BTS video of ‘Ratchasa Maamaney’ song from ‘Ponniyin Selvan’ released

The makers of director Mani Ratnam’s upcoming magnum opus, ‘Ponniyin Selvan 1’, which is scheduled to hit screens on September 30, has now released a behind-the-scenes (BTS) video of the beautiful song, ‘Ratchasa Maamaney…’.

The video, which shows Karthi having to dance on a magnificent set, has Karthi, choreographer Brinda Master, and art director Thota Tharani talking about the song.

Karthi says, “This song happens when a princess attends a dance performance on Krishna Jayanthi. They have visualized how it would have been in the 10th century.”

The actor also explains a portion of the song in which women and children are seen pulling a rope to make a person fly. “They are doing a stage performance in that era. Yet it should feel real, so they have made women and children pull a rope to make them fly. It is a kind of showmanship,” he explains.

The actor also jokingly discloses how he had arrived at a secret arrangement with dance master Brinda to easily complete his dance portions but how director Mani Ratnam altered all his plans the next day.

“I told Brinda master, ‘Master you’ve taught me three dance bits for this song. I will dance all three bits separately.’ She said ‘Okay’. The next day, Mani sir said, ‘I want it in a single shot. Come down dancing, from the top of the stairs to the bottom. I glanced at the master and she said, ‘I can’t do anything about it.'”

In the BTS video, dance master Brinda says, “We had Bharathanatyam and Kathak in the song. I choreographed it with my assistants and we’d do a full rehearsal. Even the kids performed cutely. We had a lot of Bharathanatyam girls. Not only our movie dancers, but we also had some classical girls as well.”

Jacqueline Fernandez again being quizzed in Rs 200 cr extortion case

Bollywood actor Jacqueline Fernandez on Monday reached the office of the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Delhi Police to join the investigation in connection with the Rs 200 crore extortion case involving multimillionaire conman Sukesh Chandrashekhar.

She will be confronted with the testimonies of Bollywood actress Nora Fatehi and Pinky Irani, who was an aide of Chandrashekhar.

The EOW had earlier recorded Fernandez’s statement, but they found contradictions. To clear the contradictions they quizzed Fatehi and Pinky Irani following which the EOW decided to record Fernandez’s statement once again.

Now, EOW will question Jacqueline Fernandez regarding the contradictions.

Chandrashekhar was arrested for allegedly cheating and extorting money from some high-profile people, including former Fortis Healthcare promoter Shivinder Mohan Singh’s wife Aditi Singh. Many Bollywood actors and models have been questioned by the Enforcement Directorate for their alleged links to Chandrashekhar.

In April last year, Chandrashekhar was arrested in another money laundering case linked to the 2017 Election Commission bribery case, which allegedly involved a former AIADMK leader, among others.

21 yrs after she first dreamt of being on KBC, Kolhapur homemaker is a crorepati

Kavita Chawla, a homemaker from Kolhapur, Maharashtra, became the first ‘crorepati’ in the quiz-based reality show ‘Kaun Banega Crorepati 14’ hosted by Amitabh Bachchan.

The 45-year-old talked about how she was able to complete her education, despite her father not being prepared to educate her after Class X. She was able to clear Class XII before marriage only because her teacher intervened and reasoned with her father.

Talking about how she prepared for the show, Chawla said: “I used to teach my son Vivek at home and have taught him from KG to Class VIII. I used to prepare for the show along with it because I have always dreamt about going to ‘KBC’ since the time it began.

She continued: “When I used to teach him, I used to study as well and I knew that the knowledge would help me in the future. Whenever I used to get some time off from my household chores I would study to remain updated about current affairs and brush up my general knowledge.”

Kavita added that preparing for the show was not easy. “For a housewife, studies do feel like multitasking and on top of it I had a child and my in-laws to take care of,” Chawla said, adding: “Shouldering those responsibilities and also studying had me understand time management. I did not want to waste time by going out, for instance.”

It took her 21 years and 10 months to finally reach the hotseat and fulfill her dream. On many occasions, in fact, her son would prank her, claiming a call had come from the makers of the reality show.

“The journey from registrations to the hotseat is not that easy and is tediously long,” Chawla said. “Sometimes, when I would register, I would not get the call. Then when I did get the call, I did not get the call for the procedures that follow. If I got the call for an audition, I did not get the call for the interview. I took time to reach the hotseat because I was moving ahead step by step and it took really long to reach here,” she exclaimed.

Talking about meeting Amitabh Bachchan, Chawla said: “It was surreal. I was mesmerized by sir. The most beautiful part of meeting him was the conversations that we had and the most glorious part of meeting him was the time he announced my name for the hotseat and when I won Rs 1 crore.”

Chawla plans to invest the money she has won “in my son’s future because I want him to study further. I want my son to study and grow and make the country proud.” As for her, she said: “I want to travel across India and experience its beauty.”

Kavita Chawla will be seen on the hotseat on September 19 and 20 on ‘Kaun Banega Crorepati 14’, Sony Entertainment Television.

Rana Daggubati releases Kannada action movie ‘Kabzaa’ teaser

After the recent back-to-back successes of ‘KGF 2’, ‘777 Charlie’ and ‘Vikrant Rona’, the Kannada film industry is all set to roll out another major action entertainer with an all-star cast titled ‘Kabzaa’.

The film directed by R. Chandru features Kannada award-winning stars Upendra Rao, Kichcha Sudeep, Shriya Saran, Manoj Bajpayee, and Nawab Shah. It is set to be released in seven languages.

The makers released the film’s teaser a day before Upendra’s birthday. It was released by ‘Bahubali’ star Rana Daggubati, who has become a popular name all across India.

‘Kabzaa’ is a period film about the rise of gangsters in India, set between 1947 to 1984. It is all about a freedom fighter’s son who gets trapped in the world of the mafia. The film is billed as a large-scale action film.

Talking about the film, director Chandru said: “The film has already created a lot of buzzes and we wanted to treat our fans with the teaser. Tomorrow being Upendra’s birthday, we thought it would be a good gift to all his fans.”

Presented by M.T.B. Nagaraj, and produced by Chandru under the Sri Siddeshwara Enterprises banner, the film will be released in Kannada, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Oriya, and Marathi.

The film’s music is composed by Ravi Basrur of ‘KGF’ fame, A.J. Shetty is the cinematographer and Mahesh Reddy is the editor.

Doesn’t matter if Stokes and Hales might not be the best mates; common goal is to win the World Cup: Mott

England white-ball coach Matthew Mott has said winning the ICC T20 World Cup in Australia later this year was the team’s goal, and that all-rounder Ben Stokes and the returning Alex Hales do not need to be ‘best mates’ as Jos Buttler’s side bids to add the 20-over trophy to the ODI World Cup they won in 2019.

The 33-year-old Hales was recently included in the England T20 squad for the seven-match series against Pakistan followed by the T20 World Cup in Australia after the opening batter returned to the side following three years in the cricketing wilderness due to a recreational drug misdemeanor just before the 2019 50-over World Cup.

He was subsequently dropped from the squad as then limited-overs skipper Eoin Morgan felt Hales had “shown a complete disregard” for team values. But following Morgan’s retirement and Jonny Bairstow’s freak injury, Hales approached the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and got positive feedback, facilitating his return under a new leadership group of Buttler and Mott.

Incidentally, Hales was with Stokes during a late-night street brawl in September 2017, which reportedly left two people injured. Stokes lost his England vice-captaincy and a place on the Ashes tour. Later, the all-rounder was acquitted after the jury accepted he had acted in self-defense.

Stokes also played a key role in England defeating New Zealand in the 2019 World Cup final; the same event where Hales was ejected from the squad for his recreational drugs misdemeanor and for not apologizing to his teammates.

However, Mott believes the incidents of the past will not have a bearing on the team’s campaign in the T20 World Cup.

“Probably the key phone call for me was when I rang Trevor Bayliss and asked if he had any views (on Hales) since obviously he was (England) coach at the time and has worked with him (Hales) at Sydney Thunder (BBL),” Mott was quoted as saying by Daily Mail.

“He said he’s had absolutely no problem with him (Hales) at all, he’s (Hales) made mistakes but he’s trying to get better and for me that’s it. Nobody’s perfect, I’m certainly not, but if he’s trying to get better and he’s the best player then we can work around it,” added Mott.

Stokes had reportedly refused to elaborate on his relationship with Hales recently and Mott said: a “common goal” outweighs everything.

“And as far as that (Stokes) relationship goes, they might not be best mates and that’s OK, you work with colleagues all the time who aren’t your best mate but you can work with them if you’ve got a common goal,” said Mott.

“Ben’s said it, he wants to win World Cups, Alex does as well, we all do, so try and pick the best players and if they end up becoming good mates again that’s great, if not, as long as they’re going towards that goal of winning together then that’s how teams function.”

Unlike her ‘Goodbye’ character, Rashmika believes in rituals, is superstitious

Rashmika Mandanna who acted in Pushpa movie with Allu Arjun, also who is doing her Hindi movie with stars Amitabh Bachchan and Neena Gupta in ‘Goodbye, said Tara character was totally opposite to her in film and she also shared importance about the making with the Big B.

She said, in fact, that Tara is more like her sister, Shiman, who is 16 years younger than her and demands a rational explanation for all that she’s asked to do.

“I am not at all like Tara, who doesn’t believe in rituals and questions everything,” Rashmika said in an interview with Media. “I have great faith in all the rituals and superstitions. I think my sister is more like her. She wants an explanation for everything. Like, why are you doing this, or why have I been asked to do this? So, yeah, Tara and my sister are quite similar in this way.”

She also talked about her bond with her sister. The relationship between them is more like that of a mother and daughter, rather than that of two sisters. Rashmika said: “My sister is very close to me and shares everything about her friends. If she has a fight with them, she tells me about it, not my mother.”

The 26-year-old actress, who’s now also called the ‘national crush’ post ‘Pushpa’, said that in the initial days of the shoot she came with her pup because he was she was too small.

“In the middle of it all, I got to know that she was ill and was stressing out, but the moment the people on the sets got to know about it, they came with a vet,” Rashmika said. “This is the energy that we had on the sets. It was extremely special.”

Talking about her first foray into Hindi cinema, Rashmika told Media: “I think initially it was very intimidating. But after that, I think it came to a point when we all sort of just blended in so beautifully as a family, even if we’re just a couple of actors coming in and performing.”

On sharing screen space with the Big B, Rashmika said: “I think for me, Bachchan sir was the picture of professionalism. Of course, he has his own aura, but he is most professional and at heart a simple man. The combination is so beautiful.”

Whenever she would be shooting with the Big B and Neena Gupta, Rashmika used to have one big complaint: “Everyone used to blend in so well and have fun. I would notice this and ask them, ‘How do you guys know each other?’ And they would said that they had been working together for a long time. That’s when I told them that I want to be part of their group.”

Recalling an incident on the sets, Rashmika said: “We were reading our lines and practicing the dialogues as Vikas (Behl) sir wanted the longest cut in one go. Bachchan sir was there, I was there and so were the others. Suddenly, Bachchan sir is like, now I want to go home. Why are we wasting time? I was like, did I say something wrong, because this line was not there in the dialogue. We all used to have a lot of fun like this.”

Referring to her initial hesitation to take on the role, Rashmika said during her conversation with Media: “When Vikas sir came with the script I was like, how I am going to do this. I am just a fun-loving and easy-going person and I asked him, ‘Have you approached the right person?’. The character is the complete opposite of me, but he showed confidence in me.”

She continued: “I just got to know that my eyes can emote either sadness or anger, and these are two emotions I can express very well. Right now, I am experimenting with my craft; There’s no fun in doing the same thing again and again.”

Rashmika, who made her acting debut with the 2016 Kannada film ‘Kirik Party and launched in Telugu with ‘Chalo’ and in Tamil with ‘Sulthan’, is entering Bollywood with ‘Goodbye’.

Directed by Vikas Bahl, and produced by Ekta Kapoor and Shobha Kapoor, the film also features Sunil Grover, Pavel Gulati, Ashish Vidyarthi, Elli AvrRam, Sahil Mehta, and Shivin Narang in supporting roles. ‘Goodbye’ is set to release on October 7.

Arjun Kapoor: Proud that my venture is going to be on a global platform for home chefs

Actor Arjun Kapoor, who has invested in a food delivery start-up with a cause, reveals that FoodCloud will now start its operations in the UAE. He says as an Indian he feels proud that his venture is going to be on a global platform for home chefs.

Arjun’s venture FoodCloud during the peak of the pandemic, brought onboard 10,000 women from across India to give home chefs the platform to become self-reliant entrepreneurs. The emerging food delivery platform aims to improve gender parity, empower women and help them become self-reliant entrepreneurs.

He said: “As an Indian, I’m proud that my venture is going to be on a global platform for home chefs to get more exposure. We are thrilled to be expanding to the UAE and cater to Indians living there and satisfy their needs to eat home food that brings back memories of their roots.”

The actor added that FoodCloud has been planning every step carefully while strategizing on how their expansion plan should ideally look like.

“We figured that UAE is a potentially big market because it has a big population of Indians there. I’m proud that our brilliant home chefs are now going international.”

Arjun stated, “It was always a part of our plan to give more and more exposure to our homegrown talent and we are proud that we are being able to live up to that promise. We can’t wait to see the potential that FoodCloud has in UAE and we will carefully plan our next moves so that our home cooks can wow the world with their culinary innovativeness and brilliance.”

The venture was founded by Arjun and serial entrepreneurs Vedant Kanoi and Shamit Khemka.

BTS video reveals how Hrithik, Saif transform in ‘Vikram Vedkha’

Giving a sneak peek into all the efforts going into the much-awaited film, the makers of Saif Ali Khan and Hrithik Roshan starrer ‘Vikram Vedha’ unveiled the behind-the-scenes action on the sets of Vikram Vedha with two new videos.

The first video gives a glimpse of all the action, teamwork, and fun that went into bringing Saif Ali Khan as Vikram to life for the big screen. Saif as Vikram is seen in action on the hunt for Vedha, as he struts holding a pistol. The video also showcases Saif goofing around and immersed in discussions between takes, gearing up to deliver the best version of Vikram.

A separate video highlights the journey of Hrithik Roshan immersed in the process of becoming Vedha. Beginning from BTS shots of working on his look, to showcasing the different shades & quirks of Vedha, Hrithik features in a never seen avatar. The newly released content piece from the sets of Vikram Vedha delves deep into the action, drama, and hard work that went into the making of Vedha.

The makers of Vikram Vedha had earlier treated the audience with an engaging teaser to their film. The teaser received much love and appreciation from the audience and stands to be the most liked Hindi film teaser ever.

Earlier this month, the team of Vikram Vedha also held a first-ever special preview across 10 cities for fans to launch the trailer of their film. The action-packed trailer was complete with thrilling visuals and whistle worthy moments, further raising anticipation for the release of the film.

Vikram Vedha is an action thriller written and directed by Pushkar-Gayatri. The story of Vikram Vedha is full of twists and turns, as a tough cop Vikram (Saif Ali Khan) sets out to track and chase a dreaded gangster Vedha (Hrithik Roshan). What unfolds is a cat-and-mouse chase, where Vedha – a master storyteller helps Vikram peel back layers through a series of stories leading to thought-provoking moral ambiguities.

Vikram Vedha is presented by Gulshan Kumar, T-Series, and Reliance Entertainment in association with Friday Filmworks & Jio Studios and a YNOT Studios Production. The film is produced by Bhushan Kumar and S. Sashikanth and Reliance Entertainment. Vikram Vedha will hit big screens globally on September 30, 2022.

World record holder Jacob Kiplimo to take part in Delhi Half Marathon 2022

 Uganda’s world half marathon record holder Jacob Kiplimo will be the star attraction at the Vedanta Delhi Half Marathon 2022, a World Athletics Elite Label Event, to be held on October 16.

The 21-year-old Kiplimo is the reigning world half marathon champion after claiming the World Athletics Half Marathon Championships title in 2020, and last year ran the phenomenal world record time of 57:31 in Lisbon.

The young Ugandan star has already had an outstanding 2022, winning both the RAK Half Marathon in Ras Al Khaimah (UAE) in February in a world-leading 57:56 and then the Great North Run half marathon last Sunday, two of the few rivals to the VDHM for the unofficial title of ‘The Best Half Marathon in the World’.

During the summer, Kiplimo focused on the track and won a bronze medal in 10,000m at World Championships in July and a memorable 5000m/10,000m double at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham last month.

Ethiopia’s Amdework Walelegn improved the Delhi course record to 58:53 in 2020, but Kiplimo believes he can run the fastest half marathon ever seen on Indian soil during his first visit to the country next month, the organizers informed in a release on Thursday.

“I have been told that the Vedanta Delhi Half Marathon course is a quick one and the record suggests that you can run fast times there. It is always dangerous to make predictions about what you are going to do, but what I can say is that with a month to go to the race I am in good shape, and I will focus on preparing specifically for the race over the next few weeks,” Kiplimo was quoted as saying in the release.

“I had a successful track season although I would have liked to have done a little better at the World Championships, I have not raced too much this year, so I am still fresh and I want to show the people of Delhi and India what I am capable of,” he added.

The 17th edition of the Delhi Half Marathon will have a stellar lineup of elite runners.

“On behalf of the Vedanta family, I feel honored to welcome the current world half marathon and world record holder Jacob Kiplimo to the Vedanta Delhi Half Marathon 2022. When Jacob became world champion at such a young age, his story become an inspiration for many. I am sure his participation here will motivate thousands more to take to run for causes that deeply touch us all,” said Priya Agarwal Hebbar, Non-Executive Director, Vedanta Limited.

The race has a prize fund of US$268,000, and the international elite field will have its sights on the first prize of US$27,000 for both men and women.

“We are thrilled to be able to welcome Jacob Kiplimo to India for the very first time and to headline this year’s Vedanta Delhi Half Marathon. It is a reflection of the event’s stature that it annually draws some of the biggest names in distance running,” said Vivek Singh, Joint Managing Director, Procam International.

“As one of the leading half marathons in the world, I’m excited that we are back on the international calendar, bigger and better. It’s our privilege to welcome Vedanta as the title sponsor, as we look to build on our shared objective of strengthening the legacy of this event as a stimulus for empowerment and change,” he added.

Hrithik, Saif-starrer ‘Vikram Vedha’ to get 100-country release

Actors Hrithik Roshan and Saif Ali Khan’s upcoming movie ‘Vikram Vedha’ is releasing worldwide in over 100 countries, making it one of the widest openings for a Bollywood film.

Besides India, the film is released in territories where Bollywood films normally release day and date, including North America, the UK, the Middle East, and Australia and New Zealand, on September 30, reports Variety.

‘Vikram Vedha’ is opening across 22 countries in Europe and 27 countries in Africa and Latin America, including Japan, Russia, Panama, and Peru, all non-traditional territories for Bollywood.

The film is a remake of the 2017 Tamil-language hit ‘Vikram Vedha’, directed by writer-directors Pushkar and Gayatri and starring R. Madhavan and Vijay Sethupathi.

Pushkar and Gayatri have also helmed the Hindi-language Bollywood adaptation.

The film, a neo-noir action thriller based on the Indian folktale “Vikram aur Betaal”, tells the story of a tough police officer Vikram (Khan) who sets out to track down and kill an equally tough gangster Vedha (Roshan). What unfolds is a cat-and-mouse chase, where Vedha, a master storyteller, helps Vikram peel back layers through a series of stories, leading to moral ambiguities.

The film is produced by T-Series and Reliance Entertainment in association with Friday Filmworks, Jio Studios, and YNOT Studios.

Producers include Bhushan Kumar, S. Sashikanth, and Bhushan Kumar. Reliance Entertainment has collaborated with Home Screen Entertainment for the international distribution of the film.

Dhruv Sinha, head of overseas businesses at Reliance Entertainment, said: “With the star power of lead talent of ‘Vikram Vedha’, it has garnered tremendous love and appreciation from the audience and trade alike. Reliance Entertainment Overseas and Home Screen Entertainment teams have ensured the film reaches the widest audience across the globe.”