Heavy costumes for film take toll on Big B’s health

Jodhpur– A team of doctors flew in to check on megastar Amitabh Bachchan, who is in pain due to the heavy costumes for the shoot of “Thugs of Hindostan”.

In an early morning blog post on Tuesday, Amitabh, 75, revealed doctors would be coming in to “fiddle around” with his body and set him up again.
His wife Jaya Bachchan told the media at Parliament House in Delhi: “Amitji is fine. He has pain in the back and neck… The costumes are very heavy, so there’s some pain. Otherwise he is fine.”

Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje extended her best wishes for his quick recovery. Raje, who is on a Kanchipuram and Andhra Pradesh tour, asked officials of the Jodhpur administration to ensure that Amitabh gets timely medical aid and care, read a statement from her office.

Big B has been shooting in the picturesque Mehrangarh Fort for “Thugs of Hindostan”, which also features Aamir Khan, Fatima Sana Shaikh and Katrina Kaif, and will release during Diwali 2018. The senior actor has been shooting at odd hours and staying up late for shoots.

“It’s been rough. But whenever did any be achieved without it. There is struggle and disappointment and pain and sweat and tears. Then the expectation of all working out. Sometimes it does, most of the times not. That not is the catalyst.

“When they say not, it is the right impetus to say and deliver that it has been successful and achieved,” he wrote on the blog. The cine icon had revealed last year that he had been nursing a “stiff neck and shoulder pain” as a result of past injuries from stunts he did in the 1970s and 1980s.

Aamir Khan to make Instagram debut on birthday

Mumbai– Superstar Aamir Khan, who will turn 53 on Wednesday, will expand his digital imprints on his birthday by making his debut on Instagram.

Aamir already enjoys a huge social media following on Twitter and Facebook, and is looking to extend this via Instagram for his fans not only in India, but abroad too in markets like China, Turkey, Taiwan and Russia, read a statement.

He currently has a social media reach of more than 37 million users.

Through photo-sharing platform Instagram, Aamir will keep fans abreast about his life and projects.

This year, Aamir will be having a working birthday as shooting for his mega project “Thugs of Hindostan” is underway in Jodhpur.

Juhi Chawla prefers buying organic products

Mumbai– Actress Juhi Chawla says she finds it better to spend on expensive organic food rather than emptying out one’s pockets on huge hospital bills later.

Juhi is the ambassador of the first edition of Women of India Organic Festival, which is being held here at World Trade Centre from March 16-20.

“Before globalisation, we used organic products, and hence it makes me wonder whether we are moving forward or are we going backwards? Yes, price is one difference where the masses feel that ‘This is cheaper and that is more expensive’ and whether they can afford it (organic).

“But I pay the price because I feel I better buy expensive organic products rather than spending on hospital bills later,” Juhi told IANS in an email interview.

She also feels there needs to be increased awareness about the right food.

“Many people don’t know what goes into their food. Even I am not totally clear about it. All I know is that there are chemicals and pesticides, and that is not what you should be eating, and that is certainly not something you would want your children to have,” Juhi added.

On the work front, Juhi will next be seen in a cameo in Shah Rukh Khan’s “Zero”.

‘Jazbaa’ singer collaborates with Rahman

Mumbai– Vipin Aneja, who has sung songs for films like “Jazbaa” and “Saheb, Biwi aur Gangster”, has teamed up with music maestro A.R. Rahman for an untitled Tamil film.

Aneja had earlier performed with Rahman at a concert. The two will collaborate again, this time for a film, starring Tamil actor Vijay.

“It’s been a dream to sing for the maestro. When he asked me if I would like to sing a Tamil song, I immediately said yes as for me, music is beyond any language,” Vipin said in a statement.

He has also sung a song for a film starring actors Jimmy Sheirgill and Yuvika Chaudhary.

‘Baa Baaa…’ director’s masterclass with Anupam Kher

Mumbai– Debutant director Vishwas Paandya says it was like a masterclass to watch veteran actor Anupam Kher’s transformation for his film “Baa Baaa Black Sheep”.

“I had the option of playing two characters in one. On one side, there is this henpecked father, whose son later finds out that he is actually a contract killer,” Anupam said in a statement.

“I thought visually both should look different and I saw the possibility of losing weight for this film. I have never lost weight before and I lost 15 kg. It worked out really well,” he added.

For Paandya, it was no less than a “masterclass, especially for a first-time director like me… watching Anupamji transform his body language and his voice with such ease”.

“He is in complete control of his craft,” added the director.

The movie will release on March 23.

Jackie Shroff’s ‘Shunyata’ wins international award

Mumbai–  Actor Jackie Shroff’s short film “Shunyata” has won an award at Best of India Short Film Festival in Los Angeles, US.

The 22-minute fiction film directed by Chintan Sarda was selected to be in top six from amongst thousands of entries and was played at a theatre in Los Angeles for a ticketed event for a week. An industry based jury then adjudged it the best film, read a statement.

The award ceremony was held at Mack Sennett Studios on March 3. The prize includes a cash prize of $1,000.

“It was an absolute honour to be a part of this film festival and to be hosted in LA by them. Jackie sir and all our talented HODs made this film happen and I am very grateful to all of them,” Sarda said.

“We are overwhelmed by this award and others that the film has managed to garner in the past few months. It shows us that somewhere our efforts to connect to the audience have worked to an extent.

“I am hoping this to be a stepping stone to bigger formats. I am pitching my feature film and original series scripts in Mumbai and hoping to direct a lot more short films in the future too,” he added.

In “Shunyata”, Jackie is seen as hitman Madhur, who leads a gloomy existence with regrets. He is friendly with a child, who lives on the street and sees him getting into the world of crime.

The film was entirely shot at night. It is produced by Sarda and Sunil Khedekar.

Pankaj Tripathi’s ‘Mango Dreams’ to release via Netflix

Mumbai– Pankaj Tripathi’s “Mango Dreams” will release on online streaming app Netflix, and the actor is confident it will fetch a large audience.

Directed by John Upchurch, the film features Pankaj as a Muslim auto rickshaw driver who forms an unlikely friendship with a Hindu doctor (Ram Gopal Bajaj) as they travel through different states in India in search of the doctor’s childhood home.

Pankaj said in a statement: “‘Mango Dreams’ happened out of nowhere. The director reached out to me through an email and I loved what I read. It was an instant ‘yes’ for me.

“The film has been received well at the festivals it has been to so far. I was thrilled and honoured that my work in the film got recognised on international platforms.”

“Mango Dreams” also won Pankaj the best actor award at the Capetown International Film Market and Festival in 2017 and till now has been screened at over 40 international film festivals across the world.

“While it wasn’t able to get a theatrical release, I am delighted that it has been taken by Netflix. The digital platform has a large audience across the world and I am sure this film will touch many hearts around globe,” he added.

The film will release on the platform on Thursday in the UK before being released on the platform in India.

Pankaj will next be seen in Vikas Bahl’s upcoming film “Super 30”, where he will be play the lead antagonist against Hrithik Roshan. The project is about Anand Kumar, the mathematician from Bihar.

Not become a full-time politician: Rajinikanth

Rishikesh– Megastar Rajinikanth on Tuesday said he has still not become a full-time politician and his ongoing spiritual trip to the Himalayas was to “realise oneself”.

“Still I have not become a full-time politician. I have not announced my party. I don’t want to talk anything about politics (now),” he told reporters here at the Dayanand Saraswati Ashram, where he will do meditation for a few days.

Rajinikanth was replying to a question by reporters about barbs by actor-politician Kamal Haasan that he was not speaking up on political issues.

The actor, who has announced that he has entered politics to fill the vacuum in Tamil Nadu’s politics now, arrived here after a short trip to Dharamsala in Himachal Pradesh and a Shiva cave in Jammu.

He said he has come to the Himalayas on a spiritual journey and it has nothing to do with his starting a political party.

“This is not the first time… I have come here many times. Spiritualism is to realise oneself,” he said.

Kumar Sanu’s son wants to bring back melody in songs

Mumbai– Singer Kumar Sanu’s son Jaan, who has recreated the veteran singer’s hit track “Dil mera churaya kyun”, wants to bring back the melody that once ruled Bollywood in new-age songs.

Jaan has recreated his father’s romantic song from director Mansoor Khan’s Aamir Khan-starrer “Akele Hum Akele Tum” for his new single. The video, which released earlier this month features Mr World 2016 Rohit Khandelwal and Femina Miss India International 2011 Ankita Shorey.

The track has till now garnered over 2 million views on YouTube.

“Melody is the soul of a song. My main focus is to bring back the melody in songs, which ruled Bollywood once,” said Jaan, whose father’s romantic songs “Baazigar o baazigar” and “Aankhon ki gustakhiyan” were chartbusters.

Before venturing into Hindi music, Jaan recorded a single in Bengali titled “Chiro dini tumi je amar”, with which he paid a tribute to Kishore Kumar.

SRK’s wax figure to add star power to Madame Tussauds Delhi

New Delhi– Bollywood ‘badshah’ Shah Rukh Khan’s wax figure will add to the star power at Madame Tussauds here on March 23.

This would be the second figure of Shah Rukh to be displayed in his signature pose. His wax figure will be placed besides those of other iconic celebrities in a special interactive zone at the attraction, said a statement.

The first figure was created after sitting was launched in London in 2007.

“Given his massive fan following across the globe, and because he is a popular celebrity and loved by everyone it was a prestigious choice for us to bring Shah Rukh Khan’s figure to Madame Tussauds Delhi,” Anshul Jain, General Manager, and Director, Merlin Entertainments India Pvt Ltd, said in a statement.

“The exciting part of this announcement is that this is his second figure being created specially keeping the Indian fan family/audience/visitors in mind. I truly foresee an exhilarating presence of fans from the world.

“The figure will also enable fans to spend as much time with their favourite megastar without having to travel to Mumbai or to any other part of the world,” Jain added.

Madame Tussauds Delhi is an attraction known for the portrayal of the fascinating world of glamour, sports, history, politics and history under one roof, through planned themed and interactive areas.

Bollywood thriller ‘Woh Kaun Thi?’ to be remade

Mumbai– The 1964 Bollywood classic “Woh Kaun Thi?”, featuring Sadhana and Manoj Kumar, is set to get a remake as its official rights have been acquired by KriArj Entertainment.

The psychological thriller, which was directed by Raj Khosla, had remarkable songs composed by Madan Mohan.

Prernaa Arora and Arjun N Kapoor of KriArj Entertainment are set to remake it as a tribute to Manoj Kumar. It will also feature two iconic songs from the original film — “Naina barse rimjhim” and “Lag ja gale se”, both sung by Lata Mangeshkar.

Prernaa said in a statement: “The minute we acquired the remake rights, we thought of the songs. These two songs form the backbone of ‘Woh Kaun Thi?’. The film cannot be imagined without those songs.

“Also, it is a classic timeless film with the epitome of beauty Sadhanaji, Lataji and the great actor Manoj Kumarji who are true legends. This is a mark of respect and a tribute to them and the kind of films we had in that era.”

Bobby Deol to reunite with Akshay Kumar in ‘Housefull 4’

Mumbai– Actor Bobby Deol is elated to come on board for the fourth instalment of the “Housefull” franchise due to his “Ajnabee” co-star Akshay Kumar’s presence.

Produced by Sajid Nadiadwala, “Houseful 4” will also mark the return of Sajid Khan as the director for the franchise.

“I am really looking forward to collaborate with both the Sajids. I’ve always wanted to work with Sajid Nadiadwala and finally it’s happening,” Bobby said in a statement.

“Akshay and I share a great rapport and it will be fun working with him again. ‘Housefull 4’ is a big franchise and I can’t wait for the film to start,” added the actor, who is busy shooting for “Race 3” in Abu Dhabi.

Bobby has worked with Akshay in four films — “Ajnabee”, “Dosti: Friends Forever”, ” Ab Tumhare Hawale Watan Sathiyo” and “Thank You”.

“Housefull 4” also stars Riteish Deshmukh, and is set for a Diwali 2019 release.

On the other hand, actress Sonakshi Sinha’s spokesperson has refuted all reports claiming that the actress was in talks for the project.

The statement, issued on Tuesday, read: “Sonakshi Sinha surely has many films in the pipeline and every now and then we keep hearing speculations about her signing some film. And one such recent rumour is that the actress is doing ‘Housefull 4’. However, none of this is true.

“Sonakshi will be shooting for ‘Dabangg 3’ around the same time as ‘Housefull 4’ goes on the floors.” (IANS)