Getting tough important roles in career is an advantage to every actor. Actress Ridhi Dogra was waiting for a big project to come her way, and she says her wish has come true with the upcoming web show, The Married Woman, which casts her in the title role.
“The biggest reason I said yes to the project was because I was eagerly waiting for an opportunity to showcase that I can carry a big project on my shoulders,” Ridhi told.
“When I heard it is called ‘The Married Woman’ and I would be playing the married woman I did not look left or right. I didn’t think twice. I have been waiting as an actor to just be able to show what I can do,” she added.
The Married Woman is based on author Manju Kapur’s bestseller novel of the same name, and also features Monica Dogra, Imaad Shah, Divya Seth Shah, Nadira Babbar and Suhas Ahuja.
The series has been directed by Sahir Raza and will air on ALTBalaji and ZEE5.
American singer Nick Jonas is a very familiar figure to Bollywood also. Now he has announced his third solo album titled Spaceman. The album with 11 tracks is scheduled to hit the stores on March 12.
Nick will perform the tracks from his album for the first time on the popular show Saturday Night Live, besides hosting the show on February 27. The episode marks his debut as a Saturday Night Live host and this will be his second time performing solo as a musical guest, beyond performing with the Jonas Brothers.
Nick, who is married to Bollywood actress Priyanka Chopra Jonas, is also set to return as a coach on NBC’s The Voice, which premieres on March 1. He will also appear in the upcoming film Chaos Walking, scheduled to release March 5.
Hema Malini is one of the most successful actresses of Indian cinema history. She will always be remembered for her role of Basanti in the evergreen blockbuster Sholay. The actress says it is one of the most challenging role she has ever shot for.
“”Sholay’ is a cult movie but I must add that it was one of the toughest roles I had done because of various conditions.
I was shooting barefoot, and that too in Bangalore, in the month of May. The floor was always very hot and walking barefoot was very tough especially if you are shooting in the afternoon.
Weather conditions made the shooting a little difficult than normal but, overall, the experience of shooting with everyone will always be cherished by me,” she said.
The actor recalled the experience on an episode of the singing-based-reality show Indian Idol 12, when she was asked to recount her experience of shooting Sholay.
The 1975 blockbuster was directed by Ramesh Sippy, and produced by his father GP Sippy. Besides Hema, the film featured Dharmendra and Amitabh Bachchan as Veeru and Jai, and Amjad Khan as the iconic Gabbar Singh.
Ramesh Sippy recalling the experience
The film was released on Independence Day 1975. Looking back, Sippy has an interesting anecdote.
“I spoke to a theatre owner in south Mumbai after the film released at the box office, and he showed me the popcorn and refreshments counter and said look, it’s empty. At first, that upset me a little because I thought my film wasn’t doing well and that’s why there were no people at these counters.
But then, he told me that all the audience was glued to their seats inside the theatre, and they didn’t want to leave the hall. That is how capturing the film was. I couldn’t have been happier!” he recalled.
“A lot of technological advancements were done way back then, be it the action sequence, or the editing or the way the film was shot. Hence people enjoy Sholay’ even today,” Sippy noted.
Hema Malini, who played Basanti, said: “Before we started shooting, I was told that there is a dance sequence where my character would be dancing on glass on a rough mountain. The shoot took place over the month of April when it is extremely hot. I remember Ramesh ji being very particular about it, but that sequence went on to become an epic.”
John Abraham will soon be seen on screen with Emraan Hashmi in the film Mumbai Saga. John says he has always been fond of Emraan and would want to work more with him in future.
Co-actors can bring positivity and good mood in persons and in location when the whole crew is committed to a project. “Emraan is very intense. He is a very good human being and for me, that is the most important thing. I would like to work with him again because not only am I a fan of his as an actor, but even as a human being, he is absolutely fantastic. The way he has done his role and his job in this film, it is absolutely outstanding. I’m very happy and fortunate to have worked with him,” John said, at the trailer launch of the film on Friday.
John also shared an amusing anecdote.
“Once I remember driving from Chandigarh to Delhi and I was looking for songs to play. The only songs I found were Emraan Hashmi volume one and volume two! I realised that Emraan has got the most number of hit songs — more than all other heroes put together in this industry,” said John.
The Sanjay Gupta directorial Mumbai Saga is set to release in theatres on April 19.
Darlings is pitched as a quirky story about a mother-daughter duo.
Bollywood actress Alia Bhatt says she is “thrilled” to co-produce her upcoming starrer “Darlings” under her brand new banner Eternal Sunshine Productions along with Shah Rukh Khans Red Chillies Entertainment.
The film, which marks Alia’s debut as producer, is a mother-daughter relationship story that features Alia alongside Shefali Shah. The film also features Vijay Varma and Roshan Mathew.
“I am really excited to be part of Darlings; it’s a powerful story with a lot of humour and doses of dark comedy. I am thrilled to have Darlings as my first film as producer, that too in collaboration with my favourite, Shah Rukh Khan and Red Chillies,” Alia says.
“Darlings” is also director Jasmeet K Reen’s first venture. “With the brilliant Alia and Shefali portraying the mother-daughter duo, along with exceptionally talented Vijay (Varma) and Roshan (Mathew) we have a dream cast and the perfect ‘partners in crime’ if I can call them that. We couldn’t have asked for anything more and now I can’t wait to get on the floor!,” says Jasmeet, who has also written the film along with Parveez Sheikh.
The film is a dark comedy set against a lower middle class neighbourhood in Mumbai. The story follows the lives of a mother-daughter duo as they navigate through crazy circumstances.
‘Eternal Sunshine’
Actress Alia Bhatt has launched her production house Eternal Sunshine Productions. She has posted her company’s logo on Instagram along with the official announcement.
“And I am so happy to announce… PRODUCTION! Eternal Sunshine Productions. Let us tell you tales. Happy tales. Warm and fuzzy tales. Real tales. Timeless tales,” she wrote on Sunday night.
Alia Bhatt’s sister Shaheen too posted about the production house on her Instagram page.
The news about Alia’s production house has been doing rounds since 2019 but nothing official was said about it so far.
Alia will soon be seen in filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s “Gangubai Kathiawadi” and also has “Brahmastra”, “RRR” and “Darlings” lined up over the next months.
‘Bhediya’ is slated to release in cinemas on April 14, 2022.
Over the past seven-odd years, Kriti has been noticed for her roles, particularly “Dilwale”, “Raabta”, Bareilly Ki Barfi”, “Luka Chuppi”, and “Panipat”…writes Yashika Mathur.
Kriti is busy with her latest horror comedy “Bhediya” shoot along with Varun Dhawan. Actress Kriti Sanon has a packed year ahead, with five films scheduled to release. Her projects are at different stages of production, boast of either big production houses or new genre or high expectation from fans owing to commercial value.
Over the next few months, she will be seen in “Bachchan Pandey”, “Mimi”, “Adipurush”, “Bhediya” and “Ganpath”. The varied assortment, you would think, would weigh her down with pressure. The actress has no time for pressure, or be scared.
“I don’t think you can be scared and cautious and still move ahead in your career. Fear pulls you back. Once I know why I am doing a project, there is no fear. You like the film, the storyline, the scene. You know you are doing something slightly different. Ok, it can be experimental but that’s your reason for doing it then,” Kriti told.
“I believe in all the films I am doing right now. Beyond that, my job is to do my part really well and work hard for it. The rest is not really in my hands. I don’t want to take the pressure of ‘oh what if this goes wrong?’ I would rather think.’ what if all of them go right!'” shared the actress, who had made her Bollywood debut with 2014 film “Heropanti”.
Over the past seven-odd years, Kriti has been noticed for her roles, particularly “Dilwale”, “Raabta”, Bareilly Ki Barfi”, “Luka Chuppi”, and “Panipat”.
New Projects
Her upcoming films are a mixed bag, too. “Mimi”, a heroine-centric film about surrogacy, has particularly drawn interest. While she wants to do more such films, she would prefer to balance it with every other kind of films. So, “Bachchan Pandey” is a commercial entertainer co-starring Akshay Kumar. “Bhediya” takes her to the zone of supernatural horror with Varun Dhawan. In “Ganpath”, co-starring Tiger Shroff she engages in heavy-duty action. “Hum Do Hamare Do” co-stars Rajkummar Rao and is a social comedy drama. “Adipurush is a historical action drama with Prabhas and Saif Ali Khan.
“Would I love to do more such films (as ‘Mimi’)? Yes I would. But would I be looking for only this? No. I feel for me it’s not only about what I am doing, it is about a project that really excites you.
I feel like you have to really go beyond how many scenes I have and go more into how good the character is. Is it doing something to the film and I feel like as an actor, I want to explore more and do all kinds of films. I want to do smaller roles, which are very impactful as characters,” said the actress.
However, Kriti does specify that “if it’s just two scenes and two songs and if those are cut out from the film and the story remains the same, then that’s not exciting. Your character is pivotal. As an actor I am very greedy and I know that I would always balance it out. So, I want to do everything”.
Bollywood actress Sonakshi Sinha took to Instagram on Wednesday to announce her next project. The actress will be seen in Bulbul Tarang, which will have an OTT release.
The actress posted a picture of herself where she is dressed in a blue salwaar kameez. She captioned the picture saying: “Meet Bulbul… A girl out to make her dream come true.? thrilled to announce my next film #BulbulTarang streaming soon on @netflix_in. #AbMenuMeinSabNew @tahirrajbhasin @reliance.entertainment #ShreeNarayanSingh #ArshadSayeed @sarkarshibasish.”
The film has been directed by Shree Narayan Singh and is said to be inspired by a true story. The film also features Raj Babbar and Tahir Raj Bhasin.
Meanwhile, Sonakshi, who is known for her role in the Dabangg series, Lootera, Akira and Mission Mangal, is gearing up her next release Bhuj: The Pride Of India.
Besides Sonakshi, the film will also feature Ajay Devgn, Sanjay Dutt, Sharad Kelkar, Ammy Virk, Pranitha Subhash and Nora Fatehi. The story is set against the backdrop of the Indo-Pak war of 1971.
The Battle Of Bhima Koregaon is a film set between 1795 and 1818 that features Arjun Rampal as a Mahar warrior.
The historical drama “The Battle Of Bhima Koregaon” has been announced for a theatrical release on September 17. The Ramesh Thete directorial features Arjun Rampal as the warrior Sidhnak Mahar Inamdar and Sunny Leone as a spy who doubles as a courtesan.
The film takes the audience back to the era of the Peshwa regime in Maharashtra two centuries ago. Celebrated art director Nitin Desai will recreate the period.
Director Thete, who has also produced the film, shared: “We are very positive about the outcome and have worked extensively on innovating the marketing and distribution space. September serves better as it initiates the entire festive season ahead.”
The historical drama also stars Digangana Suryavanshi, Govind Namdev, Ashok Samarth, Milind Gunaji, Krushna Abhishek, Abhimanyu Singh and newcomer Rishi Sharma in key roles.
For actors, getting vibrant roles is more relevant than doing large number of roles in career. Actress Shamita Shetty wants to try roles that are more realistic. She says she has never never tried something that is devoid of glamour.
Shamita had a roaring start in Bollywood with the multistarrer blockbuster “Mohabbatein” in 2000. She was then seen in films such as “Cash”, “Zeher”, “Fareb” and “Bewafaa” among others. Two decades later, she was seen in the web series “Black Widows”, which was released in 2020.
“I am yearning for characters I have not done before. Characters that give me an opportunity to do something… I have to actually work on it. To become that character. I like stuff that are different from my personality. So, that makes it a little more challenging,” she told.
She says there is a lot in terms of acting she wants to try her luck in.
“There is so much more to do out there. I have never tried something that is a little devoid of glamour. I would like to do something a little more realistic. There is so much I want to try out.”
