Raftaar, Shakti Mohan groove on new track ‘Rascala’ from ‘The Great Indian Murder’

Rapper Raftaar and dancer Shakti Mohan have featured in a promotional track ‘Rascala’ from the thriller web-series ‘The Great Indian Murder’.

Raftaar said, “Rascala is a song that tries to bring tremendous energy to an intense series. I worked with Darshan Doshi and Umang on Rascala and I got a piece of Tamil rap written in between it.

“Being a Malayali, I was excited because I was able to do something in Hindi and then Tamil at the same time. I wrote my Hindi rap parts of it along with the Tamil rap part as well. The song doesn’t just sound like a promotional song but a whole movie production.”

Featuring ace dancer and choreographer Shakti and rapper Raftaar, the fun, catchy dance number has been choreographed by Feroz Khan. Composed by Darshan-Umang, the song has been sung by Umang Doshi, Anusha Mani, and Raftaar.

Excited about the song, producer Ajay Devgn said, “The promotional video is already receiving great appreciation from the viewers. The song is an absolute entertainer that adds color and more drama to the series. It takes the viewers to a fun party amidst the chaos of the series.”

Penned by Shloke Lal and Ashwath Bobo, the video begins with Vicky Rai and his father discussing the need for a party at the farmhouse. With dazzling backgrounds and colorful costumes, the video weaves into the storyline as it further showcases different characters from the show at the ongoing party while Shakti and Raftaar perform.

Shakti Mohan said, “I am thrilled to be associated with a massive show like The Great Indian Murder, as well as with the rap master Raftaar. More than a promotional song, Rascala adds more value and weight to the intriguing story of the show and is quite instrumental in taking the narrative ahead”.

Directed by thriller maestro Tigmanshu Dhulia, ‘The Great Indian Murder’, which received the highest watch time on the opening weekend, revolves around the cold-blooded murder of the Home Minister of Chhattisgarh’s son, Vicky Rai, and a group of six uncanny suspects being linked to it.

The series has been taken from the titillating pages of Vikas Swarup’s riveting novel, ‘Six Suspects’.

Talking about the promotional song, producer Priti Vinay Sinha said, “In the series, the actual song Rascala comes at a very interesting point when the characters Ashok Rajput played by Sharib Hashmi and Eketi played by Mani PR reach Chennai and watch the film song shoot which begins with director Tigmanshu Dhulia in a cameo idolizing Rajinikanth sir by pouring milk over his picture.”

The show produced by Ajay Devgn and Priti Sinha under their banner ADF & RLE Media is headlined by a stellar cast of Richa Chadha, Pratik Gandhi, Shashank Arora, Ashutosh Rana, Raghubir Yadav, Jatin Goswami, Sharib Hashmi, Paoli Dam, and Amey Wagh, among others.

‘The Great Indian Murder’ is available exclusively on Disney+ Hotstar in Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, and Bengali.

Ticket prices issue: High-profile meeting of Tollywood biggies with AP CM

Tollywood’s big celebrities are meeting Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, led by megastar Chiranjeevi to discuss the movie ticket prices issue.

The delegation is to discuss some important issues with Jagan Reddy and request him on the ongoing movie ticket prices and theatres issues.

Chiranjeevi, Prabhas, Mahesh Babu, Rajamouli, and Koratala Siva flew to Vijayawada early on Thursday, in a chartered flight.

Telugu stars Mahesh Babu and Prabhas were spotted accompanying Chiranjeevi, as directors S.S. Rajamouli, Koratala Siva, and other producers had joined them in the much-anticipated meeting.

The motive behind the meeting is to negotiate flexible cinema ticket pricing in Andhra Pradesh.

The meeting commenced at 11 AM on Thursday and is expected to be a long one, as the stars will apparently bring the problems faced by the industry onto the CM’s table.

Tollywood is hoping for a positive announcement soon after the meeting.

Oscars 2022 ceremony won’t require Covid vaccinations

This year’s Oscars ceremony will not require in-person attendees to provide proof of vaccination against Covid.

After a 2021 ceremony that saw the Academy Awards downsize to a smaller gathering at Los Angeles’ Union Station, the Oscars will return to its traditional setting in the Dolby Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard for its upcoming ceremony on March 27.

It is not yet known if the audience size might be reduced this year.

Last year’s ceremony featured strict Covid testing and masking policies for in-person attendees, in accordance with health and safety protocols. In the year since vaccines against the virus have become widely available to the general public.

Guidelines encouraging proof of vaccination have become commonplace for large-scale events, especially in Los Angeles.

Although the Academy will suggest attendees be vaccinated, the 2022 Oscars ceremony will also require attendees to be tested prior to attending, with unvaccinated guests having additional and more stringent testing requirements.

Under this rule, the Academy is technically complying with Los Angeles County’s policy on “indoor mega-events”, which require either full vaccination status or day-of negative COVID-19 tests to all attendees ages 2 and older.

However, it should be noted that other awards events this season, such as the Screen Actors Guild and Critics Choice Association, are still requiring attendees to provide proof of vaccination for their ceremonies.

L.A. County is still some time away from lifting its indoor mask mandate.

On Tuesday, public health director Barbara Ferrer indicated barring extremely low case levels, the earliest time that masks requirements would likely be reversed is late April, well after the Academy Awards’ March ceremony date.

The Academy has yet to release an official Covid policy for its upcoming ceremony.

Reports indicate that the Academy may have elected to take a less strict position on vaccination status as a no-entry policy could have prevented some unvaccinated nominees or presenters from attending the ceremony.

Aalisha Panwar, Rrahul Sudhir happy to shoot together for short film ‘Ishqiyaat’

Actress Aalisha Panwar will be seen as a Kashmiri Muslim girl called Heer in her upcoming short film ‘Ishqiyaat’ and Rrahul Sudhir is playing the role of a young man named Kabir in this film. Both actors are excited to work together for the first time.

Aalisha Panwar says: “It was fantastic shooting ‘Ishqiyaat’ since it was the first time we both saw each other in a short film as a couple, and people adore our connection, which I want them to like even more. I am hopeful fans will love our ‘Jodi’ as Kabir and Heer and our chemistry will work too.”

Rrahul shares further about his working experience with Aalisha and adds: “It’ll be a pleasure to work with Aalisha, and it’ll be a fantastic learning opportunity. All of those emotions began to stream into my heart, and I felt at ease, calm, lovely, and tranquil about the whole thing.”

The film has been directed by Prradip Khairwar and produced by Vikaas Gutgutia’s FNP Media. The short film will be released on the FNP Media YouTube channel on February 14.

Stebin Ben’s latest track ‘Ek Tu Hi Toh Hai’ featuring Arjun Bijlani out now

Popular singer Stebin Ben’s romantic track ‘Ek Tu Hi Toh Hai’ featuring Arjun Bijlani and Sana Makbul is surely a treat for listeners during Valentine’s week.

Stebin, who is known for his romantic ballads, shares his latest song: “‘Ek Tu Hi Toh Hai’ is a song sung with all my heart. Kunaal Vermaa’s lyrics and Aman Pant’s composition are truly wonderful. The picturesque locations of Kashmir and the amazing performances by Arjun and Sana compliment the song perfectly. I hope the audience will feel the love in the air with this one.”

The music video directed by Ravi Jain is shot against the snow-clad backdrop of Kashmir, it showcases the heartwarming story of Kabir (Arjun) and Aisha (Sana) who refuse to give up on their love even in the face of tragedy.

“This song is special. Stebin’s voice is mesmerizing and shooting the music video with my good friend and co-star Sana Makbul in the beautiful locations of Kashmir was (challenging and) super fun. I can’t wait to share our touching music video with the world,” adds Arjun Bijlani.

Composed by Aman Pant, ‘Ek Tu Hi Toh Hai’ is penned by Kunaal Vermaa. It is produced by Sony Music India. The song is out now on all streaming platforms.

Keerthy Suresh-starrer ‘Good Luck Sakhi’ to see digital release on Feb 12

Nagesh Kukunoor’s Telugu directorial ‘Good Luck Sakhi’ is all set for a digital premiere on February 12, Prime Video announced on Wednesday.

The Telugu comedy-drama movie starring Keerthy Suresh also has Aadhi and Jagapathi Babu in pivotal roles. The movie which had a theatrical release recently will stream exclusively on Prime Video for viewers in more than 240 countries and territories, in Telugu, Malayalam, and Tamil.

‘Good Luck Sakhi’ is the story of a happy-go-lucky girl Sakhi Pamar, portrayed by Keerthy Suresh, who hails from the Banjara tribe in the Rayalaseema region.

She goes by the nickname ‘Bad Luck Sakhi’ as the villagers consider Sakhi’s presence a bad omen and harbinger of tough times. A colonel, portrayed by Jagapathi Babu, arrives in the village, hunting for a promising shooter whom he wishes to prep for the bigger stage. Sakhi has a gift for aiming at targets that makes her a natural in the shooting. How far will Sakhi fly under the guidance of the Colonel, forms the crux of ‘Good Luck Sakhi’.