Yash Raj Films’ 50-yr celebration includes customised drive-in theatre experience

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Yash Raj Films’ 50-yr celebration includes customised drive-in theatre experience

A unique and customised drive-in theatrical experience for fans through the rich library of Yash Raj Films (YRF) classics is among the upcoming 50-year celebration plans of the banner.

The plan is YRF chairman and managing director Aditya Chopra’s initiative to immerse cinephiles in a wave of nostalgia.

“This drive-in idea is to celebrate the magic of cinema, the nostalgia that brand YRF has in the minds of the audience. Aditya Chopra is currently shaping up the plan for YRF Project 50, so we expect the drive-in theatre plan to be announced sometime in 2021,” a source said.

“Aditya Chopra wants Hindi cinema lovers around the world to remember the grand 50 year celebrations of YRF by giving them a full dose of nostalgia. YRF has made so many blockbusters that have left wonderful memories in the hearts of audiences for 50 long years. Adi wants to celebrate those special memories with audiences worldwide,” a source added.

According to the source, only the films that are in the library will be showcased through the drive-in exercise. “All new films that are part of YRF Project 50 will go through the standard release protocols of theatricals and then satellite and digital exhibition.”

Elaborating on the timing of the global plan, the source reasoned that the Covid pandemic has restricted people to their homes right now.

“Hopefully next year, people would want to seek out opportunities that they can celebrate with their family and make new memories post the pandemic,” the source added.

“Adi wants to give Hindi film lovers a huge opportunity to relive their memories of watching movies with their families in the grandest of styles. YRF will plan on getting partners on board globally to execute this grand idea across several countries,” said the source, about the banner’s drive-in plans.

Piyush Mishra: There’s a lot of ‘dadagiri’ in Bollywood

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Piyush Mishra: There’s a lot of ‘dadagiri’ in Bollywood

I am a bigger star than you. You didn’t stand up when I walked in. You didn’t seek my blessings. These are some of the emotions that rule Bollywood, says actor Piyush Mishra, who feels the industry is more about bullying than nepotism.

“I don’t think there is nepotism. If there was, it didn’t hinder my growth. It didn’t come in between me and any of my work, neither did it bring any problem in any of my agreements,” Piyush told IANS.

“Until and unless I did something foolish, nothing or no one tried to hinder my work. There have been one or two instances when I suffered because I didn’t read the contract properly. That was because of my lack of knowledge. Otherwise, wherever, I am today, it is because of my work and people have also accepted me,” he added.

Mishra, a National School of Drama (NSD) product, continued: “I don’t think there is nepotism, or at least I don’t know about it. There’s dadagiri (bullying) in the industry. Dadagiri bahut hai (there’s too much of ‘dadagiri’).”

“That ‘I am a bigger star’, ‘tumne humara ashirwad nahi liya (you didn’t seek my blessing), ‘you didn’t stand when I entered’ — these type of things exist,” he added.

When it comes to nepotism, the actor feels every father wants to give a good career to his child.

“Who doesn’t want to give his kid a flourishing career? But a lot of time people have a misunderstanding that ‘hum star hai toh humara beta bhi star hoga’ (I am a star so my kid will also be a star). That doesn’t happen,” said Mishra, who is seen in SonyLIV’s new original series, “JL50”.

“My father was a clerk. It is not necessary that if parents are artistes, their children will also be artistes. One should not burden kids with such expectations, and I don’t think it is right to give a readymade career to a kid. Dhoop mein tapna chahiye (one should be roasted in the sun). They should struggle to know how their parents reached the heights of stardom. Many artistes who get this type of stardom from their parents, regret in the future but by then it is too late. They end up being aadhe adhure (incomplete) stars,” said the accomplished actor.

In Bollywood, Mishra is known for his performances in films like “Maqbool”, “Gangs Of Wasseypur”, “Pink”, and as a lyricist in “Black Friday”, “Gulaal”, and “Aaja Nachle”.

SSR case: Ex-top cops rally to defend Mumbai Police

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SSR case: Ex-top cops rally to defend Mumbai Police

In an unprecedented gesture, eight retired IPS officers have rallied together on behalf of the Mumbai Police to save its reputation being maligned in the ongoing high-profile probe into late actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s death case and the subsequent “media trial”.

The eight former officers — who held top positions in the Maharashtra Police — have filed public interest litigation in the Bombay High Court seeking directions to halt the “unfair, malicious and false media campaign” against the Mumbai Police in the matter.

The petitioners are M.N. Singh, P.S. Pasricha, D.N. Jadhav, D. Shivanandan, Sanjeev Dayal, K. Subramaniam, S.C. Mathur and K.P. Raghuvanshi — all Directors-General level at the time of their retirement and enjoying an envious reputation.

Home Minister Anil Deshmukh lauded the move by the retired IPS officers on Thursday.

“Maharashtra and Mumbai Police have a reputation. They are compared to the Scotland Yard… The manner in which Mumbai Police was targeted in the (Sushant) case, I welcome the PIL,” Deshmukh told media persons.

Filed through a prominent law firm, Crawford, Bayley & Company’s Senior Advocate Milind Sathe, the PIL has named the Union and State Governments, Press Council of India, and News Broadcasters Association, and is expected to come up for hearing shortly.

Among other things, the petitioners have sought guidelines or instructions for the media houses, whether print, electronic, radio, Internet or television or any other form, to refrain from publishing and circulating any false, derogatory, and scandalous comments, social media posts, news stories, etc, that could jeopardize the police’s reputation and may cause the people to lose faith in the system and the police administration, or hinder the cause of administration of justice.

They have also urged for instructions on “ethical reporting” and responsible journalism, constant monitoring by the relevant authorities, and action in case any media house violates the same.

The PIL referred to some TV channels attempting to influence the course of investigations carried out by the Central agencies through their biased reporting and false propaganda, which has created “an air of suspicion” in the minds of the people both on the facts of the (Sushant) case and also about the Mumbai Police, the health services and other support services in the state.

They pointed out that Mumbai Police is one of the oldest forces in India which has always enjoyed “a very high reputation for professional competence and public service” and any malicious or irresponsible attempts to run it down are not in the public interest.

While the PIL fully supported the role of freedom of the press, speech, and expression as an important ingredient of democracy and rule of law, they expressed grave concern over the trend in media reporting, especially TV channels, and felt it needed to be checked through suitable court directives or comprehensive guidelines.

Sushant’s billboard removed in Hollywood, sister Shweta blames ‘paid PR’

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Sushant’s billboard removed in Hollywood, sister Shweta blames ‘paid PR’

A billboard in Hollywood that was set up to campaign for justice for Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput has been pulled down, and his sister Shweta Singh Kirti has claimed that paid PR working against the campaign is behind the act.

Shweta took to Instagram and shared a snapshot of mail exchange between the American billboard company in question and her.

In the mail, the company stated: “The team had not done their research on what the campaign was regarding. It is their interpretation that this is a smear campaign of the woman that is “associated” with Sushant.”

Although the company did not name her, the “woman” in question seems to be Rhea Chakraborty, Sushant’s girlfriend. The “smear campaign” they seem to be referring to could be about an FIR that the late actor’s family has filed against Rhea and her family, accusing them with abetment to Sushant’s suicide among other charges. A few days ago, a leaked video actually had Sushant and Shweta’s father KK Singh claiming Rhea was Sushant’s murderer and should be arrested.

The mail continued: “(Company name struck off) is choosing to cut ties with any involvement of the campaign. You will be given a refund for the days remaining. Thank you.”

Shweta replied saying: “Okay, In that case, I will be expecting a full reimbursement for the week of September 1-6. Additionally, I assume you are willing to go on record with this statement. as I will be required to share it with my donors as an explanation for why the billboard is no longer up. Thanks.

Expressing her disapproval, Shweta captioned the snapshot on Instagram: “It seems the paid PR has it reaches everywhere. Hollywood Billboard company reached out telling they will not keep the Billboard any longer! The wordings on the billboard only demanded fair trial and justice! #Report4SSR #JusticeForSushantSinghRajputt #Warriors4SSR”

Billboards campaigning for justice for Sushant were put up all over the US including New Jersey and Chicago.

Sushant was found dead in his Bandra flat on June 14. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is probing the death.

Sonu Sood sends relief for flood-hit Varanasi boatmen

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Sonu Sood sends relief for flood-hit Varanasi boatmen

Bollywood actor Sonu Sood has done it again. When a social activist sought help from him for Varanasi boatmen who were going without food due to floods, the actor was prompt in reaching out.

Social activist Divyanshu Upadhyaya on Tuesday tweeted to actor Sonu Sood about families of 350 boatmen who ply boats on the Ganga River in Varanasi, were going without food because they were unable to ply boats due to floods.

Within an hour, Sonu Sood responded to the tweet and wrote, “No member of these 350 families of Varanasi Ghats will sleep hungry after today.”

Thereafter, Sood’s associate, Neeti Goel, called Upadhyay and assured him that ration kits will be made available to them in Varanasi itself within one hour.

“We got 350 ration kits from the actor within no time. Each kit contained 5 kg flour, 5 kg rice, 2 kg gram, a packet of spice, and other eatables. Out of 350, 100 kits were immediately distributed among the families of the boatmen on Wednesday,” said a member of Upadhyaya’s team.

Divyanshu Upadhyay, who runs a non-profit organization called Hope, said that the payment to the local vendor has been done by Sood.

Upadhyay said that during the lockdown, ‘Hope’ had been distributing relief items among the boatmen fraternity, but the 200 relief hampers that they had, proved to be insufficient.

“I tweeted to Sonu Sood because I had heard of the immense work he has been doing to help people and he promptly responded to our call and took action,” he said.

Vidyut Jammwal’s ‘Khuda Haafiz’ to get second chapter

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Vidyut Jammwal’s ‘Khuda Haafiz’ to get second chapter

Actor Vidyut Jammwal will be back with the second chapter of his recent digitally-released film, Khuda Haafiz. Titled Khuda Haafiz Chapter II, the sequel is being planned for a big-screen release.

“Getting his (lead character Sameer, essayed by him) wife back is not the perfect ending. To adjust and successfully live in society after the woman (Nargis, played by Shivaleeka Oberoi) has gone through this turmoil is the real beginning of the love story. That’s what we’re planning to showcase in the second chapter,” Vidyut said.

Based on a real-life incident, “Khuda Haafiz” narrates the story of a young, recently-wedded couple from India, Sameer (Vidyut) and Nargis (Shivaleeka Oberoi), who decide to work overseas in search of better career opportunities. Under mysterious circumstances, Nargis goes missing in the foreign land and the film shows Sameer’s attempt to find his wife.

With cinema halls shut owing to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, “Khuda Haafiz” went for a direct-to-OTT release.

The film’s writer-director Faruk Kabir said: “I always wanted to take the story forward, but I wanted to wait and see how the audience responds to the film. ‘Khuda Haafiz Chapter II’ is a more potent and heartfelt love story about how the lead characters come to terms with what has happened to them. It’s an ‘agni pariksha’ now for both of them, and for me to match my own expectations as a storyteller, and that of the audience that has given such an enormously positive response to ‘Khuda Haafiz’.”

“This is not going to be a franchise film. It’s the final lethal chapter. Expect bigger action for sure, but also a bigger heart, and on a bigger screen,” Kabir added.

“Khuda Haafiz Chapter II” will be on floors in the first quarter of 2021.

“The second chapter will be full of surprises and we’re determined to keep the audience on the edge of their seats in theatres this time around,” said producer Abhishek Pathak.

Kangana Ranaut: Request Ranveer Singh, Ranbir Kapoor, Ayan Mukerji, Vicky Kaushik to give blood sample for drug test

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Kangana Ranaut: Request Ranveer Singh, Ranbir Kapoor, Ayan Mukerji, Vicky Kaushik to give blood sample for drug test

Alleging that there are rumors about actors Ranveer Singh, Ranbir Kapoor, director Ayan Mukerji and a person named Vicky Kaushik, being cocaine addicts, actress Kangana Ranaut has suggested that these Bollywood personalities should send their blood samples for a drug test. Kangana took to her verified Twitter account on Wednesday to make her allegation, tagging the office of the Prime Minister of India.

“I request Ranveer Singh, Ranbir Kapoor, Ayan Mukerji, Vicky Kaushik to give their blood samples for a drug test, there are rumors that they are cocaine addicts, I want them to bust these rumors, these young men can inspire millions if they present clean samples @PMOIndia,” tweeted the actress.

When IANS texted enquiring about the identity of Vicky Kaushik, who has been mentioned by Kangana in her tweet, the actress’ manager clarified that Kangana had intended to write the name of Bollywood actor Vicky Kaushal and “Vicky Kaushik” happened due to a “typo error”.

The actress had tweeted last week alleging that cocaine is the most commonly consumed drug in Bollywood parties.

“Most popular drug in the film industry is cocaine, it is used in almost all house parties it’s very expensive but in the beginning when you go to the houses of high and mighty it’s given free, MDMA crystals are mixed in water and at times passed on to you without your knowledge,” Kangana had tweeted last week.

In a separate tweet, the actress had alleged: “If narcotics Control Bureau enters Bollywood, many A-lister will be behind bars, if blood tests are conducted many shocking revelations will happen. Hope @PMOIndia under swatch Bharat mission cleanses the gutter called Bollywood.”

Sonu Sood: Not ready to enter politics at the moment

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Sonu Sood: Not ready to enter politics at the moment

Actor Sonu Sood says he is not interested in entering politics at the moment, as he still has miles to go as an actor.

“I have been getting offers to join politics from the past 10 years. Many people have told me, ‘you’ll be a great leader’. But I feel as an actor, I have miles to go. I still have to do a lot of things that I want to do. One can enter politics anytime and I am not the kind who will try to sail in two boats,” Sonu said.

“If I get into politics, I’ll give my 100 percent. I’ll make sure that no one has any problem. I’ll solve their problems, I’ll spend time. So, I think I am not ready for it at the moment. And I think that at the moment, I am not answerable to anyone and that is why I can do things in a more open way. I don’t have to ask anyone or any party ‘what should I do’. I decide and do it on my own will,” added Sonu.

Sonu, who became popular playing the villain in Bollywood films, turned hero in real life for many stranded migrant workers when he organized transport and resources for them to reach home amid the pandemic-induced lockdown.

“I remember when we saw those visuals of all those migrants, you know, walking in millions across the country, I think everyone was disturbed seeing those visuals and I remember when we were giving food to almost 45,000 people every day,” he recalled.

“There’s a place in Thane called ‘Kalwa Chowk’ where we were giving food, and I saw a group of people walking with little kids. I asked where they were going, and they said they were going to Karnataka,” Sonu recalled, adding that he then convinced them to wait for a while so that he could make arrangements and take due permissions for their travel.

“When they left for Karnataka, I was on the bus and, you know, they had tears in the eyes and smiles on the faces,” the actor recalled the incident that nudged him to help stranded migrants, during a conversation with actress Neha Dhupia in a podcast of “JioSaavn #NoFilterNeha” season five.

Narco arrests one connected with SSR’s house manager

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Narco arrests one connected with SSR’s house manager

The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has arrested an alleged drug peddler from Mumbai in connection with Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s death case. He is said to be associated with the late actor’s house manager Samuel Miranda.

A senior NCB official requesting anonymity, said that the drug law enforcement agency has arrested Abdul Basit Parihar from the Bandra area here. The official said that the arrest was made after it started its investigation into the Sushant Singh Rajput case at the request of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) after the drug angle came to the fore.

The ED in its request to the NCB said that there were various chats related to drug consumption, procurement, usage, and transportation. The raids came in the wake of the arrest of two drug-peddlers in Mumbai three days ago as the NCB, along with the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Enforcement Directorate (ED) burned the midnight oil to unravel the drug mafia connection with the celebrities.

The NCB on the intervening night of August 27 and 28 carried out raids in Mumbai and two persons, namely Abbas Lakhani and Karn Arora were arrested, and the seizure of ‘bud’ (curated marijuana) was affected from their possession.

The official said that the detailed network analysis and the follow-up investigation uncovered the linkages of Lakhani with one Zaid Vitra.

“After the due procedure and taking evidence on record, Vilatra was apprehended,” the official said, adding that the NCB also recovered Rs 9.55 lakh and foreign currency $ 2,081, 180 British Pound and 15 Dirham was recovered from him.

The official further said that Vilatra disclosed the amount as proceeds of drug peddling. The official said, “During questioning, Vilatra disclosed that he runs an eatery shop in Bandra, which was not giving any pecuniary gains since lockdown.”

The official said that Vilatra also disclosed that he is into drug peddling, especially bud, through which he used to earn a substantial amount of money. “Based on Vilatra interrogation, Parihar was made to join the investigation. It was learned that linkages of Parihar with the earlier accused persons on preliminary inquiry based on the details submitted by the ED, were found,” the official said.

NCB source said that Parihar had connections with Samuel Miranda, who was also the close associate of Rhea Chakraborty. Miranda is accused of procuring drugs on the instructions of Rhea’s brother Show.

The development comes days after the NCB registered a case against Rhea, her brother Showik, talent manager Saha, Sushant’s co-manager Shruti Modi, and Goa-based hotelier Gaurav Arya under Sections 20 (b) 28, 29 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act.

The NCB registered the case after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) wrote to it on Tuesday after the WhatsApp messages between Rhea and Shruti Modi, Miranda, and Pithani came to light.

TV actress Vaishnavi MacDonald: People don’t know I’m a certified nutritionist

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TV actress Vaishnavi MacDonald: People don’t know I’m a certified nutritionist

Actress Vaishnavi MacDonald, a familiar face on the small screen, is also a certified nutritionist. She says health is a subject that has always interested her.

“A lot of people don’t know that I am a certified nutritionist. I was always interested in nutrition and health because I feel they are important, and in the current situation it is very well proved. When I got an opportunity, I did an extensive course and now I can even open a clinic. Even though I haven’t opened one yet, I try to practice with my close friends and family. It is always good to learn a new skill as it helps to keep your mind young,” she said.

Vaishnavi feels it is necessary to follow a healthy diet.

“According to me, having a spiritual outlook towards life is important too. It is necessary for your mind and soul to be healthy for your body to prosper. So your thought process, your imagination, and your positive outlook towards life matter a lot along with nutrition. Nutrition is not about what goes into your mouth but also what comes within you,” she said.

“I believe that little lifestyle changes can go a long way. If we make these small changes, it will help us in making a great shift from being unhealthy to healthy. It takes time for a habit to form but within some weeks you will find the difference,” added Vaishnavi, who plays the role of Surajmukhi in the television show, “Aye Mere Humsafar”.

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