ShowBiz

Srinagar, Sep 8 (IANS) Bollywood actor and film-maker, Sanjay Khan called on J&K Lt Governor, Manoj Sinha at the Raj Bhawan in Srinagar on Thursday.

The veteran actor discussed with the Lt Governor the promotion of film-related activities in Jammu & Kashmir.

The Lt Governor observed that the UT Government is taking effective measures to create a vibrant film ecosystem to bring back the golden era of filmmaking in J&K.

Key endeavours like New Film Policy, developing better facilities are aimed at transforming J&K into the most preferred film shooting destination, he added.

--IANS
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Chennai, Sep 8 (IANS) The unit of director Selvaraghavan's 'Naane Varuven', featuring actor Dhanush in the lead, has now released the first single 'Veera Soora' from the film much to the delight of fans and film buffs.

The unit, which had organised an exclusive listening session for the media on Wednesday at the Prasad Lab, later released the song on YouTube for the benefit of fans.

The dark, grim number, which has been sung by Yuvan Shankar Raja, has additional vocals from Sam, Shenbagharaj Narayanan and Muthu Sirpi.

In the song sequence, Dhanush, who is believed to be playing two characters including one with negative shades in the film, is seen driving through a forest and looking to hunt.

The song gives a glimpse of the negative character he plays in the film. Dhanush took to Twitter to announce the launch of the song. He tweeted: "'Veera Soora' -- The theme of the dark side from 'Naane Varuven'."

The lyrics for the song have been penned by director Selvaraghavan himself. The song has got a phenomenal response from fans, with Selvaraghavan announcing the number was trending with more than 2.5 million real-time views.

--IANS
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Chennai, Sep 8 (IANS) Shruti Vijayan, wife of Malayalam actor Siju Wilson, who plays the lead in the 19th-century period drama, 'Pathonpatham Noottandu', has penned an emotional post wishing her husband the best of luck for his film.

The film, which is about the warrior and social reformer Arattupuzha Velayudha Panicker, was released on Thursday for Onam.

Taking to Instagram, Shruti wrote: "Finally, the big day is here after waiting for two years. I recall the day when you called me after meeting Vinayan Sir...'Shruti, it's a huge movie... a historic movie I always wanted to do. This is a great opportunity to learn new things and I want to give my best for this.'

She added: "From that day till this day Siju Wilson, I have seen the spark in your eyes and you did not let it go till this time. I have seen you training like a beast, even after all the tiring sessions on each passing day, your energy for the next day has always stayed high.

"Very happy to see you grow each day with pride. Let this movie be a mark as one of the best movies in your life and as you know Meher loves you the most. She was with us throughout this journey. You know what I mean...."

"All the Very Best appa. Thank you so much to the 'Pathonpatham Noottandu' team for releasing it on eighth September, very excited to see this movie on my birthday! Yippee!

"Eagerly waiting to see Arattupuzha Velayudha Panicker and all great characters journey on the big screen. All the very best to the large crew of 'Pathonpatham Noottandu'. Let this season bring you all lots of good luck, happiness and all that you wish! Happy Onam!"

--IANS
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Bhopal, Sep 8 (IANS) The protest by Bajrang Dal, which forced Bollywood actor Ranbir Kapoor and his pregnant wife Alia Bhatt to return from Mahakaleshwar temple in Madhya Pradesh's Ujjain without offering prayer, has triggered a controversy.

Reacting to the development that took place on Tuesday night, the state Home Minister Narottam Mishra said, "No one stopped them (Ranbir and Alia) from worshipping at the temple, they themselves decided not to go there, despite requests by local administration to go there and offer prayers. If they were stopped, then how other members of the team offered their prayers in side the temple?."

The opposition Congress and the leaders from other political outfits beyond Madhya Pradesh reacted on the issue, cornering the ruling BJP for "stopping" the couple from entering to the temple.

The state Congress has termed the Hindu outfit's protest as "political terrorism".

However, Mishra said that the protest and the couple not offering prayers at the temple are separate matters.

Mishra, who is known for his stand on Hinduism with his straight forward replies, went ahead to give a piece of advice to Ranbir Kapoor and said, "Whoever it is, Ranbir or anyone else, they should avoid making statements that hurt religious sentiments of people."

Mishra was reffering to Ranbir's decade old statement, in which the bollywood actor had said, "I am a mutton, paya, beef...red meat guy. I'm a big beef guy."

Reacting to the Home Minister's remarks, the state Congress' media wing head K.K. Mishra said, "Ranbir and Aila returned from Ujjain without offering prayers at Mahakal temple due to fear of 'political terrorism'."

Taking to twitter over the same issue, Shiv Sena MP Priyanka Chaturvedi, targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Sharing Prime Minister Modi's old picture with film actors, she wrote, "None of this photo op will help if you'll continue to be mute spectators to hate and believe it's not your business to talk politics. They will come after you anyway. Mahakaleshwar temple protests in Ujjain is a case in point. Shame that political prejudice is leading to such ugliness. This selective protest before every movie release has become an industry and a lobby, if not collectively pushed back we are fast heading into an abyss of hate, fear and silence. The entertainment industry is an employment generator, lakhs depend on it. Speak up."

Notably, Ranbir and Alia along with the entire cast and crew of their upcoming flim, Brahmastra: Part One – Shiva, flew from Mumbai to Indore, for offering prayers at Mahakal temple.

Bajrang Dal activists gathered outside the Nirmalaya Gate of the temple in Ujjain and protested against allowing the couple entry into the temple.

Due to ongoing protest on their arrival, the the entire team first returned to Ujjain district collector Ashish Singh's residence. After spending some time there, the couple decided not to go ahead with their temple visit plans, due to security reasons, particularly for pregnant Alia Bhatt.

While Ranbir-Alia returned to Indore after spending some time at the collector's residence, the other members of their crew, including director Ayan Mukerji went to the temple and offered prayers, before leaving for Indore.

--IANS
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Mumbai, Sep 7 (IANS) Senior actresses Juhi Chawla and Ayesha Jhulka will be seen in the upcoming thriller series 'Hush Hush' on Prime Video from September 22.

What makes the web series, co-directed by Tanuja Chandra, unique is that it features a cast and crew primarily comprising women, from the production designer and costume designer to the associate producer and co-producer, right to the team managing security.

Writer Juhi Chaturvedi ('Gulabo Sitabo', 'Piku' and 'Sardar Uddham Singh') has scripted the dialogues, Kopal Naithani has directed two episodes and Tanuja Chandra, who doubles as executive producer, has helmed the rest.

Additionally, the story has been written by Shikhaa Sharma ('Jalsa', 'Shakuntala Devi' and 'Sherni'), who is also one of the executive producers on the series.

'Hush Hush' is about a set of women whose picture-perfect lives begin to come undone when an unexpected event brings to the fore secrets from their past and threatens everything that is dear to them.

Knitted in a web of lies, deceit and fighting patriarchy, the story explores the storm that brews behind the seemingly quiet façade of the privileged lives of these women.

Produced by Abundantia Entertainment and co-created by Tanuja Chandra, the seven-episode series also has Soha Ali Khan Pataudi, Kritika Kamra, Shahana Goswami and Karishma Tanna in lead roles.

--IANS
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Mumbai, Sep 7 (IANS) Megastar Amitabh Bachchan, often seen indulging in banter with the contestants, will be seen engaged in a fun-filled conversation with 35-year-old Delhi-based businessman Harsh Poddar about how his wife reacts when he returns from office with a smile.

Harsh said: "Sir I have to tell you something about the argument between me and my wife. Whenever I return from office with a smile ...."

Before he completed his sentence, Big B replied: "Aaj hans rahe hain. Aap kya kisise mulakat karke aaye hai? (You seem to be very happy. Whom you met today?)" Then the contestant jokingly replied: "Sir, it happens with you also?" And Big B just smiled.

Moving ahead in the conversation, the host asked him about how he got into the business of medical supplies after coming from a family of doctors and the contestant talked about his father, who guided him in his business. Harsh added that he idolises Sourav Ganguly and Sachin Tendulkar.

As his wife is a dentist, he told Bachchan that with the winning amount, he wants to open a clinic for her.

He also calls himself lucky to be part of the show hosted by Amitabh Bachchan.

"Being a part of this show made me realise how lucky I am to be sitting on the hotseat because there were a lot of great contestants with me that night sitting on the fastest finger first chairs," he said. "I entered with luck but stayed on with wit. I will always cherish these memories."

Poddar will be seen attempting the question for 'Dhan Amrit' (Rs 75 lakh) in Wednesday night's episode of 'Kaun Banega Crorepati 14'.

It airs on Sony Entertainment Television.

--IANS
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Mumbai, Sep 7 (IANS) Actress Rasika Dugal has started shooting for the third season of 'Mirzapur' in the City of Nawabs, Lucknow.

Rasika has received immense love for her portrayal of Beena Tripathi in both seasons of Mirzapur and is now all set to reprise her role for the third season.

Rasika says: "Shooting in Lucknow is always wonderful, the energy and the vibe of the city is exhilarating. I always look forward to the 'Mirzapur' shoots, feels like coming back home. I am looking forward to good food and an amazing shooting experience."

For the two seasons of the said series, Rasika walked away with praises for embodying the role of a woman from a small town with the power to change the course of events in the series.

'Mirzapur' Season 3 also stars Pankaj Tripathi, Ali Fazal, Shweta Tripathi, Vijay Verma and Isha Talwar, and is backed by Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani's production house, Excel Entertainment.

Rasika's upcoming projects include 'Adhuraa', 'Spike', 'Lord Curzon Ki Haveli' and 'Fairy Folk'.

--IANS
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Mumbai, Sep 7 (IANS) Bollywood star Anushka Sharma took to social media to reveal a glimpse of 'Chakda Xpress', which is inspired by the life and times of women cricket's all-time greatest fast bowler Jhulan Goswami.

In the image, Anushka is seen recreating a moment from Jhulan's life.

A thoughtful Anushka as Jhulan is seen making an important phone call while pouring rain beats down on everything around her.

She captioned it: "A moment from a story that needs to be told!"

Anushka has always strived to be a perfectionist in her career and she is doing the same for 'Chakda Xpress'. She is currently prepping before she starts another schedule of the film.

The Netflix Film, which is tracing the glorious journey of one of the fastest female pacers in the history of world cricket, will showcase how Jhulan moves up the ladder despite countless hindrances to fulfil her only dream: to play cricket.

Jhulan went on to captain the Indian women's national cricket team and is a role model for aspiring cricketers in the country. In 2018, an Indian postage stamp was issued in her honour.

She holds the world record for the highest number of wickets taken by a woman in an international career.

--IANS
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Los Angeles, Sep 7 (IANS) Actress Jennifer Lawrence is still learning to deal with issues from her childhood.

While acknowledging that her mother is a "wonderful person", the 32-year-old actress is still trying to resolve some of her past problems, reports aceshowbiz.com.

"Art more often than not is about one's mother. I hesitate to say that because I would hate for somebody to go back and watch my movies, or watch this movie in particular, and think that that is the way that I'm painting my mother," she said.

"My mother is a wonderful person," said Lawrence, who stars in the new psychological drama film 'Causeway'.

"But that doesn't mean that there aren't still things from my childhood that I'm working out."

However, her perspective has changed entirely since she became a mom.

The Hollywood star, who gave birth to a baby boy called Cy in February, told the October issue of Vogue magazine: "So many of my films in the past have been about my mother, my childhood. I wonder what will happen now that I'll be witnessing somebody else's childhood.

"And I wonder what he's going to be talking about with his therapist. She wouldn't put me down. She kisses me on the mouth. She asked me not to go to college."

Despite this, Lawrence is relishing the challenge of motherhood.

The actress, who married Cooke Maroney in 2019, shared: "My heart has stretched to a capacity that I didn't know about. I include my husband in that.

"And then they're both just, like, out there, walking around, crossing streets. He's gonna drive one day. He's gonna be a stupid teenager and be behind the wheel of a car. And I'm just gonna be like, good night! You know? Like, who sleeps?"

--IANS
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Mumbai, Sep 6 (IANS) Actress Rashmika Mandana, who is set to make her Hindi film debut with the upcoming film 'Goodbye', was totally in awe of the puppy that features in the film. In fact, she had a friendly fight with her co-actor in the film, the veteran superstar Amitabh Bachchan, over who would take the puppy home after the film's wrap up.

Interestingly , the pup has a rather surprising name: Stupid, which is quite unusual for dogs who are known for their wit and intelligence.

Speaking to the media at the trailer launch event of the film, Rashmika said, "I was completely in love with Stupid. We would spend a huge part of the day in the company of Stupid."

Opening up on her friendly tiff with Big B, the actress further said, "I and Amitabh Bachchan sir had a little nokjhonk (tiff) over, who would take Stupid home. He wanted to take him to Jalsa but eventually, I kidnapped Stupid and brought it home."

Seems like the actress has no qualms about kidnapping the pupper, after all everything is fair in love and dogs are known to invoke the feeling of love and compassion to the highest degree.

'Goodbye', directed by Vikas Bahl, will debut in theatres on October 7.

--IANS
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