Haryana ki Shakira'.

'Bigg Boss 16' airs on Colors.

--IANS
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Chennai, Nov 13 (IANS) Over 30 stars from the south Indian film industries and Bollywood attended a reunion hosted by actors Jackie Shroff and Poonam Dhillon at their home in Mumbai.

The stars from the '80s, who, as a practice, have a reunion every year to celebrate their friendship and camaraderie had suspended the practice after 2019 due to the outbreak of the pandemic.

The 10th year reunion in 2019 was hosted by Chiranjeevi in his fabulous Hyderabad home. Nearly 40 stars from South India and Bombay had attended that reunion. However, after that, due to the pandemic, the event was not held. This year, they revived the practice and met in Mumbai for their annual reunion.

Actors Poonam Dhillon and Jackie Shroff graciously hosted the actors from the four southern states. They invited a few of their colleagues from Bollywood too for the evening.

Just like every other year, the get together had a colour theme. This year, the theme was silver and orange for women and grey and orange for men. The venue decoration was Maharashtrian and the spread on the table included Maharashtrian delicacies.

The hosts, Poonam Dhillon and Jackie Shroff, did not spare any effort to prepare the venue in the theme colours and welcomed their guests.

The get together went on till the wee hours of the morning. The actors from the South performed for a medley. Poonam Dhillon had organised games and quiz. It was a fun-filled evening.

The celebrities who were part of the 11th '80s actors reunion include Chiranjeevi, Rajkumar, Sarathkumar, Baghyaraj, Venkatesh, Arjun, Anil Kapoor, Sunny Deol, Sanjay Dutt, Naresh, Bhanuchandar, Suhasini Maniratnam, Khushboo, Ramya Krishnan, Lissy, Poornima Baghyaraj, Radha, Ambika, Saritha, Sumalatha, Shobana, Revathy, Nadia, Meenakshi Sheshadri, Tina Ambani and Madhoo.

--IANS
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Chennai, Nov 11 (IANS) Actress Samantha, who promoted her film 'Yashoda' despite being under treatment for an auto-immune condition called Myositis, is overwhelmed by the response of her fans and followers to the film which hit screens on Friday.

Taking to Twitter to thank her fans for their support, the actress said: "This time, more than ever, I was hoping and praying for all your support in promoting the film."

"The affection you have showered on me and 'Yashoda' in the run up to the release is humbling. Forever grateful to all of you. You are my family! Truly hope you enjoy the film. Thank you."

Just a day before the film's release, the actress had put out a post in which she had expressed her nervousness.

On Instagram, Samantha had said: "Extremely nervous and especially excited! One day to go. Mee andhariki 'Yashoda' nachchalani gattiga korukuntunna (I hope you all get to really like 'Yashoda')."

"Good vibes to my directors, producer, cast and entire crew as they wait like me for your verdict tomorrow. All fingers and toes crossed."

The actress, who only recently announced that she was undergoing treatment for the auto-immune condition, broke down during an interview while explaining about the difficulties she had to deal with as a result of the condition.

--IANS
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Chennai, Nov 11 (IANS) Young Telugu star Naga Shaurya is to tie the knot with Anusha, an interior designer by profession, on November 20 this year.

The popular actor will wed the interior designer at the JW Marriott hotel in Bangalore.

Sources close to the star said that both pre-wedding and wedding ceremonies will be held at the venue and that the wedding is scheduled to take place at precisely 11:25 a.m.

The pre-wedding rituals will kick-start with a Mehndi function on November 19. Sources also disclose that there will be different dress codes for both Mehandi and the wedding ceremony.

The two-day wedding ceremony in Bangalore is expected to be a grand affair, with several celebrities from different film industries likely to attend.

On the professional front, Naga Shaurya just began work on his 24th film, tentatively being referred to as 'NS24'.

Directed by debutant S.S. Arunachalam, the film is being produced by Srinivasa Rao Chintalapudi, Vijay Kumar Chintalapudi and Dr. Ashok Kumar Chintalapudi for Vaishnavi Films.

'NS24' is said to have the biggest budget among all the films that Naga Shaurya has so far acted in.

Touted to be an action entertainer that will also have elements for youth and families, the movie will see Naga Shaurya undergoing a complete makeover.

One other interesting fact about the project is that popular Tamil music director Harris Jayaraj will be making a comeback to Telugu cinema, after a long gap.

--IANS
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