Have you heard? Varun nahin, Sid sahi

Sidharth Malhotra, Sree Leela and Varun Dhawan

Varun nahin, Sid sahi

Earlier this month, rumours were rife that Sree Leela had opted out of Varun Dhawan's next, being helmed by his director-father David Dhawan. While producer Ramesh Taurani clarified that they are still in the process of finalising the cast and the question of anyone exiting doesn't arise, Sree has bagged a movie opposite the other Student of the Year (2012) actor. The south sensation is said to have been signed on for Sidharth Malhotra's next with director Balwinder Singh Janjua. Sree is slated to begin shooting for the movie, titled Mitti, in October. The actor was looking for a strong role to foray into Hindi cinema. When she heard the script and her character graph, she gave her nod instantly. As per the requirement of the script, a major chunk of the action drama will be shot during the winter in the north of India. The makers will decide on the release date after wrapping up the filming. Last seen opposite Mahesh Babu in Guntur Kaaram, Sree is also said to have Dinesh Vijan's Diler with Ibrahim Ali Khan in the pipeline.

One more film from Salim-Javed

As the trailer launch of Angry Young Men - the docuseries on veteran writers Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar, was about to end - the latter said, "Let me tell you that we are going to write now. I spoke to Salim saab and we have decided that ek aur picture likh dete hai." When Salman Khan quoted their yesteryear dialogue, "Line yahan se shuru hoti hai," Javed remarked, "Uss zamane mein hamari price zyada thi. Iss zamane mein toh bahut hi zyada hogi!"

Mind the Bachchan rekha

The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) recently mandated changes to Ravi Teja's Telugu film Mr Bachchan, which releases today. One important aspect of this directive was replacing a poster featuring Amitabh Bachchan and Rekha, with another of the cinema legend with wife-actor Jaya Bachchan. After the makers incorporated the recommended modifications and added a disclaimer that the film is a work of fiction and bears no resemblance to any real person or place, they were issued a U/A certificate. Mr Bachchan is adapted from Ajay Devgn's Raid (2018).

Heading West

Abhay Deol is set to begin his international movie, Don't You Be My Neighbor, opposite Elvis (2022) actor Natasha Basset. Sharing the news on social media he wrote, "Very excited to announce this project, this script took me back to the late '80s and early '90s era of the rom-com. Excited to work with the lovely and talented Natasha Bassett and director Harry Grewal (sic)." The film revolves around the unexpected relationship between Jay (Abhay) and Emily (Natasha), who have contrasting views on love and life. They are scheduled to begin filming next month around Seattle in the US.

Of box-office clash and kalesh

The three-way box-office clash of Stree 2, Vedaa and Khel Khel Mein had its own share of drama behind the scenes. Two days ago, the advance bookings in single-screen theatres had not opened due to the respective distributors' fights for more screens and shows. Apparently, distributors of Rajkummar Rao and Shraddha Kapoor's horror comedy were asking for all the shows, but cinema owners were reluctant to rub the makers of Akshay Kumar and John Abraham's films the wrong way. Questioning the wisdom of the makers to release the three films simultaneously, one theatre owner admitted, "Because of their desire to cash in on the long holiday weekend, we are having a tough time in programming."

Making his Kannada debut

Akshay Oberoi has joined the cast of Yash's much-anticipated film Toxic: A Fairy Tale for Grown-Ups. The Fighter actor confirmed the buzz after sharing a picture of the welcome note from the makers of Geetu Mohandas' directorial venture, which revolves around the drug mafia. Sources claim that Akshay flew to Bengaluru earlier this week and has begun shooting for the Kannada film that is being planned as a pan-India outing. Toxic has been in the news ever since its announcement. Another source tells that Akshay's character shares an interesting dynamic with Yash's character. Besides this big-budget action thriller, Akshay has Karan Johar's Sunny Sanskari Ki Tulsi Kumari, also starring Varun Dhawan and Janhvi Kapoor, with director Shashank Khaitan at the helm.

Trying to end legal wrangle

Jacqueliene Fernandez has sought the quashing of the money laundering case chargesheet against her. The Delhi High Court has reportedly asked the parties to file important documents. The matter has been listed for September 18. Over the last couple of years, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has summoned Jacqueliene for about six rounds of questioning in the alleged case of cheating some high-profile people for an amount of R200 crore. The ED noted that conman Sukesh Chandrasekhar used the proceeds of the crime to purchase gifts for the actor. Earlier this week, it was reported that he had gifted her a yacht for her birthday. During Jacqueliene's last plea, the probe agency maintained that "she wiped out the entire data from her mobile phone after the arrest of Sukesh, thereby tampering with the evidence. Evidence proves beyond doubt that she had been enjoying, using, and is in possession of the proceeds of crime."