‘JL 50’ producer Ritika Anand on how Abhay Deol, Pankaj Kapur came on board

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‘JL 50’ producer Ritika Anand on how Abhay Deol, Pankaj Kapur came on board

Actress Ritika Anand, who features in and has produced the four-episode web series, JL 50, says that although she was always keen to cast Abhay Deol as the protagonist of the show, she and writer-director Shailender Vyas were initially apprehensive about approaching him. She added she feels fortunate to have a cast that includes Pankaj Kapur and Piyush Mishra along with Abhay.

Talking about the casting of Abhay in as Shantanu Ritika in the sci-fi thriller, she said: “Abhay was the first choice and an intimidating one too. We had heard so much about how he only gives a nod to excellent scripts. We had confidence in the script but we weren’t sure how he’d take the time travel angle of the story. However, upon Shailender and Piyush ji’s suggestion, we sent Abhay the script and after a few anxious nights, we heard that he loved the premise of the story and the script of the film.”

According to Ritika, the idea of sci-fi came to her mind in 2016.

“In March of 2016, I suggested to Shailender that we should make a Hindi film on quantum physics, time travel, and inane crashes. At the offset, my suggestion was met with an ‘it doesn’t work with an Indian audience’. However, with some deliberation, I got Shailender to write a detailed 13-page story synopsis in March 2016. Around June or July the same year, amidst challenging times, I once again suggested to Shailendra that we convert the synopsis into a full script,” Ritika said.

However, from scripting to raising the fund and finding the cast, and releasing the show, took her four years.

Talking about casting Pankaj Kapur, she said: “We had approached Pankaj ji for a film in 2015, called ‘Palki’, which didn’t materialize with him. However, for ‘JL50’, Shailender was certain that he wanted Pankaj Ji for the role of professor Das and this time we weren’t going to let it fall through. We weren’t sure though that he would accept a script with such fantasy and unreal elements, when we went to see him after he had read the script, he told us that he had watched ‘Interstellar’ and ‘JL 50’ reminded him of it. It was a compliment and we were thrilled to have him on board,” she added.

The show released on the OTT platform SonyLIV September 4.

B-town wishes ‘inspiring’ star Ayushmaon his birthday

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B-town wishes ‘inspiring’ star Ayushmaon his birthday

Ayushmann Khurrana turned 36 on Monday, and friends and colleagues took to social media to wish the actor.

Sharing a picture of him shaking Ayushmann’s hands at the National Film Awards ceremony in 2019, Akshay Kumar wrote: “Happy birthday. Keep up the amazing work, my best wishes always.”

Varun Dhawan went down memory lane and shared how the two danced on the same stage years ago. “This was many years back when we danced on the same stage on each other’s songs. Happy birthday paaji,” Varun wrote on Instagram Story.

Reacting to the wish, Ayushmann wrote: “Wow paaji. Blast from the past.”

Taking to Instagram Story, Vicky Kaushal wrote:” Happiest birthday Veerey.”

Taapsee Pannu wrote: “Happy birthday Khurrana. Let’s explore the sporting arena this year.”

Bhumi Pednekar, who made her Bollywood debut opposite Ayushmann in “Dum Laga Ke Haisa”, expressed her desire to work with the birthday boy soon.

“Happy birthday my dearest AK. Can’t wait to create more magic with you,” Bhumi said.

Wishing Ayushmann, Anushka Sharma wrote: “May you keep pushing boundaries and creating landmarks.”

Katrina Kaif praised Ayushmann for his performances. “Keep raising the bar with incredible performances. Have a wonderful year,” she wished.

Ayushmann’s family members, including wife Tahira Kashyap Khurrana and brother Aparshakti Khurana, also wished the actor.

Tahira posted a picture of her and Ayushmann with cake smeared on his face.

“Having my cake and eating it too,” Tahira quipped.

Aparshakti shared an old picture with his “bhaiya”.

“Picture from our first photoshoot together. Our hairstyle might be a little controversial but my love for him was definite and remains so. Always his first fan. Happy birthday bhaiya!@ayushmannk,” he wrote.

Sushant probe: 7 drugs accused sent to NCB, judicial custody

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Sushant probe: 7 drugs accused sent to NCB, judicial custody

Seven drug peddlers/dealers, nabbed by the Narcotics Control Bureau as part of its probe in the drug angle in Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s death, were Monday sent to the agency’s or judicial custody for varying periods, officials said.

Drug peddler Anuj Keshwani, who was one of the earliest arrested by the NCB, has been sent to judicial custody till September 23.

While Karamjeet Singh Anand, Dwayne Fernandes, and Ankush Anreja, all arrested in the past couple of days, were sent to NCB custody till September 16, three others – Sanket Patel, Sandeep Gupta, and Aftab Fateh Ansari – also arrested in this period, have been sent to judicial custody till September 23.

All the accused were produced before a Mumbai Court via video-conferencing this afternoon.

Keshwani was arrested after another drug peddler Kaizen Ebrahim revealed to the NCB that he procured drugs from Keshwani for onward supplies to other clients.

Following further revelations made by Keshwani and others, the NCB had swooped down on drug-dealers and peddlers in the city, and 16 of them have been rounded up so far.

In the latest round, Anand, Fernandes, Anreja, Patel, Gupta, and Ansari were arrested from Mumbai and Chris Costa from Goa.

These arrests are part of the case in which the NCB has earlier arrested Sushant’s girlfriend and Bollywood actress Rhea Chakraborty, her brother Showik, Sushant’s house manager Samuel Miranda, his staffer Dipesh Sawant, and drug peddlers Abdul Basit and Zaid Vitra.

Sushant was found dead at his Bandra home on June 14, triggering a huge upheaval in Bollywood and simultaneous probes by the NCB, the Enforcement Directorate, and the Central Bureau of Investigation in various aspects of the case.

Amyra Dastur flies off to Chennai to shoot film with Prabhudeva

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Amyra Dastur flies off to Chennai to shoot film with Prabhudeva

Actress Amyra Dastur is currently in Chennai to shoot of her upcoming film, Bagheera, with Prabhudeva.

Taking to Instagram, Amyra shared pictures from inside her flight from Mumbai to Chennai. “First time in an airplane since the lockdown,” she captioned one of the images, in which she is seen wearing a mask and face shield.

On Instagram Story, she also posted a picture of a place where she arrived after boarding the flight and asked people to guess the name of the place.

Reportedly, Amyra’s new Tamil film starring Prabhudeva is psycho-mystery. Prabhudeva sports a bold avatar.

Amyra made her Bollywood debut in the 2013 release, “Issaq”, alongside Prateik Babbar. She was later seen in films like “Kaalakaandi”, “Rajma Chawal”, “Made In China”, and “Prassthanam”.

Samantha Akkineni has 12 million Instagram followers

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Samantha Akkineni has 12 million Instagram followers

Southern star Samantha Akkineni has garnered a fan following of 12 million on Instagram. The actress shared the news on Monday with a new picture and also thanked her fans.

“12 million Now and forever. Thank you for this amazing shot @vaishnavpraveen @thehouseofpixels,” she wrote alongside the image that has Samantha posing on a sofa in a shimmery dress.

The actress recently shared that she starts her weekend by doing 108 Surya Namaskars.

Samantha has made a name for herself in the Tamil and Telugu film industries. She is known for her performances in films such as “Ye Maaya Chesave”, “Neethaane En Ponvasantham”, “Eega”, “Mersal” and “Rangasthalam”. She impressed all with her role in “Super Deluxe” last year.

She will soon be seen in the second part of “The Family Man”.

Rajkummar Rao-Shraddha Kapoor starrer ‘Stree’ releases in Japan

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Rajkummar Rao-Shraddha Kapoor starrer ‘Stree’ releases in Japan

The Shraddha Kapoor and Rajkummar Rao-starrer horror comedy Stree has released in Japan.

Shraddha took to Twitter to share the news, with a poster of her 2018 film. “#Stree is all set to conquer #Japan! Releasing today, beware (sic),” she captioned the poster.

Helmed by Amar Kaushik, “Stree” revolves around the people of Chanderi village, where the spirit of a woman attacks men at night during four days of a religious festival every year.

Apart from Shraddha and Rajkummar, “Stree” also features Pankaj Tripathi, Aparshakti Khurana, and Abhishek Banerjee, among others. Nora Fatehi’s special dance number “Kamariya” has gone on to become a rage.

Amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the theatres in Japan reopened in mid-May when the government started easing restrictions. Initially, the cinema halls in Japan started with the screening of old Hollywood classics like “Ben-Hur” (1959), “East of Eden” (1955), “Bonnie and Clyde” (1969), and “The Towering Inferno” (1974).

Big B 1st celebrity voice on Amazon Alexa in India

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Big B 1st celebrity voice on Amazon Alexa in India

Amazon Alexa on Monday announced a partnership with Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan to create a unique voice experience for its Indian fans.

The Amazon Alexa team will work closely with Bachchan to capture his voice and deliver a new voice experience to customers.

It will include popular offerings like jokes, weather, shayaris, motivational quotes, advice, and more.

Big B’s voice will be available on Alexa devices next year, the company said.

“Bachchan’s voice is truly memorable for any Indian who has grown-up with Bollywood. This combination delivers a perfect pitch to further delight and simplifies the lives of our customers,” said Puneesh Kumar, Country Leader for Alexa, Amazon India.

Alexa in the US already has the voices of several celebrities like Samuel L. Jackson, but this is the first time that the Indian Alexa will get the voice of a Bollywood celebrity.

One can invoke the conversation between Alexa and Amitabh Bachchan and make the celebrity talk to you by saying “Hey Alexa, Say hello to Amitabh Bachchan”.

“Technology has always given me an opportunity to adapt to new forms. Be it in movies, TV shows, podcasts, and now, I am excited to create this voice experience in partnership with Amazon and Alexa. With voice technology, we are building something to engage more effectively with my audience and well-wishers,” Bachchan said on joining Alexa’s voice experience.

Alexa is also available on the Fire TV Stick with Alexa Voice Remote, Fire TV Edition, the free Alexa app as well as the Amazon shopping app (Android only).

In addition, several third-party devices like mobile phones, Bluetooth speakers, headphones, wearables, and smart TVs also come with Alexa built-in.

Namit Das’ new musical turn: Actor tries recreating Rafi’s ‘Badan pe sitare’

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Namit Das’ new musical turn: Actor tries recreating Rafi’s ‘Badan pe sitare’

Actor Namit Das continues with his tryst as a singer and composer, covering hits melodies with his band

Namit’s latest cover is a rendition of the Bollywood classic “Badan pe sitare lapete huye”, from the Shammi Kapoor-Vyjayanthimala starrer “Prince”. The Mohammad Rafi original was composed by Shankar-Jaikishen and written by Hasrat Jaipuri for the 1969 release.

Namit has performed the remake with bandmate Anurag Shanker.

“This golden hit classic has been celebrated by listeners for over 51 years. The original song was given a very modern arrangement of music and style of rendition. With his divine voice, Rafi saab made it a dance anthem for eternity. One of the edgiest on-screen personas in Bollywood, Shammi Kapoor, has inspired not only actors but creators from across the board with his unique performances and style,” said Namit.

“We take one of his signature songs and bring down an epic old school funk arrangement on it. It is the last of the quarantine jams before we get back to our own material starting with a live release this month,” he added.

On the acting front, Namit is currently shooting for his upcoming film, “Aafat-E-Ishq”.

Aditi Rao Hydari: I feel the film industry is an inclusive space

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Aditi Rao Hydari: I feel the film industry is an inclusive space

Actress Aditi Rao Hydari feels that Bollywood has a beautiful side, too, and declares it is an inclusive space.

Actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s untimely death on June 14 has sparked a heated debate about “insiders and outsiders” and nepotism in Bollywood.

With so much of toxicity in and around Bollywood and social media, how does Aditi keep herself positive? “Just by believing that one day it will sort (out), also by knowing that we can do something about it. No industry is devoid of flaws. We are also human beings, we make mistakes, we have our flaws, we oversee certain things but there is a beautiful side to our industry too,” Aditi told IANS.

Aditi then explained: “We all stick together, we are loyal, we stand together. Whatever people might say we really stand together. People have our backs.”

She says that even though she is considered an “outsider” she doesn’t like to believe that she is an outsider.

“People talk of outsider-insider. I can say there are so many people who I can call if I have a problem. They will help me even though I am considered an outsider. But I don’t like to consider myself an outsider. I feel that the industry is an inclusive space,” Aditi said.

“Yes, it can be hard and tough for some time for some of us who don’t have family within the industry, but isn’t that so in any industry? So, why do we single out the film industry? I feel it’s up to us if there are certain things that need to be looked into, we need to pay attention, need to change that and stand together,” she added.

Aditi was recently seen in the digitally released Telugu film “V”, starring Nani and Sudheer Babu. The film is streaming on Amazon Prime Videos.

Anushka Sharma: Nothing is more real than experiencing creation of life in you

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Anushka Sharma: Nothing is more real than experiencing creation of life in you

Bollywood actress and mum-to-be Anushka Sharma shared a picture of her baby bump on social media and said that nothing is more real and humbling than experiencing creation of life in you.

Anushka shared the picture on Instagram, where she is seen standing at the beach dressed in a white top and blue pants. She is lovingly looking at her bump as she has her hand over it.

“Nothing is more real and humbling than experiencing creation of life in you . When this is not in your control then really what is?” Anushka captioned the image.

Her husband and star cricketer Virat Kohli commented: “My whole world in one frame.”

It was last month, when Anushka and Virat announced that they are set to be parents for the first time.A They will welcome their first born in January 2021.

The announcement came with a picture of the couple on Anushka and Virat’s respective Instagram accounts, where her baby bump is visible. In the photograph, Anushka was seen wearing a black and white polka dotted dress, while Virat is seen in a grey T-shirt and white pants.

The couple tied the knot in December 2017 in Italy.

 

 
 
 
 
 
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Nothing is more real & humbling than experiencing creation of life in you . When this is not in your control then really what is ?

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