Tamil actor Vishal averts major mishap on ‘Mark Antony’ sets

Tamil actor Vishal had a miraculous escape from a near-death situation during the shooting of his movie ‘Mark Antony’.

It happened when a truck on the sets lost stability and advanced toward the actor and his co-actors. The huge truck was on the brink of crashing into the place where the actors, including Vishal, were stationed. Fortunately, each one of them escaped unscathed.

According to the plan, the truck was to hit a wall and then stop, but the wall collapsed and the truck apparently lost control and advanced toward the area where the artists were stationed.

Vishal said in his tweet: “Just saved my life in a matter of few seconds and a few inches, thanks to the Almighty. Numb after this incident. Back on my feet and back to the shoot.”

The movie directed by Adhik Ravichandran has SJ Surya playing a stellar role, the details of which are still under wraps. The internationally renowned stunt director Peter Hein, together with Dhilip Subbarayan, Kamal Kannan, and Ravi Varma, is doing the action scenes.

Other than Vishal and SJ Surya, the cast comprises Abhinaya, Ritu Varma, and Sunil Varma.

Ram Charan, NTR Jr face-off for Critics Choice Super Awards

S.S. Rajamouli’s ‘RRR’ has garnered three nominations for the third annual Critics Choice Super Awards, which honor superhero, sci-fi, fantasy, horror, and action movies and TV/OTT series, reports ‘Variety’. The winners will be announced on March 16.

‘RRR’ is not only on the shortlist for the best action movie in the company of ‘Bullet Train’, ‘Top Gun: Maverick’, ‘The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent’ and ‘The Woman King’, but the two lead stars of the period action drama, Ram Charan and Junior NTR are in the race for best actor in an action movie, along with Nicolas Cage (‘The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent’), Tom Cruise (‘Top Gun: Maverick’) and Brad Pitt (‘Bullet Train’), notes ‘Variety’.

Warner Bros ‘The Batman’ leads the film nominees with six nods, including best superhero movie, as many as three individual best actor in a superhero movie mentions for Robert Pattinson, Colin Farrell, and Paul Dano, (and the latter also picking up a second nom for best villain in a movie). Zoe Kravitz landed a nom for best actress in a superhero movie for her portrayal of Catwoman.

Other favorites of the Critics Choice Association, according to ‘Variety’, included some Oscar nominees such as ‘Avatar: The Way of Water’, ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’, ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’ and ‘Top Gun: Maverick’.

In the television categories, four series tied for the most moms with four apiece — Paramount+’s ‘Evil’, HBO’s ‘House of the Dragon’, Amazon Prime Video’s ‘The Boys’ and FX’s ‘What We Do in the Shadows’.

Pentagon releases selfie taken by US pilot of Chinese spy balloon

The US Department of Defense (DOD) has released a selfie image taken by an American pilot which shows the suspected Chinese spy balloon that was shot down earlier this month.

The selfie, taken by the pilot of a U-2 spy plane, shows the shadow of the aircraft on the balloon and a clear image of the latter’s payload as it crossed across the continental US, Media reported.

The suspected spy balloon, which was first spotted by the US on January 28, was shot down on February 4 by an American F-22 fighter jet.

The officials waited until the “strange object” was safely over water before shooting it down.

The balloon was retrieved off the coast of Myrtle Beach in South Carolina on February 5.

A senior State Department official said earlier this month that fly-bys “revealed that the high-altitude balloon was capable of conducting signals intelligence collection operations”.

The image, which was released on Wednesday and was taken the day before the balloon the shot down, has reportedly “gained legendary status” inside the Pentagon, reports the BBC.

The balloon was said to be hovering at 60,000 fee in the air. U-2 spy planes routinely fly at altitudes over 70,000 feet, according to the Air Force.

The single-seater reconnaissance and surveillance aircraft, nicknamed the Dragon Lady, were previously flown by the CIA.

Pilots are required to wear full-pressure suits similar to those worn by astronauts.

Recovery efforts for the balloon’s scattered remnants in the Atlantic Ocean ended on February 17.

Pieces of the debris were transferred to the Federal Bureau of Investigation Laboratory in Virginia to be studied for further, reports Media.

Deputy Pentagon press secretary Sabrina Singh said in a briefing on Wednesday that the payload of the balloon had been recovered.

After pap invades Alia’s privacy, Anushka, Arjun & others call out media house

Bollywood actress and new mother Alia Bhatt on Tuesday called out a media publication for clicking her pictures at her residence without her consent. And now, a string of Hindi film personalities have lashed out at the publication.

Alia took to Instagram, where she stated and called out the publication for posting pictures of her without her consent. The actress went on to tag the Mumbai Police.

She wrote: “Are you kidding me? I was at my house having a perfectly normal afternoon sitting in my living room when I felt something watching me… I looked up and saw two men on the terrace of my neighboring building with a camera right at me! In what world is this okay and allowed? This is a gross invasion of someone’s privacy and it’s safe to say all lines were crossed.”

Now, celebs have called out the organization on social media.

Filmmaker Karan Johar said: “There is no justification for this absolutely disgusting invasion of privacy. Everyone from the entertainment industry is always for the media and the paparazzi and is accommodating … but there HAS to be a LIMIT… This is about anyone’s right to feel safe in their own homes! This is not about actors or celebrities it’s a basic human right.”

Anushka Sharma, who too has been a victim of pictures being taken without consent, shared Alia’s note and wrote: “This is not the first time they are doing this. About two years ago, we called them out for the same reason. You’d think it would have made them more respectful of people’s space and privacy. Absolutely shameful. They were also the only guys posting photos of our daughter despite repeated requests.”

Alia’s friend and co-star Arjun Kapoor wrote: “Absolutely shameless. This is crossing all limits if a woman isn’t feeling safe in her own home forget if she is in public figure or not for a second. Any sane person who takes photographs of public figures for a living needs to know that this is pathetic conduct and these are people in the media we have trusted and shown implicit faith in believing they are here to do a job not to make women feel unsafe or invade one’s privacy. This is nothing short of stalking.”

Alia Bhatt’s sister Shaheen too made a remark.

“So it’s totally cool to point zoom lenses into people’s homes while hiding in neighboring buildings for “content” now? Grown men. With cameras. Hiding across the road. Taking surreptitious photos of an unaware woman. Without her consent. In her home.”

“The fact that the person in the photo is a celebrity does not somehow make this okay. If this was any other situation, with any other person – this would be considered harassment and a complete assault on privacy. Which is what it is. The lack of basic human decency is honestly terrifying,” she expressed.

Shriya Saran is elated to work with Chinni Prakash for ‘Underworld Ka Kabzaa’

Actress Shriya Saran, who is gearing up for her upcoming film ‘Underworld Ka Kabzaa’, was both excited and nervous when she got to know that she will be working with veteran choreographer Chinni Prakesh for ‘Namaami Namaami’.

Elaborating on the same, the actress said: “Chinni Prakesh sir is a legend. From Madhuri Dixit to Salman Khan everyone has that one signature move that has been choreographed by him. When I heard that Chinni sir will be choreographing me for ‘Namaami Namaami’, I was very excited and nervous at the same time to be under his guidance. But I am really happy that the audience loved my performance of the song. It felt like I’ve made my Guru proud.”

Since the actress is a trained dancer, the shoot for the song and the rehearsal were a cakewalk: “I am a trained Kathak dancer and after 2 hours of practice and 3 days of the shoot we were done with the song and I truly enjoyed the choreography of Chini Sir.”

‘Underworld Ka Kabzaa’, produced by Anand Pandit Motion Pictures in association with Sri Siddeshwara Enterprise and Alankar Pandian, has been directed by R. Chandru.

The film, which also features Upendra, Shriya Saran, and Kiccha Sudeepa in pivotal roles, will have a Pan-India release on March 17, 2023.

‘Pathaan’ grosses Rs 1000 cr worldwide

Bollywood stars Shah Rukh Khan, Deepika Padukone, and John Abraham’s latest action entertainer ‘Pathaan’ has zoomed past the fabled Rs 1,000 crore gross worldwide becoming the first Hindi film to breach this milestone in phase one of its releases.

‘Pathaan’, on its fourth Monday, saw a solid jump again at the box office. It collected Rs 1.25 crore net in India (Hindi – Rs 1.20 crore, All Dubbed versions – Rs 0.05 crore).

‘Pathaan’ has now recorded $45.94 million in the overseas territories alone, while net collection in India stands at Rs 516.92 crore (Hindi – Rs 498.95 crore, Dubbed – Rs 17.97 crore)! The total worldwide gross is an incredible Rs 1000 crore (India gross – Rs 623 crore, overseas – Rs377 crore).

The film, directed by Siddharth Anand also stars Ashutosh Rana and Dimple Kapadia.

Ram Charan walks barefoot at airport leaving for US, video goes viral

Actor Ram Charan was seen walking barefoot at the airport reportedly leaving for the US ahead of Oscars 2023, to be held in March.

A video shows Ram donning an all-black kurta, pyjama and stole paired with a black mask. Ram is reportedly observing the Ayyappa Deeksha, 41 days of fasting which highlights the significance of abstinence and austerity.

The song ‘Naatu Naatu’ picturized on Ram and Jr NTR from filmmaker SS Rajamouli’s magnum opus ‘RRR’ has earned a Best Original Song Oscar nomination. The track has previously been feted with a Golden Globe and a Critics’ Choice Award earlier this year.

For the unversed, while observing the Ayyappa Deeksha, it is compulsory for devotees to observe the fast of 41 days before visiting the Sabarimala temple, in Kerala. Devotees have to wear a garland made of Tulsi or Rudraksha and not shave their beards or cut their hair during this period.

Hindi remake of SS Rajamouli’s ‘Chatrapathi’ wraps up shooting

The official Hindi remake of SS Rajamouli’s Telugu blockbuster ‘Chatrapathi’ is all set for its nationwide release. The film produced by Dr. Jayantilal Gada under Pen Studios marks the big Bollywood debut of Sreenivas Bellamkonda and was launched by SS Rajamouli in Hyderabad as he inaugurated the mahurat of the film.

Starring ‘Bahubali’ fame Prabhas, the Telugu action-drama ‘Chatrapathi’ was filled with emotion and took audiences through the exploitation faced by immigrants who come to India from places far away and live without any official identity.

The Hindi remake directed by VV Vinayak starring Sreenivas Bellamkonda, which has been mounted on a massive scale and shot extensively on grand sets in Hyderabad has finally wrapped up its shoot and is gearing for its nationwide release.

While details are under wraps at the moment, sources in the unit say that the makers will be making a big announcement soon.

The Hindi version was launched in July 2021 with SS Rajamouli giving the muhurat shot clap.

While Sreenivas Bellamkonda will reprise Prabhas’ role in the action-drama, the makers have kept the identity of the female lead under wraps and an announcement is expected shortly.

Janhvi pens note for Sridevi: ‘I still look for you everywhere mumma’

As the coming February 24 will mark the fifth death anniversary of veteran actress Sridevi, her daughter, and actress Janhvi Kapoor penned an emotional note and said that she still looks for her “mummaa”.

Janhvi took to Instagram, where she shared a throwback picture of her talking to her mother. The picture seems to be from an event.

“I still look for you everywhere mumma, still do everything I do hope I’m making you proud. Everywhere I go, and everything I do – it starts and ends with you,” Janhvi captioned the image.

Sridevi passed away on February 24, 2018, in Dubai. She died due to accidental drowning in a bathtub. She was in Dubai for attending a family function.

Sridevi’s last big screen outing was in the 2017 film ‘Mom’, for which she also earned a National Award, posthumously.

Janhvi is now gearing up for the release of ‘Bawaal’, which also stars Varun Dhawan. She will also be seen in ‘Mr. & Mrs. Mahi’.

Kangana has her own list of ‘deserving’ winners before ‘nepo mafia’ takes ‘everyone ka haq’

After Ranbir Kapoor, Alia Bhatt, and Varun Dhawan were named for major honors at the Dadasaheb Phalke International Film Festival, actress Kangana Ranaut objected to the same on her social media.

She posted her own list of “deserving” winners and claimed that the ‘nepo mafia snatches everyone’s rights.

Kangana took to Instagram Stories and shared her own list of winners.

She wrote, “Awards season is here before nepo mafia snatches everyone ka haq (right) let me clarify this year’s Best actor – Rishab Shetty (Kantara) Best Actress- Mrunal Thakur (Sita Ramam) Best film – Kantara Best director- SS Rajamouli (RRR) Best supporting actor – Anupam Kher (Kashmir Files) Best supporting actress- Tabu (Bhool Bhulaiya).”

“Yeh log jayein ya nahi awards inhi ke hain (the awards belong to them no matter whether they attend them or not)… filmi awards have no authenticity, after I finish work here, I will make a proper list of all those I feel are deserving… stay tuned … thanks.”

She added: “Life of nepo insects use parents name and contacts, do papa ji chaploosi to get work, agar koi self-made aaye uska career sabotage kardo, if someone anyone, anyhow survives and complains about continues harassment they face, unko bikau mafia PR se jealous or mad bolke dismiss our discredit kardo…”

“Yehi, yehi toh tumhari kartootein hain that I am determined now to destroy you all… one can’t just indulge in the beauty of life when there is so much evil around… Shrimad Bhagwat Geeta says destroying evil is the prime goal of Dharma.”

On Monday, Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt won the Best Actor and Best Actress awards at the Film Festival.

Alia was named for the honor for her spectacular performance in ‘Gangubai Kathiawadi’, and Ranbir was feted with the award for playing the lead in ‘Brahmastra Part One: Shiva’.

Varun Dhawan also won the Critics Best Actor award for his performance in the film ‘Bhediya’.