Parineeti Chopra’s loss has proved to be Rashmika Mandanna’s gain. Considering that there was an overlap of dates between Imtiaz Ali’s biopic on Amar Singh Chamkila and Ranbir Kapoor-starrer Animal, Pari chose to bow out of the latter. Now, after her exit, the makers have got the current south sensation, Rashmika on board. With this, they have not only managed a casting coup of sorts, but also got a fresh pairing that is sure to pique audiences’ interest. Director Sandeep Reddy Vanga begins shooting Animal this summer, after RK wraps up his next with Luv Ranjan. In this story set against the gun mafia in the country, Ranbir’s character comes from a gangster family, headed by his reel father Anil Kapoor, while Rashmika plays his wife.
At long last!
The shooting of Brahmāstra has finally come to an end. Announcing the wrap, director Ayan Mukerji shared a picture with his lead actors — Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt —from the Kashi Viswanath temple, saying, “5 years since we took our first shot of Brahmāstra, and we’ve finally filmed our last one!” Calling it an “absolutely incredible, challenging, once-in-a-lifetime journey”, he ended his post writing, “Exciting days ahead, last lap ahead ! 09.09.2022 — Here we come! (sic)”
Hoping to win Aamir over
Vishal Jethwa is over the moon ever since Aamir Khan recently lauded his performance as the villain in Mardaani 2. “This is an overwhelming moment of my life. A legend like Aamir sir loving my performance is the biggest highlight of my career,” says Vishal. Asserting that playing a character he can’t relate to was a big challenge, the young actor, who was recently seen in Human, adds, “Such validation is important for actors like me who come from no background in the film industry. I hope to win him over many more times with my performances.”
Readying for the big game
Abhishek Bachchan, Ranbir Kapoor and Arjun Kapoor are known to be football enthusiasts who indulge in the game every Sunday in Bandra. AB is the captain and RK his deputy at All Stars Football Club (ASFC) founded by producer Bunty Walia. We hear that the trio will be taking off to Dubai for a special game this May. While the club also comprises Kartik Aaryan, Tiger Shroff, Shashank Khaitan, Ahan Shetty, Ibrahim Ali Khan, Leander Paes, Abhimanyu Dassani, Aditya Seal, Aparshakti Khurana, Ishaan Khatter, Karan Wahi, Shabir Ahluwalia, and Shoojit Sircar, Abhishek’s final team will be known soon, subject to the availability of the members’ dates.
Unfollowed!
Reports are rife that Alia Bhatt isn’t too pleased with the way her role has turned out in the final cut of RRR. Apparently, she is so upset with director SS Rajamouli for her short screen-time that she has unfollowed him on social media. That’s not all. The Gangubai Kathiawadi actor has also deleted her posts related to the period drama that stars Junior NTR and Ram Charan. That’s strange since she was cheering for the film along with fans during the recent shoot of Brahmastra in Varanasi. Wonder what changed in just a few days?
Hitching a local ride
Nawazuddin Siddiqui recently ditched his luxury sedan for public transport. After wrapping up his shoot in Mira Road, the Sacred Games actor opted to take the Mumbai local as he had to reach the event venue in time. Thanks to his dark glasses and mask, he also escaped being recognised and mobbed.
Not a cameo now
Ram Charan is now looking forward to his next outing, Acharya. The action-drama is special because it has him sharing considerable screen space with actor-father, Chiranjeevi. Previously, the megastar played a cameo in his son’s movies like Magadheera (2009) and Bruce Lee: the Fighter (2015). However, in Acharya, Chiranjeevi essays the titular role while Ram plays a pivotal part in the narrative. This time around, the father-son’s combination scenes amount to about 25 minutes of the film’s runtime. No more cameos for this duo.
Case closed
NH Studioz, which owns the copyrights of over 2000 Hindi films, has been granted relief by the Supreme Court in a case related to the copyright of Sholay. Held by the studio since 2015, the rights were recently claimed by Sippy Films and Goldmine Telefilms. The studio had challenged the stay put on by a division bench in the SC. Pleased with the matter being ruled in their favour, Shreyans Hirawat, director, NH Studioz, said, “We are thankful to the honourable SC for this judgment as we continue to present this classic movie to audiences across different and new OTT platforms.”
