Have you heard? Shahid’s new kingly move

Shahid Kapoor and Amit Rai

History continues to fascinate our filmmakers. Even as Laxman Utekar is making Chhaava with Vicky Kaushal playing Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj, we now hear that Shahid Kapoor is in talks with Wakaoo Films for a movie on Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. Even though it has been a while since the producers and the actor began discussing the project, things began to materialise only recently. Interestingly, after a series of conversations, including with OMG 2 (2023) director Amit Rai, Sasha feels that the former is an apt choice to helm the period action drama. While the actor has agreed in principle to star in the film, they will proceed only when they get a studio on board to back the ambitious project. An official announcement will come only after things are signed and sealed. This will be Shahid's second historical drama, after he played Maharawal Ratan Singh in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Padmaavat (2018).

Blame game

It seems director Siddharth Anand hasn't taken kindly to the sub-par performance of his film, Fighter, at the ticket windows. The Hrithik Roshan and Deepika Padukone-starrer, made on a huge budget, has turned out to be a big flop despite crossing R100 crore nett at the domestic box office. In a recent interview, Sid reasoned that the masses didn't connect with the aerial action thriller as 90 per cent of India's population has never travelled by air. "So, how do you expect them to know what's happening in the air? [This] is my dissection. So, they felt that this was a little alien," he explained. Now, that's too much of an elitist comment
to make, no?

Post, delete...

Anushka Sharma and Virat Kohli continue to remain silent even as rumours are rife that they expecting their second child. Interestingly, former South African cricketer and now a commentator, AB De Villiers confirmed the news during a YouTube Live over the weekend, saying, "Yes, his second child is on the way. Yes, it's family time and things are important to him. I think most people's priority is family. You can't judge Virat for that. Yes, we miss him, but he has made the right decision." When the news went viral, De Villiers apparently deleted his post, and predictably, soon enough, he became a butt of memes on social media.

Manoj's large-heartedness

Manoj Bajpayee proved his large-heartedness when he called Kartik Aaryan on stage recently and dedicated his Best Actor Award win for Joram to him. He called Kartik the true representative of all people coming from outside with stars in their eyes and making it big with their sheer talent, resilience and dedication. Thanking him and others who dared to keep knocking on the doors till they opened, Manoj said, "This is also for you, Kartik."

Director kaun?

During the recent 100-day celebration of his Vikrant Massey-starrer 12th Fail (2023), based on Anurag Pathak's book of the same name, director Vidhu Vinod Chopra recalled his surprise on seeing Sachin Tendulkar and Rajkumar Hirani's endorsements of the biography of police officer Manoj Kumar Sharma. Hirani told him to read the book that had potential as a movie. Chopra asked Hirani if he would helm the screen adaptation. The 3 Idiots director replied that he was already writing a movie. He added, "But if I wrote the film, Raju [said he] would direct it." That's when Chopra read the book and was soon inspired to direct the film himself.

Chasing dreams

As the web series Class completed a year of release, actor Ayesha Kanga is gearing up for her new dream on the big screen. Having earned acclaim for her portrayal as the spunky, headstrong and spirited Yashika in the show, she says, "The success of Class and the joy of performance has fuelled my ambition to pursue a career in acting. What began as an exploration in acting with Class has now evolved into a genuine career choice. I hope to continuously improve, refine my skills, and make a mark in the Hindi film industry." An alumnus of National School of Design (NID), Ayesha adds, "The positive feedback and reviews for Class have boosted my confidence in achieving my goals."