Have you heard? Sonam Kapoor and Anand Ahuja buy Mumbai's iconic Rhythm House

Sonam Kapoor

Owner of Rhythm House!

Weeks after her father-in-law purchased a London property for a whopping Rs 231.4 crore, Sonam Kapoor and her husband Anand Ahuja bought Mumbai's iconic music store, Rhythm House, as reported by Bloomberg. The duo's Bhaane Group shelled out Rs 47.8 crore to buy the 3,600-square-foot landmark, which had been shuttered in 2018 after previous owner Nirav Modi defaulted on billions of dollars of bank loans. Modi had bought the iconic music store from the original owners, the Curmallys, in 2017 for Rs 32 crore. It is reported that a spokesperson for Bhaane confirmed the purchase. Rhythm House, established in 1940, once hosted musicians like Pandit Ravi Shankar, Jethro Tull's Ian Anderson, and a bevy of stars. Meanwhile, yesterday, Sonam was also announced as the face of luxury brand Dior, and will represent Dior's womens-wear creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri's collections.

New work

While there is no certainty on whether Indian fans will be able to watch him on the big screens in the country, Fawad Khan is set to feature in two new projects. The ventures were announced at the inaugural Tasveer Film Market (TFM), which was held in Seattle on the sidelines of the 19th Tasveer Film Festival that ran from October 15 to 20. Khan, 42, will feature in Behind the Scenes, a darkly comic newsroom thriller, a press release said. He will also be seen in The Prisoner, a Pakistani episodic series. The show, which will feature the actor in a pivotal role, is adapted from Omar Shahid's best-selling novel of the same name.

Building desi businesses

Perhaps inspired by the attention paid by Indian audiences to the entrepreneurship-based show Shark Tank, producer Goldie Behl is set to make the desi adaptation of the retail reality show, Buy it Now. Known for its innovative format and engaging content, the fast-paced show promises to not only provide Indian inventors with a platform to pitch their creations but also spotlight local creativity. Behl, who is also the husband of Sonali Bendre, is producing the show.

No truth to the rumours

Reports about Jaya Bachchan's mother Indira Bhaduri's death are false, clarified sources close to the Bachchan family. Bhaduri is currently in Bhopal. An official note from Abhishek Bachchan's team has clarified that Indira Bhaduri is well. "Recently, several media reports have claimed that Jaya Bachchan's mother, Indira Bhaduri, has passed away, stating that her son Abhishek Bachchan rushed to Bhopal in response to this tragic news. However, these reports have been confirmed as false," read the note from Bachchan's family, adding that she is "alive and well".

Making a franchise bigger and better

Rohit Shetty and Ajay Devgn have made the Singham franchise "bigger and better" in Hindi, says actor Suriya, who portrayed the titular cop in the original Tamil film series, Singam. After Suriya's 2010 movie was released, Shetty and Devgn joined hands to make its Hindi remake, which was released a year later. The duo has since expanded the franchise into an ambitious copverse, also starring Akshay Kumar and Ranveer Singh. Suriya said, "Everywhere I travel in India, they recognise me, and connect with Singam. They recreated it in Hindi and made it even bigger and better. It only makes you happy when legends give you mutual respect and say, ‘We would want to recreate it.'"

Ektaa to appear before cops?

Filmmaker Ektaa R Kapoor and her mother, Shobha Kapoor, have been asked to appear before Mumbai Police today in connection with a POCSO case registered against them over the alleged obscene portrayal of minor girls in a web series, an official said. A notice had previously been issued to them to face the investigation. ALT Digital Media Entertainment Ltd, meanwhile, stated that references to the engagement of minors by the company are incorrect. According to the statement, issued on behalf of Alt Balaji Telefilm Limited, Shobha and Ektaa are "not involved" in daily operations. Separate teams are involved in content strategy, it said. The FIR was registered in connection with the alleged streaming of inappropriate scenes involving minor girls in an episode of ALT Balaji's web series, Gandi Baat.

Pak actor criticises Kriti's song

Pakistani actor Adnan Siddiqui has accused the makers of Do Patti of "tearing apart" a classic song by Reshma for the upcoming Kajol and Kriti Sanon-starrer. He said the music by the legendary folk singer deserved a more dignified reiteration. For Do Patti, Reshma's popular folk track Akhiyan nu rehan de, has been reimagined as Akhiyaan de kol, a pacey dance number featuring Sanon in a red leather bodysuit. Siddiqui, known for his roles in Pakistani dramas,
shared, "Imitation can be flattering, but not when it means tearing apart a classic by a legend. Please show some respect for Reshma ji and the legacy she left behind. Her music deserves to be treated with the dignity it commands, not reduced to just another sordid rip-off."

Next up soon

Abhishek Bachchan's next, I Want to Talk, which has been directed by filmmaker Shoojit Sircar, is set to hit the big screens on November 22. The makers unveiled the title along with a teaser featuring Bachchan's voice. He is heard saying, "I just don't love to talk; I live to talk. Zinda hone main aur marne main mujhe bas yeh ek basic difference dikhta hai. Zinda log bol paate hai. Mare huye bol nahi paate." The production banner captioned the teaser: "We all know that one person who lives to talk. Here's the story of a man who always looks at the brighter side of life, no matter what life throws at him!" Bachchan was last seen in the sports drama Ghoomer (2023), directed by R Balki.