Madhuri: Back in 90s, writers used to pen scripts on sets

Actress Madhuri Dixit Nene, who is gearing up for her streaming movie ‘Maja Ma’, recently spoke about the changes that she has witnessed in recent years about how the Hindi film industry which is otherwise known as Bollywood has changed over the course of time.

While speaking in to interview, the actress, who plays a Gujarati homemaker in the film, said, “Earlier the Hindi film industry was very disorganized and disjointed except for a few productions like Yash Raj Films, Subhash Ghai’s production or Rajshri Production, which were very organized in their approach. But now with the corporate culture had come up in the films, things are far more streamlined today.”

She then mentioned how the industry has started taking writing – the bedrock of any film, quite seriously, “We have table reading sessions with our fellow cast members now, something which was unheard of back then in the 1990s. We used to get dialogues on the go, just before a shot was supposed to be delivered.”

Adding a humorous hue to her statement, she further mentioned, “We used to wait for the writer to finish his dialogues, who would say from some corner of the set, ‘Haan madam bas 2-minute mein like ke deta hoon (Just 2 minutes and your dialogues would be ready, ma’am)'”.

Things have changed for the good, the actress said and this in a way helps the Indian cinema to compete on the global stage where productions are flawless and of six-sigma quality, “Today, we are given a bound script about, which breaks down things to the last detail like what are we going to wear in a particular scene or what should be the pitching of the character. These details really help an actor prepare for a scene and deliver something that the audience would thoroughly enjoy.”

Meanwhile, ‘Maja Ma’ is set to drop on Prime Video on October 6.

Samantha Ruth Prabhu is prepping up for ‘Citadel’ in the US

Actress Samantha Ruth Prabhu, who impressed audiences with her moves in ‘Oo Antava’ from the Allu Arjun-starrer ‘Pushpa: The Rise’, is currently busy prepping for her upcoming project, ‘Citadel’.

A source close to the actress revealed that “Samantha has been working on getting into her character for Citadel in the US. She is following a very strict fitness and lifestyle regime there to get into the physicality of her character in the series.”

As a part of the preparations, the actress is also jamming with different experts in filmmaking and character building and action.

In addition, ‘Citadel’, the Indian divergent of the umbrella series of the same name, will also star Varun Dhawan.

‘Citadel’ is the second spy action drama for Samantha after she hit OTT show, ‘The Family Man 2’.

The actress also has projects like ‘Shaakuntalam’, ‘Khushi’, and Yashoda in the pipeline.

Trisha Krishnan poses with Aishwarya Rai Bachchan on ‘Ponniyin Selvan’ set

Actress Trisha Krishnan posed with Aishwarya Rai Bachchan for a picture on the sets of their upcoming film ‘Ponniyin Selvan’, directed by Mani Ratnam.

Trisha took to her Instagram, where she and Aishwarya are seen taking a selfie on the sets dressed in their costumes from the upcoming magnum opus.

For the caption, Trisha wrote: “Ash” with a hug emoji.

The film, whose first part is scheduled to open on September 30, is a story that revolves around the early life of prince Arulmozhi Varman, who later on went on to be known as the great Raja Chozhan.

Described by Mani Ratnam as his dream project, the film features a galaxy of top stars including actors Vikram, Aishwarya, Trisha, Karthi, Jayam Ravi, Jayaram, Parthiban, Lal, Vikram Prabhu, Jayaram, Prabhu, and Prakash Raj.

In the movie, Aishwarya will reportedly be seen in a double role. She will be seen playing the role of queen Nandini and Mandakini Devi.

The film will be among the most expensive projects ever undertaken in the country.

Big B composes ‘dhun’ for R. Balki’s ‘Chup’

Megastar Amitabh Bachchan has shared that he “played, composed and arranged” a “dhun” for filmmaker R. Balki’s film ‘Chup’.

The thespian took to his blog and wrote: “Meanwhile .. a soft tune .. a ‘dhun’ played composed and arranged, by me, with a brief story of its making shall be with you .. hopefully by the evening of the morrow .. it has been made a small end portion of the film R Balki has just completed .. ‘CHUP'”

The cine icon added: “And for me today another pious arti sang in place of another for film too .. that shall hopefully be with all in time… a lot of music .. but that is the soul that connects to the Superior ..’

On the acting front, Amitabh will next be seen in ‘Good Bye’, ‘Project K’, ‘Ghoomer’, and ‘Uunchaai’.

Sonal Chauhan BTS video shows Nagarjuna, her training for ‘The Ghost’

Actress Sonal Chauhan is super excited about sharing screen space with Tollywood star Nagarjuna in his forthcoming power-packed action-thriller ‘The Ghost’.

Sonal took to her social media profile and shared a Behind Scenes (BTS) video featuring herself and Nagarjuna undergoing weapons training.

The BTS video has interesting visuals of them prepping for the action scenes and holding some heavy guns, which definitely piques our interest.

Recently, Sonal got injured on the sets but was undeterred. The actress had a fracture during her MMA training and was told to avoid any training/action scenes for a couple of weeks but despite that, she continued shooting.

‘The Ghost’, is written and directed by Praveen Sattaru. The film also stars Gul Panag, Anikha Surendran, Manish Chaudhari, Ravi Varma and Srikanth Iyengar. The film is slated to release on October 5, 2022.

Apart from ‘The Ghost’, Sonal Chauhan is also busy with yet another massive project, ‘Adipurush’, the bilingual Hindu mythological film based on the epic Ramayana, by Om Raut and produced by T-Series Films and Retrophiles.

The film also stars Prabhas as Raghava, Kriti Sanon, and Saif Ali Khan in the lead roles. The film is scheduled to be theatrically released on January 12, 2023.

Sonu Sood to feature in Haryanvi music video for the first time

Bollywood actor and philanthropist Sonu Sood will feature in a Haryanvi music album for the first time.

He will be in the music album of famous Haryanvi music producer Rao Inderjeet Singh, who is also the founder and CEO of the music platform Gem Tunes.

Speaking on the occasion, Rao Inderjeet Singh said, “We now have vast collections of songs in various regional languages in our kitty and the music label is now a one-stop destination for millions of music lovers.” He further said, “soon we will also be producing and acquiring rights of Bollywood and Tollywood songs.”

He then stated, “Bollywood and Tollywood songs have one of the largest fan bases and hence we are soon planning to foray into these music markets too.”

Since its launch in 2020, ‘Gem Tunes in just two years has captured the hearts of music lovers and now it has a collection of more than 20,000 songs in 10 regional languages.

Emma D’Arcy to step into the role of adult princess Rhanyera in ‘HOTD’

Actress Emma D’Arcy is set to debut as the adult princess Rhanyera in the sixth episode of ‘House of the Dragon’. She recently spoke about how she did her own stunts and enjoyed the process in the series.

Elaborating on the same, she said, “I did a bit of stunt work, and at first, I was sort of cocky about it because I like a challenge.”

The preparations for the show unfolded right in the thick of the pandemic when everything was shut down including the gyms. Hence, these stunts came across as a shock to her system, “And then we went in to work with the team – and this was right in the middle of the pandemic, and needless to say, the gym hadn’t been open – it was a shock to the system.”

But, nevertheless, she enjoyed the process as it opened up her perspective on a lot of things, “But you know it was great. It’s amazing to do these things and work with these incredible people. There you are, wielding a long sword and being given expert advice on how to do it. I enjoyed it.”

The 10-episode series also stars Paddy Considine, Matt Smith, Milly Alcock, Emily Carey, Olivia Cooke, Steve Toussaint, Eve Best, Sonoya Mizuno, Fabien Frankel, and Rhys Ifans.

The show continues to deepen in bitter rivalries, jealousy, lust, the quest for power, and betrayal to destroy the Targaryen dynasty.

Directed by Miguel Sapochnik, Clare Kilner, Geeta Vasant Patel, and Greg Yaitanes, ‘House of the Dragon is available to stream on Disney+ Hotstar with new episodes dropping every Monday at 6:30 a.m. IST.

Deepika Padukone shares sneak peek from ‘Pathaan’ dubbing session

Deepika Padukone has started dubbing for the actioner ‘Pathaan’. The Bollywood actress on Thursday shared a glimpse of the session on social media.

Deepika took to Instagram and shared a picture of the script kept on a table. A mic too can be seen placed right above the table.

The actress captioned the image: “#WIP #Pathaan.”

The film, which is directed by Siddharth Anand, also features superstar Shah Rukh Khan and John Abraham in key roles. ‘Pathaan’ marks the fourth collaboration of Deepika and SRK after ‘Om Shanti Om’, ‘Happy New Year’, and ‘Chennai Express.

This will be the first time John will be seen sharing screen space with Shah Rukh. The action star has previously worked with Deepika in ‘Desi Boyz’ and ‘Race 2’.

According to reports, the upcoming film revolves around a RAW Agent codenamed Pathaan, who takes on an ominous villain who is hell-bent on ripping apart India’s security apparatus.

‘KBC 14’ contestant on Big B: He makes you feel like an equal

For Delhi-based Suraj Nair, nothing could be a more significant achievement than meeting the host and megastar Amitabh Bachchan on ‘Kaun Banega Crorepati 14’. He opened up about his journey and the challenges he faced to take the hotseat on the show.

During a conversation with Big B, he said: “From the very beginning, I was a fanatic of the show because unlike other shows, this was about knowledge. Thus, I developed a passion to go to ‘KBC’.”

“The show came in the era when there were fewer to no cell phones and so access to knowledge was not that easy,” added the 37-year-old IT professional.

However, he didn’t give up hope and worked hard to prepare as he watched the show standing in front of a barber’s shop.

He revealed: “I used to make notes, watched the different episodes of the show, and followed the question answers. We had financial issues, so I watched KBC standing in front of the barber’s shop or random tea stalls. Ten-fifteen years ago I started applying for KBC. When I received the call for the audition, I got super excited and told my wife.”

On how tough it was to believe him that he is on the quiz-based reality show, he concluded: “Can you imagine, sitting at some distance from a human being who is one of the greatest in Indian cinema and who you have till now only seen on TV conducting the question answers for the show? On top of it, Mr. Bachchan talks to you on your level, he makes you feel like an equal.”

‘Kaun Banega Crorepati 14’ airs on Sony Entertainment Television.

Rashmika Mandanna: Dubbing in Hindi was a little challenging

Southern sensation Rashmika Mandanna, who is all set to make her Bollywood debut with ‘Good Bye’ starring megastar Amitabh Bachchan, said that for her, dubbing in Hindi was a little challenging.

Rashmika Mandanna is playing the role of Tara Bhalla in the Vikas Bahl directorial. She is fierce, she is amusing and she also questions every stereotypical decision. She believes in logic but ends up understanding the importance of emotions.

The film also marks Rashmika’s first time in dubbing an entire movie in Hindi.

She said: “Dubbing is a very difficult task for me, all the time and in all the languages. It is the hardest thing that I have to do for a film. For me, dubbing in Hindi was a little challenging but at the same time, I also learned a new language. I have one more language in my kitty.”

‘Goodbye’ is a story that touches every emotional chord in your heart and makes you realize the importance of your loved ones along with the downturns of life. Rashmika will also be sharing screen space with Neena Gupta, Sunil Grover, Pavail Gulati, Ashish Vidyarthi, and Elli AvrRam in the film.

Produced by Ektaa R Kapoor’s Balaji Motion Pictures in association with Good Co., ‘GoodBye’ is all set for worldwide release in cinemas on October 7.