Even as Saif Ali Khan is garnering praise for holding his own as a righteous cop opposite Hrithik Roshan’s antagonist in the upcoming release, Vikram Vedha, we have some news on his new project. Saif, who plays the villainous Raavan opposite Prabhas’s Lord Ram in Adipurush, is said to have given his nod to director Saket Choudhary’s Mummy Papa Raazi. The fun family drama is reportedly being backed by Netflix, with whom the actor has previously collaborated on Sacred Games. To be shot extensively in the UK, the unconventional dramedy, which also conveys a social message, is slated to go on floors this December. Incidentally, Mummy Papa Raazi sees the Jawaani Jaaneman actor return to the family dramedy space after back-to-back intense films like Vikram Vedha and Adipurush.
Wedding to be planned
Now that Athiya Shetty and cricketer beau KL Rahul have moved into their new home in Bandra, there is increasing curiosity about when they will tie the knot. Athiya’s actor-father Suniel Shetty recently said that it’s up to Rahul and her to decide when they want to take the pheras. “Rahul has a busy schedule. There’s Asia Cup, then World Cup. Then, he also has the South Africa tour and an Australia tour lined up ahead. [The way the tournaments are scheduled], he barely has a couple of days in between. And the wedding cannot happen in a day. So, it all depends on when they get a break. Then only can they plan,” the Mumbai Saga actor has been quoted as saying.
Starting again
After a gap of more than two years, S Shankar and Kamal Haasan are resuming the shoot of their ambitious venture, Indian 2. The film’s team performed a puja ceremony yesterday, to mark a new beginning. Filming first began in January 2019, but following a major accident on the set in February 2020, production came to a halt. Then, the pandemic put the vigilante action thriller in cold storage. After going back and forth over a year, the film has finally been revived. Shankar shared a new poster of the movie, a sequel to his and Haasan’s 1996 hit, Indian, on social media, saying they had started filming. While 60 per cent of Indian 2 has been shot, we hear about 100 days’ work is pending. Kamal is slated to join the shoot next month.
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Putting her best face forward
Like most actors, Vidya Balan too prefered to be photographed from a certain angle. However, a brief meeting with a fan who wanted a picture with her to post on social media, made her rethink the profile notion. For someone who has preferred her left profile over her right, the Jalsa actor decided that she would no longer be scared of showing the side she didn’t like as much. Sharing the incident with pictures flaunting both her profiles, the Sherni actor wrote, “Today. not only do I like my right profile, I actually love it… and not because my right profile changed, but because I realised it is never going to. What changed is the way I looked at myself, and that changed how I see myself.”
Ranbir bats for children’s cause
Though his professional commitments keep him busy, Ranbir Kapoor makes sure to take time out for the causes he believes in. The actor has gifted items from his personal wardrobe to raise money for the underprivileged children. Apart from western and ethnic wear by international and Indian designers, the Shamshera actor has also donated unused sportswear like football shoes, and accessories like an FC Barcelona keychain for sale. The proceeds will go to Committed Communities Developments Trust Foundation, which supports underprivileged children. While quite a few items have already been sold out, several are still up for grabs.
An auspicious beginning
After intense films like Adipurush, Salaar and Project K, Prabhas is looking to take it easy. Talk in Tollywood is that the actor is slated to begin filming director Maruthi’s horror comedy this November. The film, tentatively titled Raja Deluxe, was launched in Hyderabad today with a puja ceremony. Maruthi recently shared that while they haven’t yet cast the leading lady opposite Prabhas, they are keen to rope in someone from the Hindi film industry. Raja Deluxe will be shot entirely in India and the makers are said to finalise the locations soon.
Zero-loss theory, anyone?
mid-day had first reported that Vicky Kaushal’s Govinda Naam Mera would be releasing directly on OTT (Skipping the cinemas, August 8). We now hear that Shashank Khaitan’s directorial venture, which also stars Bhumi Pednekar and Kiara Advani, has been acquired by Disney Star Network. The producers have reportedly closed the deal at Rs 62 crore, of which Rs 42 crore is for the direct-to-digital streaming while Rs 20 crore is for the satellite television rights. Apparently, the initial market expectation for the rom-com was Rs 80 crore. However, buyers found the price high as print and advertising would add to the overall cost. It is being said that with this development, the makers have recovered their cost and though they haven’t made any profit, they haven’t incurred any loss either. Hope the makers have factored the rate of interest on the investment to their selling price.
