Have you heard? Khiladi and his new Anari

Emraan Hashmi and Akshay Kumar

mid-day had reported that Akshay Kumar and Emraan Hashmi will shoot a special song for their film, Selfiee (A special song to end the film, August 3). Sharing a picture from the set, Emraan wrote, "28 years after the original. The OG Khiladi with the new Anari. This stare-down led to a dance-off. And what a dance-off it was. (Haven't stopped icing my feet ever since)." It turns out the two actors will be seen dancing to the new version of Main Khiladi Tu Anari's title track. Incidentally, Emmi's post came two days after Akshay wished Saif Ali Khan on his 52nd birthday on Tuesday, along with a video from his rehearsal for the shoot of their 1994 hit song.

Heroine wanted!

Even as director Shashank Khaitan was planning to begin filming Screw Dheela with Tiger Shroff and Rashmika Mandanna in Portugal in September, we hear the movie has hit a roadblock. Sources tell us that owing to her busy date diary, Rashmika is opting out of the Karan Johar production. Having already committed her dates over the next few months to Animal with Ranbir Kapoor, Pushpa sequel with Allu Arjun, and Varisu with Thalapathy Vijay, she couldn't accommodate the action drama in her choc-a-block schedule. In the wake of her sudden exit, Shashank is keen to rope in his Bedhadak heroine, Shanaya Kapoor. Apparently, he feels a moral responsibility towards her after her debut movie got deferred to early 2023. However, sources claim Tiger is keen on getting Janhvi Kapoor on board, instead of teaming up with a debutante. Interestingly, in this stalemate between Shashank and Tiger, producer KJo is said to have reiterated his faith in his director and assured him of backing his decision. Now, it remains to be seen who will be finally signed on to play Tiger's heroine.

Also Read: Have you heard? Mythological on track

Going global with the sequel

Over three years since his last directorial venture, Lucifer, Prithviraj Sukumaran is gearing up for a sequel. Titled L2: Empuraan, the political action thriller sees the actor-fimmaker reunite with Mohanlal after this year's Bro Daddy. What makes their new film interesting is that it is being planned as a global offering and being made on a whopping budget of R400 crore. Buoyed by the success of the 2019 hit, Prithviraj and his team are looking to make L2 a global release, as is being planned for director Nag Ashwin's Project K with Prabhas, Amitabh Bachchan and Deepika Padukone. Sources from the south tell us that the scripting is complete and pre-production is underway. Shooting for L2 is slated to start later this year.

Jessica roots for Aamir's film

Aamir Khan's latest offering, Laal Singh Chaddha, hasn't performed as well commercially as it was expected to. Nonetheless, the actor's adaptation of Forrest Gump, Tom Hanks's 1994 hit that bagged six Oscar awards, continues to wow film aficionados. Among the many impressed with Aamir's newest release is British journalist Jessica Hines, who reportedly shared a great equation with him at one point. Taking to Twitter, she wrote, "So, for what it is worth, popping my head above the parapet here, I enjoyed Laal Singh Chaddha and found much to love in it - I have a lot of problems with the original film - but I thought it worked really well, a lot of heart, soul and love." Tagging Aamir's production house, she concluded her tweet, saying, "Go see it, everyone."

Play Quiz: https://www.mid-day.com/timepass/quiz/-Dahi-Handi--special-Bollywood-quiz-43

Chiranjeevi's b'day gift

To mark Chiranjeevi's 67th birthday on August 22, the makers of Godfather will release its teaser. An official Telugu remake of the 2019 Malayalam hit, Lucifer, the political action thriller sees Chiranjeevi sport a salt-and-pepper look for the first time in his acting career. What makes Godfather interesting is that it also features Salman Khan in a special role. Also starring Nayanthara, the film is slated to release this Dussehra.

On Puri's wish list

Puri Jagannadh, who is gearing up for the release of Liger, recently revealed that he has a script for Salman Khan. Even though they haven't worked together, their association goes back over 12 years. Salman's 2009 hit Wanted, which changed the course of his career, was a remake of Puri's Pokiri (2006) with Mahesh Babu playing the undercover cop. "I have been trying to make a film with Salman sir since the release of Wanted. I love him and I hope I get the chance to direct him one day," Puri has said. The filmmaker, who teams up with Vijay Deverakonda again for his next, Jana Gana Mana, is said to have a 10-year plan, and wishes to work with several Bollywood actors. Interestingly, his 2006 hit, Temper, with Junior NTR, served as the inspiration for Rohit Shetty's Simmba with Ranveer Singh. Puri added, "I want to work with Ranbir Kapoor, Ranveer and Varun Dhawan. I love all the Khans, but I want to do a film with Salman sir."

New jodi on screen

Dhairya Karwa has bagged another film as the lead actor. Like his last offering, Gehraiyaan, his next too is being produced by Karan Johar. The yet-untitled movie is a romantic drama and Sanya Malhotra has reportedly been signed on as his leading lady. Incidentally, she has also collaborated with KJo before, for Meenakshi Sundareshwar (2021), co-starring Abhimanyu Dassani. While it is not yet known which Dharma protégé will helm this love story, we hear the movie is slated to go on floors later this year.

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