‘777 Charlie’ unit’s generous gift to NGOs working for animals

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‘777 Charlie’ unit’s generous gift to NGOs working for animals

In what is being seen as a laudable gesture, the makers of Rakshit Shetty-starrer ‘Charlie 777’ on Tuesday announced that they would be contributing five percent of the film’s profits to NGOs across the country that have been dedicated to working toward the welfare of Indie dogs and animals.

In a statement, actor Rakshit Shetty, who played the lead in the film, said that the contributions would be made in the name of Charlie.

That apart, he also said that they would be sharing 10 percent of the film’s profits with every individual who had advanced the culmination of the film.

The actor said, “It has been 25 days since ‘777 Charlie’ has reached you, and it has been receiving unsurpassed love since. Our happiness sees no bounds as we begin to grasp the kind of admiration and recognition this film has earned us.

“We believe that the only way to celebrate this success is by celebrating the multitude of people who have tirelessly worked in the union in bringing this film on screen. We have therefore resolved to share 10 percent of the profit that ‘777 Charlie’ makes, with every individual who has advanced the culmination of this film.

“As the makers of ‘777 Charlie’, we are aware of the kind of effort and resource that goes into creating a happy and safe environment for the animals around us. In this light, we would like to contribute 5 percent of the profit, in the name of Charlie, to NGOs across the country that have been dedicatedly to working towards the welfare of Indie dogs and animals.

“Using our light to ignite someone else’s, will illuminate the world. Thanks to each one of you for lighting our world with your love.”

Gitikka Ganju Dhar talks about working with Aamir in ‘Laal Singh Chaddha’

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Gitikka Ganju Dhar talks about working with Aamir in ‘Laal Singh Chaddha’

Popular TV host and actor Gitikka Ganju Dhar, who was last seen in the Sushmita Sen starrer ‘Aarya 2’, will now share screen space with the cast of the much-awaited Aamir Khan starrer, ‘Laal Singh Chaddha’.

The movie is scheduled to release on August 11. Along with Aamir Khan, it also stars Kareena Kapoor.

Gitika shares her experience working in this film: “At first, when I received a call for an audition, I was pleasantly intrigued. When I was confirmed as a part of the cast, I could not believe it. When I began to shoot, I was super impressed with the execution of the production. It was a very professional atmosphere with everyone geared towards filming a world-class movie.”

“The detailing of every aspect of the production was exemplary. I am lucky that the first film experience of my career is with Aamir Khan Productions,” she said.

“I could have not asked for a better experience in terms of learning and execution, both. It was inspiring and endearing to watch everybody work hard, very hard to inject magic into Laal Singh Chaddha.”

On sharing screen space with Aamir Khan, she comments: “I was a big Aamir Khan fan when Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak was released. I told him this. I also told him that my meager scoring in the Board Examination was due to the ‘QSQT’ mania that most Indians had experienced.”

“Well, the experience of working with Aamir was precious. I observed, I learned and I was full of admiration for his approach as an actor. He is full of passion and is tireless in his endeavor to translate the larger vision of the film onto every scene and every shot,” she concludes.

Some of the popular shows hosted by Gitikka on television include Meri Saheli, Zaike Ka Safar, Sehat Ki Rasoi, and Chitrahaar.

With Atal biopic in the works, here are the stars who’ve played PMs on screen

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With Atal biopic in the works, here are the stars who’ve played PMs on screen

After films based on the lives of Manmohan Singh and Narendra Modi, late former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee will now be the subject of a biopic titled ‘Main Rahoon Ya Na Rahoon, Yeh Desh Rehna Chahiye – ATAL’. The makers have not announced who’ll get the lead role, but a host of Bollywood actors have essayed prime ministers on the big screen, with Rajit Kapur having the distinction of playing both Jawaharlal Nehru and Narendra Modi (and Mahatma Gandhi).

Although Roshan Seth played Nehru in Richard Attenborough’s multiple Oscar-winning ‘Gandhi’ and UK-Indian actress Sarita Choudhury has appeared as Indira Gandhi in Deepa Mehta’s ‘Midnight’s Children’, among Bollywood stars, Anupam Kher has played Manmohan Singh, Lara Datta surprised audiences with her Indira Gandhi act, and Vivek Oberoi has donned Prime Minister Modi’s persona on the big screen.

Rajit Kapur, who appeared as Gandhi in Shyam Benegal’s ‘The Making of the Mahatma’, played Nehru in the Nikhil Advani web series ‘Rocket Boys’, a role also reprised, though briefly, by YouTuber Rahul Vohra in ‘Gangubai Kathiawadi’. Kapur’s character in the Vicky Kaushal-starrer Uri: The Surgical Strike’, albeit not presented as Modi, is every bit like the Prime Minister.

More recently, Mohan Agashe essays a similar unnamed role in the Army action thriller series ‘Avrodh 2’, which is set against the backdrop of demonetization, presented by the makers as a fight against counterfeit currency notes pumped into India by Pakistan.

But the Prime Minister has been the subject of a biopic, ‘PM Narendra Modi’, where Vivek Oberoi played him. The film, which was controversially timed with the 2019 general elections, was directed by the production designer-turned-filmmaker Omung Kumar, who has earlier helmed the biopics Mary Kom’ and ‘Sarbjit’.

The man Modi replaced — Manmohan Singh — was played by Anupam Kher to much acclaim in the biopic, ‘The Accidental Prime Minister’, directed by Vijay Ratnakar Gutte. The film was based on a memoir of the same name by the former prime minister’s media adviser and senior journalist, Sanjaya Baru, who is played by Akshaye Khanna.

The film attracted much interest because it featured the German-born actress Suzanne Bernert as Sonia Gandhi. International Emmy-nominated ‘Made in Heaven’ actor Arjun Mathur played Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi was essayed by Ahana Kumra, who’s now seen in a negative role in ‘Avrodh 2’

Indira Gandhi has made the most appearances in popular cinema. Suchitra Sen’s character of Aarti Devi in Gulzar’s ‘Aandhi’, which was banned during the Emergency, was the first allusion to the slain former prime minister.

Lara Datta’s prosthetic transformation as Mrs. G in the Akshay Kumar-starrer ‘Bell Bottom’ may have excited widespread positive comment, and she called it her most challenging role, but Indira Gandhi has also been played, creditably, by ‘Pyaar Mein Twist’ actress Kishori Shahane in Vivek Oberoi’s ‘PM Narendra Modi’ and Avantika Akerkar in Kabir Khan’s World Cup cricket drama, ’83’.

Akerkar has the distinction of playing Indira Gandhi twice. She reprised the role in Abhijit Panse’s Marathi and Hindi 2019 biopic, ‘Thackeray’, where Nawazuddin Siddiqui is cast as the lead character.

Mrs. G will be played next by ‘Dangal’ star Fatima Sana Shaikh in the upcoming film ‘Sam Bahadur’, which is based on the life of the Bangladesh War hero, Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw. The film is being directed by ‘Talvar’ filmmaker Meghna Gulzar and will star Vicky Kaushal in the titular role.

Also, undeterred by the failure of her most recent film, ‘Dhaakad’, Kangana Ranaut will play Indira Gandhi in her second self-directed film, ‘Emergency’. The film will be Kangana’s second directorial after the 2019 release, ‘Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi’. The actress recently visited London to meet the Academy Award-winning make-up and prosthetics artist David Malinowski to discuss the possibilities of her transformation as Mrs. G.

Vidya Balan, too, was toying with the idea of playing Indira Gandhi in a web series based on journalist Sagarika Ghose’s biography, ‘Indira: India’s Most Powerful Prime Minister’. The project, it is believed, has been deferred for the moment.

Ironically, Indira Gandhi’s predecessor, Lal Bahadur Shastri, does not figure even in ‘The Tashkent Files’, although he is the central character in it!

Deepika opens US Konkani meet, Ranveer flaunts his language skills

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Deepika opens US Konkani meet, Ranveer flaunts his language skills

Deepika Padukone, who was enjoying a vacation in the United States, ended her stay here as chief guest at the 10th edition of the Konkani Sammelan in San Jose, California.

Hosted in the heart of Silicon Valley, at the San Jose McEnery Convention Center, the three-day event laced with performances, music shows, seminars, food, and works, celebrates and promotes the Konkani cultural heritage and an initiative to keep the culture alive across the world.

The Bollywood star later took to her social media to thank the Konkani Association of California.

She posted a few pictures in the ethnic outfits and wrote in the caption: “A people without knowledge of their past history, origin and culture are like a tree without roots. Thank you #KAOCA and to the people of my community for your love, warmth, and blessings. I couldn’t be more proud (sic).”

Deepika was joined by her parents and husband Ranveer Singh, who enjoyed his first tryst with the full-blown event that also saw an opening performance by Shankar Mahadevan.

In a few viral videos, Ranveer can be seen making a brief appearance on the stage as he impressed the audience with a few lines in Konkani. Sitting beside Deepika in an ethnic outfit, he said “I’m really happy” in Konkani.

Soon after, the room filled with a loud cheer. Deepika also cheered her husband and said, “Well done”. Towards the end, Ranveer said, “Dev bare Karu (May God bless you)” and exited the stage.

Nithya Menen opens up on turning non-veg during ‘Modern Love Hyderabad’ shoot

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Nithya Menen opens up on turning non-veg during ‘Modern Love Hyderabad’ shoot

After a successful run of ‘Modern Love Mumbai’, Amazon Prime Video is gearing up for its second edition of the three localized and fictionalized versions of the international series, ‘Modern Love Hyderabad’.

One of the episodes titled ‘My Unlikely Pandemic Dream Partner’ brings together two powerhouse actors, Revathy and Nithya Menen, and is directed by Nagesh Kukunoor. The story explores a special bond between the lead actors.

Set in the heart of Hyderabad, as the director Nagesh Kukunoor says the episode marries his two loves the old-world charm of Hyderabad and local cuisine. Interestingly, the famed Hyderabadi cuisine apparently bowled Nithya Menen over so much that she even tasted non-vegetarian food.

“I had been practicing vegetarianism for a while, and when I told the team about it, they were amazed,” said Nithya Menen and elaborated that the special chef who was invited to cook the Hyderabadi delicacies also made vegetarian versions of those dishes for the shoot. “There was so much Hyderabadi food… Finally, at one point, I was like, just give me the chicken, I’ll just eat it, it’s fine, I have to look authentic. So literally, I keep telling them, they turned me into a non-vegetarian. There was too much to eat!”

Interestingly, it was one of those episodes where the cast and crew would wait for cut and run to the dining tables to gorge on the Hyderabadi feast, from the famous biryani to Khubani-ka-Meetha, you name it and the delicacy was served.

Set against the backdrop of the ‘City of Pearls’, the series features six heartening stories exploring different shades and relationships of love.

‘Modern Love Hyderabad’ is set for global premiere on Amazon Prime Video on July 8. The anthology brings six stories revolving around the idea and facets of love.

The cast of ‘Modern Love Hyderabad’ also includes popular names like Suhasini Maniratnam, Naresh, Aadhi Pinisetty, Ritu Varma, and Abhijeet Duddala, Malavika Nair, Naresh Agastya, and Ulka Gupta among others.

Aruna Irani, Alok Nath to unite for TV show on the lines of ‘Raja Babu’

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Aruna Irani, Alok Nath to unite for TV show on the lines of ‘Raja Babu’

Popular veteran actors like Aruna Irani and Alok Nath are in talks to unite for an upcoming television show, tentatively titled ‘Sansaar’, which will be along the lines of the 1994 movie ‘Raja Babu with Karisma Kapoor and Govinda.

There has been no official statement from the makers or the actors. Aruna Irani was part of the original film.

A source said: “This will be a mega project produced by Balaji Telefilms. Popular actors Aruna Irani and Alok Nath will be seen essaying the lead roles.

“Pearl V. Puri will be seen in the role of Govinda, that will have many emotions like an obedient son, a romantic lover, and a relaxed, carefree, uneducated individual. Mahika Sharma will be seen playing the character similar to Karisma Kapoor.”

The movie directed by David Dhawan was the story of an orphan, who is adopted by a rich village couple. Later, he falls in love with a city girl but she walks out on him after learning that he is not as sophisticated as he portrays himself to be.

Sona Mohapatra draws Twitter CEO’s attention to sexism in his alma mater

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Sona Mohapatra draws Twitter CEO’s attention to sexism in his alma mater

Playback singer Sona Mohapatra, who has crooned hit numbers such as ‘Bedardi Raja’, ‘Ambarsariya’ and ‘Rangabati’, has addressed a lengthy tweet to Parag Agrawal, CEO of the microblogging site, slamming the practice of not inviting women as headliners for cultural events at his alma mater IIT Bombay.

In her tweet, Sona wrote, “Dear @paraga, Ur alma-mater has for decades, mostly never hosted women as headliners in their cultural festival. IITB alumni, even CEOs slammed me on FB for writing this letter.”

Sona urged Agrawal to watch her film Shut Up Sona’ to get a glimpse of what female artists have to go through to get equal respect, representation, and remuneration.

She added: “I hope U watch my film #ShutUpSona to see what our reality as female artists in the 21st century is. Love & Light.” She also attached screenshots of her viral open letter on Facebook.

The tweet serves as a reminder of what even the most successful women have to face when they come up against systemic sexism.

‘Shut Up Sona’ is streaming on Zee5 and Zee 5 Global.

Ram Charan all set to start filming a peppy campus number for ‘RC15’

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Ram Charan all set to start filming a peppy campus number for ‘RC15’

The latest schedule of the filming of ‘RRR’ actor Ram Charan’s much-anticipated big-budget film is about to begin under the direction of Shankar Shanmugham.

Ram Charan is all set for the shoot of an upbeat song number, which is being choreographed on expensive sets and multiple locations. The college-themed track will feature close to 400 dancers.

As reported earlier, the film, whose working title is ‘RC15’, will be shot in Amritsar, among other places.

Shanmugham is best known for the grandeur of canning visually extravagant songs, so this particular song is expected to be one of the major highlights of the movie.

In this song, which is being choreographed by Ganesh Acharya, Ram Charan will appear in a new look being billed as “stunning” by the makers. The music is composed by the ever-popular Thaman.

Kiara Advani plays the female lead opposite Ram Charan in ‘RC15’, which is being bankrolled by Dil Raju.

Actress abduction case: Memory card to be sent for scientific examination

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Actress abduction case: Memory card to be sent for scientific examination

The Kerala High Court on Tuesday directed the trial court to send for scientific examination the memory card containing crucial evidence in the 2017 actress abduction case in which actor Dileep is one of the accused.

The prosecution and the victim had expressed their deep dissatisfaction over reports that the hash value in the memory card, which was in possession of the trial court, had changed.

They had approached the trial court with a petition seeking to send it for scientific examination, but it was turned down, forcing them to approach the high court.

During the trial, even though the high court had pointed out that there has been a change in the hash value, none of the visuals pertaining to the victim was seen.

While the counsel for Dileep strongly opposed handing over the memory card for scientific examination, the counsels for the other two parties vehemently argued for it and the court agreed for the same this morning.

The court directed that in two days’ time, once this order comes out, the trial court should hand over the memory card to State Forensic Laboratory. In a week’s time it should submit a report in a sealed cover to the probe team which, in turn, should hand it over to the court, it added.

James Cameron planning to leave ‘Avatar’ franchise after third sequel

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James Cameron planning to leave ‘Avatar’ franchise after third sequel

Filmmaker James Cameron, who is awaiting the release of his upcoming fantasy epic ‘Avatar: The Way of the Water’, has shared that he might stop directing the films in the franchise after the third sequel, reports Variety.

The director told ‘Empire’ magazine that he’s considering leaving the world of Pandora behind for other projects down the line and would pass on the baton to other deserving filmmakers in the process.

The first ‘Avatar sequel, subtitled ‘The Way of Water’, is set to hit theatres on December 16. A third film in the ‘Avatar’ series was shot back-to-back with ‘The Way of the Water’ and is eyeing a release in 2024.

Cameron told ‘Empire’ magazine, as quoted by ‘Variety’: “The ‘Avatar’ films themselves are kind of all-consuming. I’ve got some other things I’m developing as well that are exciting.

“I think eventually over time — I don’t know if that’s after three or after four — I’ll want to pass the baton to a director that I trust to take over, so I can go do some other stuff that I’m also interested in. Or maybe not. I don’t know.”

Even so, Cameron expressed excitement about the potential to watch his grand plan for the ‘Avatar saga come to fruition.

“Movie four is a corker. It’s a mo**********. I hope I get to make it. But it depends on market forces. Three is in the can so it’s coming out regardless. I hope that we get to make four and five because it’s one big story, ultimately.”

Cameron has stepped away from the director’s chair for projects that he has poured years into, starting with 2019’s ‘Alita: Battle Angel’, which was ultimately helmed by Robert Rodriguez, although he stayed attached to the production as an executive producer and co-writer.

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