Diana Penty: I’m usually not a love story kind of person
Mumbai– Actress Diana Penty, who will next be seen in the romantic drama film “Shiddat”, says she is usually not a “love story kind of person”.
Talking about her next film. Diana told IANS: “‘Shiddat’ is a beautiful story of love and the strong bonds between people. It is pure and intense and also very relatable. I am usually not a love story kind of person, but when I heard the script, it moved me a lot.”
“Shiddat” features Mohit Raina, Radhika Madan and Sunny Kaushal along with Diana, and is directed by Kunal Deshmukh of “Jannat” fame on a script by Shridhar Raghavan and Dheeraj Rattan.
The film, produced by Dinesh Vijan, will reportedly have two parallel tracks, focusing on the journey of two couples. While Radhika stars opposite Sunny, Diana pairs up with Mohit.
“It has been a pleasure working with Mohit, Radhika and Sunny — all such talented artists — as well as Kunal (Deshmukh) who has done a great job bringing this story to life,” she said.
Sonu Nigam’s short film ‘Spotless’ about an acid attack survivor
Mumbai– Singer-actor Sonu Nigam says his short film “Spotless”, which traces the indomitable spirit of an acid attack survivor, is important. He will be soon presenting it on his YouTube channel.
“Spotless” had earlier travelled to film festivals like CKF International Film Festival, International Short Film Festival of India and Buddha International Film Festival.
The Saurabh M. Pandey directorial stars Shweta Rohira along with Sonu.
“‘Spotless’ is an important film because of its sensitive portrayal of a very important issue which unfortunately we as a country still grapple with regularly. We want people to realise what an acid attack can do to a person physically and mentally, so as to hinder anyone who even thinks of attempting this. If this movie can, in any which way, make a difference for the better, I think we’d have achieved our goal,” said Sonu.
The story revolves around a young couple who battle circumstances to come to terms with an incident that shook their world. It throws light on factors like family support and strong will, which are imperative in such unfortunate situations.
Interestingly, Sonu always felt a deep sense of compassion towards acid victims after he had heard of a sound engineer’s daughter falling prey to this heinous crime. The perpetrator is still unpunished. When Pandey approached him for the role, Sonu agreed because he liked the script and was moved by the message of the film.
Varun Dhawan proud of Banita Sandhu
Mumbai– Actor Varun Dhawan has penned a special birthday note for “October” co-star Banita Sandhu.
Varun took to social media and shared a beautiful still from the film, featuring the two actors.
“Happy bday @banitasandhu so proud of ya,” Varun wrote on the picture.
The actress replied to Varun’s post saying “always proud of you”.
On the work front, Banita, who made her debut in Bollywood with the film “October” in 2018, will be seen in the Priscilla Quintana-starrer “Pandora”, a sci-fi action series.
Set in the year 2199, “Pandora” centres on Jax, played by Quintana, a resourceful young woman who has lost everything after the death of her parents but finds a new life at Earth’s Space Training Academy where she and her friends learn to defend the galaxy from threats, both alien and human.
Aditi Rao Hydari’s ‘Sufiyum Sujatayum’ gets release date
Mumbai– Aditi Rao Hydari’s Malayalam movie “Sufiyum Sujatayum”, which is going straight to streaming platform instead of a theatrical release, will release on July 3.
The musical love story stars the southern superstar Jayasurya alongside Aditi. With this film, Aditi is returning to the Malayalam Film industry after a span of 14 years.
The film is shot by cinematographer Anu Moothedath and edited by Deepu Joseph. The music in the film is composed by M. Jayachandran with lyrics penned by Hari Narayan and songs sung by Sudeep Palanad. It premieres on Amazon Prime Video.
“Sufiyum Sujatayum” is among several Bollywood and regional films acquired by Amazon Prime Video for a direct-to-digital release, including the Hindi film “Gulabo Sitabo” starring Amitabh Bachchan and Ayushmann Khurrana, the Tamil-Telugu bilingual “Penguin” starring Keerthy Suresh, and the Tamil film “Pongmagal Vandhal” with actor Jyothika in lead role.
Actress Amrita Rao forgoes rent of her tenants due to lockdown
Mumbai– Bollywood actress Amrita Rao decided to forgo rent of her tenants from March to July, because they are stuck in the lockdown and facing economical crisis.
The actress said: “Some of my tenants are in freelance professions like acting and cinematography. Such professions have no guaranteed monthly income. The pandemic is a dire situation for all and they decided to be safer with their families back home. I feel the situation calls for me to be understanding and help them in my best capacity.”
However, she also mentioned: “Those tenants who have been occupying flats and have not lost their jobs should not use the lockdown as a mere pretext to skip paying dues and harass the landlords unnecessarily, which is also a growing menace during the lockdown.”
Amrita was last seen in the Nawazuddin Siddiqui starrer “Thackeray”.
Radhika Apte’s directorial debut film wins award at international fest
Mumbai– Actress Radhika Apte’s first film as a director, the short film “The Sleepwalkers”, has been declared ‘The Best Midnight Short Award’ at Palms Spring International Short Fest that was held online this year.
“Thank you!! @psfilmfest we are so thrilled to have won the Best Midnight Short at the Palm Spring Festival !!! #Repost @psfilmfest with @get_repost··· The winner of the Best Midnight Short Award is…. “The Sleepwalkers”! Congratulations!,” she posted on her social media.
In a recent interview with IANS, Radhika said: “I enjoyed the process (of direction) a lot. I am excited because, hopefully, people can watch it soon. I hope I get to do more work as a director, maybe, let’s see!”
The short film, starring Shahana Goswami and Gulshan Devaiah, has been written and directed by Radhika, and is centred on the subject of sleepwalking.
On why she took up such a subject, she had said: “What the film is about does not really come across in the trailer, so I can’t really give it away. I started diving last year and that’s where I got the idea.” (IANS)
