Leslie Grace reveals how she found out she was ‘Batgirl’

Actress Leslie Grace has revealed how she found out that she’d been cast as Barbara Gordon in ‘Batgirl’, the upcoming superhero film.

The ‘In the Heights’ star was asked by the filmmakers to jump on a last-minute Zoom for a final casting test before being directed to read the text of an email they had just sent her, reports variety.com.

“I open it and it says, ‘I’m Batgirl’…and my brain broke,” Grace said at the MTV VMAs on Sunday at Barclays Center in New York.

She said, “It was an incredible moment. When I mean incredible, I mean the textbook definition of, I could not believe it. My brain actually broke when I got the news.”

Grace immediately got to work by reading as many comics as she could.

“That was my first question – what do I read? I’m like, ‘Send me everything I need to learn.’ I just bought every comic and just starting asking so many questions.”

She can’t reveal the film’s storyline or if any of her Batman counterparts like Robert Pattinson and Ben Affleck will be popping up in her movie.

“But I will tell you this, Batgirl is a badass. She’s definitely going to be fighting lots of people. She’ll be very hands-on. She’s got a lot to prove.”

The actress hopes young fans will be inspired by a Latina Batgirl and that her work “validates the dreams of other people who look like me, who may feel it’s not an opportunity for them. I’m just really excited about every young girl who is going to see a Dominican Batichica and say, ‘I can do that,'” she said. “I can’t wait.”

It was announced in July that Grace had bagged the title role.

Filming is expected to begin in November.

First look of Ganesh Bellamkonda’s Telugu film unveiled

Actor Ganesh Bellamkonda, who is the son of producer Bellamkonda Suresh and younger brother of Bellamkonda Sai Sreenivas, released the first look of his upcoming film on Tuesday.

Titled as ‘Swathi Muthyam’, the film is directed by Lakshman K Krishna, with actress Varsha Bollamma playing Ganesh’s love interest. This marks Ganesh’s debut as a lead actor.

In the first look of the film, Ganesh is seen in a classy and elegant informal outfit carrying an office bag.

Billed as a fun entertainer, Suryadevara Naga Vamsi is producing the film.

UPSC aspirant on ‘KBC 13’ gets valuable life lessons from Big B

A 26-year-old UPSC aspirant Akshay Jyot Ratnu will be seen making his way to the ‘Kaun Banega Crorepati 13’ hotseat.

Akshay has been trying to clear his UPSC exam from 2017 and hasn’t been selected yet. Because of this, his family members and relatives constantly taunt him which seems to have hampered his self-confidence and morale. Only to build that back again, with his hard work and dedication he will be seen making his way to the hotseat tonight.

Expressing his feelings, Akshay shares: “Almost all of my family members are in the Civil Services. I don’t step out of the house during the day because I might meet someone, my neighbours or relatives who ask me what’s going on in my career? I don’t have an answer to that.”

He continues: “All those conversations then start running in my head for almost a week. Why did someone think that I am useless or say things like, ‘He still didn’t pass the selection process? my kid has already been selected, you’ve spent so much on him and what did you get?’ All these conversations break my morale. When I stop studying or preparing for the exam and someone calls me useless, I will accept that. But I’m still studying, yet why do people say such things?”

To this, Amitabh says: “I really like the way you speak with so much honesty. Don’t take what people say to your heart. Don’t feel disheartened. I cannot contribute to your hard work but will always support you.”

Residing in Jodhpur, Rajasthan currently, he has completed his B.A and M.A LLB from Ramjas College, Delhi University and Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai.

Akshay also went back with some sound advice from Amitabh when he asked him how he dealt with the hardships to reach where he is today.

Responding to him, Amitabh shares: “Many a times, it was like everything has come to an end, there’s no hope. I did go to Babu ji (father Harivansh Rai Bachchan) once and told him ‘Babuji there are a lot of struggles in life’. To which he said, ‘So long as there is life there will be struggle’.

Amid thunderous applause, he further added, “Just how a lift opens when you keep your finger in the middle, (life is just like that) Similarly, just keep a finger and that door will open.”

‘Kaun Banega Crorepati 13’ airs on Sony Entertainment Television.

Ritvik Sahore takes break from work, spends birthday with family

Actor Ritvik Sahore has become a household name ever since he became part of television show ‘Indori Ishq’. After working back-to-back in long schedules, he decided to take a break from work on Tuesday and celebrate his birthday with his family here.

The actor, who turns 22, will be spending the day with family and close friends.

Talking about taking a day off after months, Ritvik tells in interview: “I have not spent quality time with my family for long so on this day I would be spending the day with them and catch up with my friends. There is nothing that gives me more joy than being around my family and friends and hence this birthday will be with them.”

Ritvik will soon be seen in an upcoming shows titled ‘Escaype Lives’ and ‘College Diaries’.

Arshi Khan feels blessed to make her Bollywood debut

Actress Arshi Khan, who rose to popularity after participating in the reality show ‘Bigg Boss 14’, is making her Bollywood debut. She says her dreams are finally coming true.

Arshi will be seen in the upcoming Hindi film ‘Trahimam’.

“Doing Bollywood movies was my dream and now when it is turning true, I’m very nervous. I’m literally not believing that it’s happening and thinking about it makes me emotional. I feel blessed and excited about it too,” says Arshi.

‘Trahimam’ is directed by Dushyant Pratap Singh. It also stars popular actors like Pankaj Berry, Raju Kher and Adi Irani.

Talking about her role, Arshi adds, “Audiences will get to see me in a completely different avatar. As I am playing the role of a village girl named ‘Champa’. It’s a woman oriented film with a beautiful story line.”

Earlier Arshi Khan appeared in television shows ‘Vish’, ‘Ishq Mein Marjawan’ and ‘Savitri Devi College & Hospital’.

Rana Daggubati: ‘Haathi Mere Saathi’ gave me a chance to rekindle my love for nature

Actor Rana Daggubati says his film ‘Haathi Mere Saathi’ is very close to his heart because he has always supported the cause to conserve wildlife and added that the movie gave him a chance to rekindle his love for nature.

“Prabu Solomon (director) insisted we shoot the film at real locations with the best possible natural setting. The movie is very close to my heart because I have always supported the cause to save our wildlife,” Rana said.

The actor took a brief 15-day training with Kumki elephant trainers to be able to get into his character Bandev’s shoes.

“The film gave me a chance to connect with the mighty elephants, adapt to their surroundings and see why they are called the protectors of the wild. I still remember we had some shots where all the elephants walked together, and we could feel the ground shake,” he recalled.

Rana added: “That was the moment I actually felt their mighty presence. ‘Haathi Mere Saathi’ gave me a chance to rekindle my love for nature.”

‘Haathi Mere Saathi’ will premiere on Zee Cinema on September 18.

Neeraj Chopra and PR Sreejesh to appear next on ‘KBC 13’ hotseat

This Friday, ‘Kaun Banega Crorepati 13’s ‘Shaandaar Shukravaar’ episode will have two sports stalwarts as special guests, including the first track and field athlete to win a gold medal for India at the Olympics, Neeraj Chopra, and the one nicknamed as ‘Great Wall of India’, P.R. Sreejesh, who was instrumental in India’s bronze-medal winning hockey campaign at Tokyo 2020.

The players will be welcomed by a reverberating cheer from the audience and the host of the show Amitabh Bachchan.

Both the athletes will be seen playing the game on the hotseat with a lot of confidence and enthusiasm tackling question after question. As they do so, they will also be sharing anecdotes from their journey in the field of sports and playing a game of hockey on the sets with Amitabh Bachchan.

KBC 13’s ‘Shaandaar Shukravaar’ will air on September 17 on Sony Entertainment Television.

Naga Chaitanya, Sai Pallavi’s ‘Love Story’ trailer released

The theatrical trailer of Naga Chaitanya and Sai Pallavi’s ‘Love Story’ was released on Monday. The actors took to their social media accounts to give fans a glimpse into their musical love story.

The Telugu film, directed by Sekhar Kammula, showcases the journey of two creatively inclined people, who come together with their talent to make a living and fall in love. The trailer has got fans keen on Sai Pallavi’s dance moves, for which she is very well known.

Chaitanya, took to Twitter to release the trailer on Monday and captioned it as: “So happy to be finally putting this out…Can’t wait to see you all at the theatres again.”

‘Love Story’ will have a theatrical release on September 24.

Besides this, Chaitanya will also be seen in ‘Bangaraju’ alongside actor Nagarjuna and ‘Thank You’ with actress Rashii Khanna. The actor will also make his Hindi debut alongside actor Aamir Khan in ‘Laal Singh Chadha’.

Meanwhile, Sai Pallavi is waiting for the release of her Telugu films ‘Virata Parvam’ with Rana Daggubati and ‘Shyam Singha Roy’ alongside Nani.

Kartik does ‘most challenging’ sequence for ‘Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2’

Actor Kartik Aaryan says he has shot one of the most challenging sequences for his upcoming film ‘Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2’.

Kartik shared a monochrome picture of the film’s clapboard on Instagram and revealed that it was the climax scene for the film.

Alongside the image, he wrote: “Shot 162 One of the most challenging sequences I have shot for gets done !! #BhoolBhulaiyaa2 Climax. Whole week everyones been at it and great team effort!”

The film also stars Kiara Advani. It is a follow-up to the 2007 Akshay Kumar-Vidya Balan hit ‘Bhool Bhulaiyaa’.

The 30-year-old actor also has the film ‘Dhamaka’ lined up, which is slated to release on an OTT platform.

Divya Agarwal breaks down on seeing boyfriend Varun Sood in ‘Bigg Boss OTT’ house

The recent episode of ‘Bigg Boss OTT’ was a mix of drama. While there was a wonderful performance by the contestants on Ganesh Chaturthi, they also saw host Karan Johar lashing out at Raqesh Bapat for his comment on women and called him “sexist”.

Later, Karan calls Pratik Sahejpal a “spoilt brat” as he didn’t perform well in the ticket to finale task and gave up so easily.

However, an adorable moment was witnessed when Divya Agarwal met her real-life connection Varun Sood inside the ‘Bigg Boss OTT’ house. It was surely an emotional moment for the couple, who met after days of being away. Former ‘Bigg Boss’ contestants Devoleena Bhattacharjee and Rashami Desai, who had entered the house to interact with the contestants, welcomed Varun in the house.

Divya was elated to see him and ran to the glass box to meet him. She couldn’t stop herself and tears rolled down her eyes at that instance. Both shared a cute moment when they kissed through the glass wall between them. Varun motivated the actress to perform her way best in the upcoming week and asked her to win the trophy too.

After meeting his beloved, Varun has shared a post, expressing all that he felt at that moment. Sharing the pictures of their cute meet-up, he wrote, “I was sitting in an alley, looking at her from a small window. The moment I had to go in. I went blank, I didn’t know what do to. My heart was beating so fast. She saw me and she knew I’m proud of her. One last week left! Lets make @divyaagarwal_official win this.”

Keeping aside the fights and distances between the house mates, Neha Kakkar and Tony Kakkar set the stage on fire with their latest original ‘Kaanta Laga’. They also performed tasks with the contestants where each contestant had to relate to a song for another contestant, Nishant Bhat relates ‘Main Khiladi tu Aanadi’ to Raqesh Bapat as he slyly made his way to the finale week.

The ‘Kaanta laga’ task saw a lot of allegations thrown upon each other! Divya Agarwal expresses that Nishant has hurt her with his words.

Last but not the least, Moose Jattana bids an emotional goodbye to the house after her five-week stay in the house as she garnered lesser number of votes compared to others.

‘Bigg Boss OTT’ streams on Voot.