Acclaimed Marathi and Hindi actor Upendra Limaye is the latest addition to the cast of Madgaon Express, which marks the directorial debut of actor Kunal Kemmu.

The actor, who was last seen in Animal as weapons contractor Freddy Wilfred Patil, joins previously announced cast members Pratik Gandhi, Divyenndu, Avinash Tiwary and Nora Fatehi.

In a press note issued on Sunday, production banner Excel Entertainment said Limaye will play the role of Mendoza Bhai in the upcoming comedy.

Madgaon Express follows the journey of three childhood friends played by Gandhi, Divyenndu and Tiwary who embark on a trip to Goa that goes completely off-track.

Also written by Kunal, the movie is set to hit theatres on March 22.

A new poster of Adah Sharma’s character from Bastar: The Naxal Story was unveiled by the makers on Sunday. The political action thriller is directed and produced by The Kerala Story duo: Sudipto Sen and Vipul Amrutlal Shah, respectively.

Adah plays IPS officer Neerja Madhavan in the film. In the new poster, her two avatars are shown: one in khaki and the other in combat overalls. “Duty or Pledge: Committed till the end, relentless in the fight against Naxals,” reads the caption.

Earlier, three posters and two teasers of the film have been released. Bastar: The Naxal Story is produced by Vipul Amrutlal Shah’s Sunshine Pictures. It is written by Amarnath Jha, Sudipto Sen and Vipul, who also serves as the creative director of the film.

The film’s trailer will be unveiled on March 5. Co-produced by Aashin A Shah and Ravichand Nallappa and shot by Ragul Herian Dharuman and edited by Dev Rao Jadhav, Bastar: The Naxal Story is set to hit theatres on March 15.

 

 

 

 

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The first look video from Kunal Khemu’s Madgaon Express was released by the makers on Friday. It features Pratik Gandhi and Divyenndu Sharma wearing a saree. It also stars Avinash Tiwary, Nora Fatehi, Upendra Limaye, and Chhaya Kadam in pivotal roles.

The video features Pratik, Divyenndu, and Avinash as they take a journey to Goa, and things go wrong in between. They are seen enjoying their time on the beach and running hastily on a railway station where Pratik and Divyenndu wear a saree. Sharing the video, the makers wrote, “All aboard Madgaon Express: Where chaos is the only baggage allowed.”

As per a source close to the project, the film is touted as a comic entertainer. "The makers and Kunal Kemmu are sparing no effort to ensure Madgaon Express is a riot of fun and entertainment. The film is set to deliver levels of craziness beyond imagination.”

The source added, "The scenes featuring Partik and Divyenndu in sarees are sure to take the audience on a laughter-filled ride, with whistles being the soundtrack."

Produced by Ritesh Sidhwani and Farhan Akhtar under the Excel Entertainment banner, Madgaon Express is scheduled to hit theatres on March 22.

 

 

 

 

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The characters of Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s upcoming courtesan-drama Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar was unveiled by the makers recently. The series stars Sonakshi Sinha, Manisha Koirala, Richa Chadha, Sanjeeda Sheikh, Sharmin Segal and Aditi Rao Hydari.

At the poster unveiling event, Sonakshi spoke about her experience of working with Manisha. “The cliche answer would be I loved working with her,” said Sonakshi, adding that she learnt a lot by just looking at the way the veteran actor conducted herself. “It was a pleasure being in one frame with her and I hope I can do it again really soon,” she added.

Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar is set in pre-independent India against the backdrop of the freedom movement and is an epic saga of love, power, betrayal, struggle and, ultimately, freedom. The series marks the debut of Bhansali on OTT. It will stream soon on Netflix. 

A motion poster of the upcoming film, Love Sex Aur Dhokha 2 was released by the makers on Thursday. The poster gives a glimpse into the world of the film which tackles relationships in the modern era. The film is directed by Dibakar Banerjee.

The poster is filled with social media icons all over that lead to the image of lips. There is a figure of a woman lying in between as the background music gives an overall edgy feeling. Sharing the poster, the makers wrote, “Today is the leap day of the leap year. You can jump to conclusions! #LoveSexAurDhokha2 in cinemas on 19th April.”

Love Sex aur Dhokha was released back in 2010 and starred Rajkumar Rao, Anshuman Jha and Nushrratt Bharuccha. It featured three different but related stories of an honour killing, an MMS scandal and a sting operation. The film received positive reviews after its release.

LSD 2 is presented by Balaji Motion Pictures, a division of Balaji Telefilms, and Cult Movies. It is produced by Ektaa R Kapoor and Shobha Kapoor and will be released in theatres on April 19.

 

 

 

 

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The song ‘Aisa Main Shaitaan’ from the upcoming horror film Shaitaan was released by the makers on Thursday. The film is directed by Vikas Bahl and stars Ajay Devgn, Jyothika, R. Madhavan, Janki Bodiwala, and Anngad Raaj in pivotal roles. It is based on an original story written by Krishnadev Yagnik, with a screenplay written by Aamil Keeyan Khan.

Composed by  Amit Trivedi, 'Aisha Main Shaitaan' is crooned by Raftaar. With lyrics by Kumaar, the song features a scary battle between Ajay and Madhavan as the former tries to save his daughter from the latter's hypnotism. 

Shaitaan is produced by Ajay Devgn, Jyoti Deshpande, Kumar Mangat Pathak, and Abhishek Pathak. The film is set to release in theatres on March 8.

The character posters from Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s upcoming web series Heeramandi were released by the makers on Friday. The series stars Manisha Koirala, Sonakshi Sinha, Aditi Rao Hydari, Richa Chadha, Sanjeeda Sheikh and Sharmin Segal.

Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar is set in pre-independent India against the backdrop of the freedom movement and is an epic saga of love, power, betrayal, struggle and, ultimately, freedom. 

Speaking about the series, Prerna Singh, CEO at Bhansali Productions, said, “As makers, the aspect of storytelling which we enjoy the most is being able to portray characters that are profound and flawed in their own way, and have viewers empathize with them regardless. Very soon, the doors to Heeramandi will open to one and all, and you will get to see the magic that Sanjay Leela Bhansali has created with the show.”

In a Bazaar full of diamonds, she shines the brightest 
Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar is coming soon, only on Netflix!#Heeramandi #HeeramandiOnNetflix #NextOnNetflixIndia pic.twitter.com/YSAEB3ldng

— Netflix India (@NetflixIndia) February 29, 2024

The Railway Men actor Sunny Hinduja is all set to make his Malayalam debut with the film Hello Mummy. He will start shooting for the film in the first week of March in Kochi. Hello Mummy is written by Sanjo Joseph and directed by Vaishakh Elans and also stars Aishwarya Lekshmi and Sharafudeen in pivotal roles.

Speaking about this, Sunny said in a press release, "I aspire to explore diverse genres of cinema and extend my reach to regional languages across India. Eventually, I aim to venture into international cinema, but I believe in commencing my journey from India.”

He further added, “I embraced this project with enthusiasm, recognising the rich content-driven nature of Malayalam cinema. Malayalam films often engage in meaningful dialogues, which I deeply admire.”

Further details regarding Hello Mummy are awaited.

Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh took to Instagram to announce that they are expecting their first child. The two got married in 2018 after being together for a few years.

The post shared by the two has some symbols that point to them becoming parents soon. Deepika is in her second month of pregnancy currently and they announced the month of delivery to be September. 

Deepika was last seen in Siddharth Anand’s Fighter where she essayed the role of a pilot. Meanwhile, Ranveer’s last release was the Karan Johar film, Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani. Both of them will be seen this year in Singham Again directed by Rohit Shetty.

 

 

 

 

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Actor Mahima Makwana opened up about working on the upcoming web series Showtime. She spoke about the challenges she faced during the shooting of the show, which is created by Sumit Roy, with Mihir Desai serving as the showrunner. Mihir has also directed the show with Archit Kumar. Showtime stars Emraan Hashmi, Mouni Roy, Rajeev Khandelwal, Shriya Saran, Vishal Vashishtha, Neeraj Madhav, Vijay Raaz, and Naseeruddin Shah in pivotal roles.

Talking about the shooting process of the show, Mahima said, “Honestly, every day was a challenge, we didn't really go linear with the approach. When it came to the shooting process, we shot snippets from different episodes on day 1. I was pushed into the corner just like Mahika was and I assumed that probably we will have a slow-paced start, but that never really happened.”

She added, “I was continuously on my toes with a new series and the OTT set up. Being the protagonist of the show, you have the responsibility on your shoulder, so every day was a challenge. We would shoot 7 scenes a day and as I am there in all the scenes, I didn't really get the time to prepare for the role.”

Showtime is produced by Karan Johar’s Dharmatic Entertainment, a digital extension of Dharma Productions. It is scheduled to release on Disney+ Hotstar on March 8.

A new song ‘Mast Malang Jhoom’ from Ali Abbas Zafar’s Bade Miyan Chote Miyan was released by the makers on Wednesday. It features Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff and Sonakshi Sinha in a party groove. The film also stars Prithviraj Sukumaran, Manushi Chillar and Alaya F in pivotal roles.

The song opens with Tiger dancing through as the music begins. Akshay joins him as the vocals by Vishal Mishra and Arijit Singh come together. It gives an upbeat celebratory feeling as Sonakshi comes with her moves later. Nikhita Gandhi has given the vocals for Sonakshi and the song is composed by Vishal Mishra with lyrics by Irshad Kamil.

Bade Miyan Chote Miyan is presented by Vashu Bhagnani and Pooja Entertainment in association with AAZ films. It is produced by Vashu Bhagnani, Deepshikha Deshmukh, Jackky Bhagnani, Himanshu Kishan Mehra and Ali Abbas Zafar. The film is slated to release on Eid, 2024. 

Arjun Kapoor opened up recently about playing a negative role in films. His look from Rohit Shetty’s Singham Again was unveiled earlier which introduced him as the villain in the film. Arjun said that he owes it to Aditya Chopra & Rohit Shetty for believing in him to essay negative roles.

Arjun said, “I started my career in the industry by playing characters with negative shades like Ishaqzaade (2012), and Aurungzeb (2013) and after all these years, here I am, playing a villain in Singham Again While Aditya Chopra saw it in me to play characters that are flawed then, now, I am thankful to Rohit Shetty for having the belief that I could play an out and out villain in his Cop Universe film.”

He added, “I have always wanted to experiment on screen and give audiences something different to look at. So, playing an arch-enemy of the cops in Singham Again was a thrilling opportunity for me.”

Singham Again also stars Ajay Devgn, Ranveer Singh, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Deepika Padukone, Akshay Kumar and Tiger Shroff in pivotal roles. It is set to hit the screens on August 15.

Director Sandeep Reddy Vanga is set to launch the trailer of the upcoming film Dukaan on February 28, the makers announced on Tuesday. The film marks the directorial debut of the writer duo Siddharth-Garima, who have also written its screenplay and lyrics. Dukaan stars Monika Panwar, Sikandar Kher, Soham Majumdar, Monali Thakur, and Vrajesh Hirjee in pivotal roles.

Siddharth Singh and Garima Wahal are best known for working as writers on the film Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela (2013), Batti Gul Meter Chalu (2018), and Raabta (2017). Notably, they have worked with Sandeep Reddy Vanga in the past for Kabir Singh (2019), where they served as co-writers, and Animal where they penned the lyrics.

Dukaan is produced by A Jhunjhunwala, SK Ahluwalia, and Siddharth-Garima.

Richa Chadha and Ali Fazal announced six films as producers on Monday. under their production house, Pushing Buttons Studios, they have a planned diverse lineup of projects. Earlier, their debut production, Girls Will Be Girls had its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival, where it secured the Audience Choice Award for Best Film and the Jury Award for Best Actor, presented to lead actress Preeti Panigrahi.

Apart from Girls Will Be Girls, which is directed by Shuchi Talati, the actors revealed their upcoming ventures which include an adult animated film Doggie Stylez helmed by Ashutosh Pathak; a documentary, RiAlity which follows the inside story of Richa and Ali’s wedding; a fantasy drama titled Miss Palmoliv All Night Cabaret which is directed by Kamal Swaroop. It also includes a musical comedy Pinky Promise which is written by Amitosh Nagpal and Papita, directed by Akash Bhatia, which tells the story of a paparazzi photographer in Mumbai who captures a moment involving a celebrity that alters his life and career.

Expressing her enthusiasm for the upcoming projects Richa said in a press release, "We are driven by a passion for storytelling and a commitment to bring fresh, diverse narratives to the forefront. The success of Girls Will Be Girls at Sundance has fuelled our determination to continue pushing creative boundaries."

Ali added in the press note, "Pushing Buttons Studios is not just a production house; it's a platform for artists to collaborate, experiment, and create memorable experiences for audiences. We are excited about the diverse range of projects in our pipeline."

Imtiaz Ali’s Amar Singh Chamkila now has a release date. The Diljit Dosanjh and Parineeti Chopra starrer will premiere on Netflix on April 12.

Netflix made the announcement by sharing a video on its social media pages. “Maahaul bann jaata tha jab vo chedta tha saaz, kuch aisa hi tha Chamkila ka Andaaz,” they captioned the post.

The film’s music has been composed by AR Rahman with lyrics by Irshad Kamil.

Amar Singh Chamkila is a biopic of the titular Punjabi musician, who, along with his wife Amarjot Kaur, was assassinated in 1988. While Diljit will play the role of Amar Singh, Parineeti will essay the role of Amarjot in the film. For the unversed, Amar Singh was a songwriter, musician, and composer. Hailing from Punjab, he became popular with the stage name Chamkila and was regarded as one of the best performers from Punjab. His songs were a commentary on Punjab and its culture. His best-known hits include ‘Takue Te Takua’, and ‘Pehle Lalkare Naal’ among others.

Chamkila and his wife Amarjot were brutally gunned down along with two members of his band on March 8, 1988. No arrests were made at the time and the case has been unsolved to date.

 

 

 

 

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The Indian Film Festival of Melbourne (IFFM) recently announced the commencement of the second edition of the IFFM Summer Festival. The event will take place from February 29 to March 2 and Kiran Rao’s Laapataa Ladies will be the opening film at the festival.

Expressing her excitement over Laapataa Ladies being selected as the opening film, Kiran said, “I am absolutely delighted and would like to convey my heartfelt gratitude to the festival. I hope the Melbourne audience enjoys the film, and that I get to visit this great city in person soon.”

Festival Director Mitu Bhowmick added, "The festival’s summer edition this year will have Laapataa Ladies as the opening film, directed by the talented Kiran Rao. We are thrilled to kickstart our latest venture with Kiran’s nuanced film of layered human relationships.”

Starring Sparsh Shrivastav, Nitanshi Goel, Pratibha Ranta, Ravi Kishan and Chhaya Kadam in pivotal roles, Laapataa Ladies is based on a story by Biplab Goswami, and the screenplay and dialogues are written by Sneha Desai. The film’s additional dialogues have been penned by Divyanidhi Sharma. It is slated to release in India on March 1.

Tabu recently wrapped up the shoot of her upcoming comedy film Crew. Directed by Rajesh A Krishnan and written by Nidhi Mehra and Mehul Suri, the film also stars Kareena Kapoor Khan and Kriti Sanon.

Tabu took to social media on Sunday to share photos of two cakes and announced her wrap for the film. "Wrap time...cake time #crew @rheakapoor @rajoosworld @farahkhankunder,” she captioned the post.

On Saturday, the first teaser of the film was released. According to the makers, Crew is a story of three ordinary air hostesses from Mumbai who embark on a journey to pursue their dreams but find themselves caught up in unexpected misfortunes. It is produced by Shobha Kapoor, Anil Kapoor, Ektaa R. Kapoor and Rhea Kapoor. It will be released in theatres on March 29.

Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Gangubai Kathiawadi completed two years since its release today. On the occasion, Bhansali Productions took to social media to share a video with snippets that defined the essence of the film.

Starring Alia Bhatt, Jim Sarbh and Vijay Raaz among others, Gangubai Kathiawadi was Bhansali's first theatrical release after the pandemic. Released on February 25, 2022, the film was a commercial and critical hit and earned over Rs 200 crore at the box office.

Gangubai Kathiawadi won a number of National Film Awards, including Best Actress for Alia Bhatt (which she shared with Kriti Sanon for Mimi), Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Dialogues. It also won a lot of Filmfare awards, including Best Cinematography given to Sudeep Chatterjee.

 

 

 

 

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Acclaimed arthouse director and one of the pioneers of the Indian Parallel Cinema movement Kumar Shahani died in Kolkata on Saturday after a fall, as per reports. He was 83. Shahani was known for helming films like Maya Darpan (1972), Tarang (1984), Khayal Gatha (1989) and Kasba (1990).

The director was born on December 7, 1940, in Larakana, Sindh (now Pakistan). His family shifted to Mumbai (then Bombay) after the Partition. He studied Political Science and History at the University of Bombay, after which he enrolled at the Film and Television Institute of India in Pune, where he studied screenplay writing and Advanced Direction. Here he studied under the non-conformist director Ritwik Ghatak. Shahani and Mani Kaul later emerged to be Ghatak’s most well-known students. Later, Shahani went to France and assisted Robert Bresson on his film Une Femme Douce. He always considered Bresson and Roberto Rossellini as major influences on his work.

Shahani made his first film Maya Darpan in 1972. It was adapted from a short story by Nirmal Verma. The film won a National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi and a Filmfare Award- Best Film (Critics). Next, he made Tarang (1984) starring Amol Palekar and Smita Patil. In the film, Palekar plays an amoral businessman who gets involved with a trade union leader’s wife, played by Patil.

His third feature Khayal Gatha (1989) is a fictionalised representation of the evolution of khayal singing in Hindustani classical music. He also made Char Adhyay (1997), inspired by the Rabindranath Tagore novel. The film is set in the Bengali Renaissance of the 1930s and 1940s and is about a group of young intellectuals and revolutionaries involved with the Indian Independence Movement. It deals with the impact of political issues on personal lives questions blind nationalism and blind adherence to a leader and delves into the ugly face of idealism.

Apart from these, Shahani also directed several short films and documentaries, including Bhavantarana (1991) and The Bamboo Flute (2000).

Actor Bhumi Pednekar recently said in an interview that she has aspirations to work in Hollywood. She was last seen in the film Bhakshak where she essayed the role of a journalist. The film was directed by Pulkit and released on Netflix on February 9.  

In the interview, Bhumi was asked if she wanted to work in Hollywood. She said, “I do have Hollywood aspirations. I feel it is the best time for artists to be ambitious because the world is now a melting pot of cultures, of diversity and authenticity.”

She added, “Take, for instance, Ambika Mod from Netflix's One Day. It's so refreshing to see an Indian-origin girl play a lead role in such a successful series that has garnered love from its audience globally.”

Bhumi said that she is excited to explore more opportunities. “The fact that my exploration to find something meaningful for me in the West begins when I am on a high post-Bhakshak is also a plus for me. If I ever do an international project, I will choose one that gives me immense joy and creative satisfaction,” she said.