Shah Rukh Khan Has A Contingency Plan For His Film, Zero

Said to be mounted on a budget of Rs 200 crore, Zero finds pride of place in Shah Rukh Khan's filmography as his most expensive film to date. While the mammoth budget would give sleepless nights to most producers, one can count on Khan's astute business skills to ensure that the project does not spell losses for him. With over two months to go before the Aanand L Rai-directed venture hits screens, trade sources indicate that the superstar has already recovered approximately Rs 130 crore through telecast rights, music rights and in-film branding. A trade source reveals, "The satellite rights have apparently been sold at a whopping sum to Sony Pictures. Plus, Shah Rukh's standing collaboration with Netflix has helped him bag a lucrative deal with the streaming giant for the film's digital rights."

Filmmaker Kabir Khan’s next directorial venture 83 is set to go on floors from June 5 in Glasgow, Scotland.

The film features Ranveer Singh as Kapil Dev, captain of the World Cup-winning Indian cricket team of 1983.

The team will shoot at a local cricket club in the Scottish port city for a week, followed by other popular locations like Dulwich college in London, Edinburgh cricket club, Nevill Ground at Royal Tunbridge Wells in Kent and the Oval cricket ground.

“Since it’s a real-life story, this film involved a lot of training and research. Now that it’s going on the floors, starting with the Glasgow schedule, everyone’s excited to recreate a journey that made history, all thanks to our cricketing heroes of the 83 team,” Kabir said in a statement.

The film will chronicle India’s win under Kapil’s captainship when the team defeated West Indies in the final to clinch their first-ever World Cup trophy in 1983.

The film, presented by Reliance Entertainment, also features Pankaj Tripathi, Saqib Saleem, Tahir Raj Bhasin, Jatin Sharma, Ammy Virk and Hardy Sandhu.

Ali Abbas Zafar spent several days thinking about a perfect name for the lead character of his upcoming film and the director says he even delved into mythology until he got a perfect title in Bharat. The film, which is scheduled to release on June 2019, is a remake of Ode To My Father. Ali says he was extremely impressed with the 2014 Korean drama but the adaptation had to be in sync with the Indian sensibilities. "I didn't want to call it 'Ode to My Father.' I wasn't looking only at the promise he makes to his father but a lot of other things. I told Salman I'll make the film as not only his but the nation's journey. But I needed to know what the character should be called," Ali told PTI. The director said since Salman was headlining it, the film had to be "completely re-written", while simultaneously finding an ideal Indian name for the hero. "I thought Ram is an ideal hero from mythology. Could the character be called Arjun because he is doing it for his dharma, karma? Or should he be called Karna, a selfless hero. What do I call the film? "I felt if he is synonymous with what the nation has been over the generations, he should be named after the country. One night at 3AM, I was tossing on the bed, thinking hard, and then I had it: Bharat," he said. He immediately shared the name with Salman and producer Atul Agnihotri. "Producer Sajid Nadiadwala had the title registered under him so I told him about our film. Both Salman and Atul also jumped on it. Once I found the title, I started writing the film." The writing process for Bharat lasted almost a year and a half and Ali said, of all the Salman films, this one has gone through severe drafting. He said, "To bring out an emotion is the most difficult thing in a film. If you can crack that code, crack the reason you're making the film and how the audience will react, everything else becomes peripheral. Once I understood the emotion we were trying to show the film was set." 'Bharat' is solely a film on relationships. That was a new territory for me. At 36, I wanted to explore a man at 70. I pushed myself," said Ali. The film features the 53-year-old superstar in several looks, depicting changing decades, and Ali says Bharat has "six Salman Khan films in it." "The soul is the same throughout every look but every chapter is like a story, with a beginning, middle and an end. Like the thin moustache he sports is a hat tip to the Guru Dutt era. As we evolved, the look changed with bell bottoms, the language changed- from Urdu it become Hindustani and few English words came in. Along with the language graph, the visual tone also changes." Ali credited Salman for giving his best in the film. "If I'm calling Bharat as old as the nation, he needs to look like that, someone who has seen everything and evolved. Salman had no apprehension. He understands his audience really well. He thought that the old man look will get the maximum impact. He is bang-on in that look and with his performance," the director said.

Priyanka Chopra has a new role, as tech Investor

In one of her first acts as a startup investor, actress Priyanka Chopra recently toured the San Francisco home of her new portfolio company, a coding education company called Holberton School. The campus resembles a WeWork more than a school, with open-plan rows of desks, decorative neon lights and meeting rooms named after famous people. The school uses projects and group learning instead of more traditional courses, to teach software development. “You just hang out and you’re learning,” Chopra said. “It’s amazing.” Chopra, 36, has been doing a lot of hanging out and learning in technology circles lately. In between presenting at the Emmys, sitting in the front row at New York Fashion Week, celebrating the birthday of her fiancé, Nick Jonas, in Texas, and darting to her native India to act in a movie, she has squeezed in meetings with startup founders and lined up future investments. “Geeks are taking over the world,” Chopra said. “If they haven’t already,” she quickly added. There’s no shortage of celebrities investing in tech startups. So far, deals from male actors, athletes and musical artists have garnered much more attention than those from famous women. Ashton Kutcher is a regular at tech conferences; Carmelo Anthony and Nas have their own funds; Leonardo DiCaprio has been an adviser to at least three venture firms. Tyra Banks, Beyoncé and Demi Lovato have participated in startup deals. But few women have built robust portfolios. Chopra said she did not yet know how many deals she will do or how much money she would invest, but she does plan on building a portfolio. On Wednesday she announced her second investment, in Bumble, a dating and social media app founded by Whitney Wolfe Herd, one of the most prominent startup founders in tech.Chopra plans to help promote Bumble’s launch in India in the coming months. Chopra was introduced to tech investing by her manager, Anjula Acharia, a founder and angel investor who spent time as an entrepreneur-in-residence and partner at Trinity Ventures, a Silicon Valley venture capital firm. Acharia has worked with Chopra since 2010. Acharia was the first investor in ClassPass, a fitness booking startup; she made a return on the company’s most recent round of funding. She’s also invested in Bulletproof Coffee, Health-Ade Kombucha and The Muse. She said Jimmy Iovine, a mentor who backed her entertainment startup, DesiHits, taught her how to anticipate cultural trends. Acharia has straddled Hollywood and Silicon Valley says that, as an Indian woman, she has been a rarity in both worlds. On weekends, at the Hollywood parties she has frequented with Chopra, Acharia noticed they were often the only South Asians in attendance. Then, on weekday meetings with entrepreneurs and partners at Trinity Ventures, she was often the only woman. “I was always a minority,” she said. With Holberton involvement, Acharia and Chopra are making an effort to help change the tech industry’s gender disparity. After the musical performer Ne-Yo invested in Holberton and began to promote the school to his fans, applications from underrepresented minorities increased. Now, two thirds of Holberton’s students are people of color, and 30 percent are women. Chopra plans to promote the school to her fans as well. “If one day, because of Priyanka, it became 100 percent women, I’d be cool with that,” Acharia said. Founded in 2015, Holberton teaches students to code for free, then charges 17 percent of their paycheck for 3 1/2 years after they graduate. All of its graduates have found jobs. Chopra’s investment is part of an $8.2 million round of funding for Holberton which closed in April. She will join the company’s board of advisers. Chopra emphasized her support for Holberton’s mission to educate people from underprivileged backgrounds. Her investments will skew heavily toward companies with an element of social impact, and companies founded by women. “I don’t want to just be one of those people who’s like, ‘Yeah, I want to be on the tech bandwagon — how are they making so much money,’” she said, surveying the Holberton workspace in a cream pantsuit and snakeskin stilettos. “It’s not about that.” Chopra has worked with UNICEF to advocate for children since 2006, focused mostly on developing nations. But a dinner conversation with Acharia around the time of the 2016 election turned to education in America. That led Acharia to introduce Chopra to the Holberton School’s founders. “I think Holberton was the gateway drug for Priyanka,” Acharia said.

What Deepika Padukone Thought Of Ranveer Singh The First Time She Met Him

Despite the swirling wedding rumours, Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh have not yet admitted to their relationship. Though they are said to wed in November, there is no announcement. On Friday, the two were asked about their wedding at an event in New Delhi. Ranveer quipped that they would tell the world when it happens. Fans were quick to point out that since they are not denying the nuptials means it is happening. Dippy also revealed at the event that when she first met Ranveer, she felt he was not her type. Talk about opposites attracting each other.

Priyanka Chopra and Deepika Padukone have been all over the headlines recently for their stunning appearance at the Met Gala 2019. Both the actresses walked the red carpet perfectly suited for the theme of "Camps: Note on Fashion". However, no one could stop gazing at Priyanka Chopra who made jaws drop with her spooky attire. Another Bollywood actress, Kangana Ranaut is all set to make her second red carpet appearance at the prestigious Cannes film festival in France. The actress has opted for leading celebrity stylist, Ami Patel to style all her looks at Cannes this year. Reportedly, the actress will wear a unique saree which will bring the forgotten weaves to the fore so that the world is more aware of India's rich fabrics and culture. Talking about her Bollywood counterparts Deepika and Priyanka dazzling the red carpet at the Met Gala 2019, Kangana said that it's wonderful how Priyanka and Deepika are making their mark there. However, the 'Manikarnika' actress said veteran actor Rekha really defines the real meaning of ‘Camp’ in India. On the work front, Kangana Ranaut will be next seen in 'Mental Hai Kya' starring alongside Rajkummar Rao. The film is slated to hit the screens on July 26.

Thoughts ON HUMANITY

It’s happening! Salman Khan’s Kick 2...

Bharat Story: A little boy who is forced to be responsible early on, grows up with no regret of a non- existent childhood. He in fact makes it his life goal to put his family before him. The film follows the journey of Bharat (Salman Khan) over the course of several decades as he navigates the ups and downs of life.

REVIEW: An official adaptation of South Korean drama Ode to my Father (2014), Bharat focuses on the personal and professional choices of its righteous hero, set against the social backdrop of its time.
Separated from his father and sister during the Indo-Pak partition in 1947 as a child, Bharat decides to dedicate his entire life to keeping the promise he’d made to his missing father. He takes it upon himself as the eldest son of the house to look after his mother and siblings, hoping their family would reunite some day. From 1947 to 2010, the narrative traverses a period of over six decades. You see Bharat jumping risky odd jobs to make ends meet.
He even falls in love with the feisty Kumud (Katrina Kaif), who is brave and honest enough to make the first move on him. “I love you. Shaadi ki umra ho gayi hai meri. Tumse shaadi karna chahti hoon,” she says without batting an eye. She proposes marriage without fearing rejection. “I do and say what I think is right,” she adds and doesn’t mind teasing Salman, “Tum thodey self-obsessed nahi ho?” She was impressive even in Zero and Bharat is Katrina’s best acting part till date. Her chemistry with Salman feels natural and she does a good job at portraying a woman who is self assured without being cocky. She is equal, even superior to her man and Ali Abbas Zafar makes no bones about it. Her hair is a different story though. The grey streaks are inconsistent as her character ages and the unruly curls feel unnecessary.

What also stands out in Ali’s writing is how he places Sunil Grover’s character as Vilayati, Bharat’s best friend and confidante. Our best friends are our soulmates, constant companions and it reflects here beautifully. Grover does compete justice to his well-written role and deserves more such significant parts. Sonali Kulkarni and Jackie Shroff are terrific as always.
Interestingly, there’s a hidden Sooraj Barjatya in Salman Khan, somewhere. In times of the ‘hookup culture’ being glorified in movies and web shows, his films with old school values often aim to get the families together and that stands out. He acts well and looks good. Salman’s extreme closeness to his real family (parents and siblings), makes him ideal to play Bharat as he embodies his character’s traits, thus making it more convincing.
Ali on the contrary, plays a balancing act. He infuses emotions with ample fun Salman elements that will get his diehard fans to whistle. He mounts the meandering story in an unhurried manner on a huge canvas. While he manages to keep you hooked despite his complex source material and misplaced songs, Bharat has too many things happening at once and too many time leaps. This eventually makes the movie an exhausting, scattered watch despite the entertainment, humour and nobility it propagates.
Also, the ‘intention to inspire’ is a bit in your face. While emotional manipulation happens in every film, the fact that it’s evident here makes it a tad overbearing. The reverence is blatant. A little subtlety and crisp editing would have done wonders.
Bharat is well-intentioned, entertaining and doesn’t succumb to the trappings of commercial potboilers. The fact that it tries a bit too hard to prove that, is its problem.

SUPER 30 Story: Against all odds, India’s renowned mathematician, Anand Kumar follows his true calling and gives shape to ‘Super 30’ – a coaching class in Patna, designed for 30 deserving, underprivileged students who are aspiring to get admission into coveted institutions like IIT. But will his students make the cut?

REVIEW: Inspired by maths whiz Anand Kumar, who has seen an astounding success rate for IIT admissions year after year with his batch of ‘Super 30’ kids, the film charts his motivating journey as a fictional account. A life dotted with controversies and hardships, Anand (Hrithik Roshan) literally rises from the rubble to mould his dreams. The story doesn’t touch upon the certain controversies surrounding Anand Kumar which have been reported in the media, focusing on his struggles and glory instead.
Son of a postman, a young Anand clinches an admission at the Cambridge University owing to his brilliance in mathematics. But when he has to let go of this opportunity of a lifetime solely because he is unable to afford the fees, life hits him hard and breaks his spirit. But that doesn’t last for too long, since he gets picked by Lallanji (Aditya Srivastava) to become a maths teacher for affluent students at an IIT coaching centre, run by him. But soon, his true calling and passion catches up with him and he realizes that he must use his skills to give lesser privileged, bright students a fair chance at life. Of course, along the way, he faces opposition and obstacles one after another, but never loses sight of what he sets out to do.
'Super 30' drives home the message that education is truly the privilege of those who have the access and economic resources. Unfortunately, for many it remains a distant dream, but if given the same opportunities they have it in them to shine equally bright. There are many moments in the movie that will move you – after starting his Super 30 classes, Anand has to literally scrape through – with often the students barely having anything to eat. But their real hunger is for better education and a better life.
'Super 30' has several heartfelt, inspiring moments that touch a chord. When Anand says at one point, “Aapatti se aavishkar ka janm hota hain”, you do believe him, especially after having seen how driven his batch of students are, leaving behind their impoverished lives and literally daring to dream big.
But in the second half, the film’s lengthy run-time begins to weigh on the narrative. And some of the plot points come across as far-fetched and overly dramatic, with the background score dominating some scenes unnecessarily. The cinematography (Anay Goswami) of the film however stands out and some of the dialogues hit home.
Hrithik Roshan pulls off a solid performance essaying Anand Kumar, capturing his character’s sincerity and determination very well. While his physicality many not be entirely convincing, his performance more than makes up for it. Nandish Singh is earnest and well-cast as Anand’s brother. Mrunal Thakur is effective in her limited screen time. Pankaj Tripathi as the unscrupulous politician is brilliant and Aditya Srivastava matches the villainy of his character to the hilt. Overall, the performances elevate the film.
While the narrative does have its flaws, 'Super 30' is a human drama and the story of a teacher who triumphs over the many challenges that life throws at him, to set an example for the world to see. Just for that it’s worth a watch.

Kabir Singh Story: ‘Kabir Singh’ is an official remake of the Telugu blockbuster 'Arjun Reddy'. The film charts the journey of a short tempered doctor Kabir Singh (Shahid Kapoor), whose obsession for his girlfriend leads him on the path to self-destruction. Can he come out of the dark world that he creates for himself?

REVIEW: Meet Kabir Singh – the kind of boyfriend, who is aggressive, obsessive and would go to any extreme for his girl. He is all in or nothing at all. As a senior and a topper in one of Delhi’s most reputed medical institutes, he wields immense power. Thanks to his lethal anger issues, there are few who would want to mess with him. By his own admission, he becomes a rebel with a cause as soon as he sees his junior in college Preeti (Kiara Advani). For him, it is love at first sight. But this is far from a meet cute romance, with mush gush and the regular romantic toppings. It immediately gives Kabir’s unsettled and self-destructive streak a reason to manifest. Thus, begins the real journey of his character into the deep dark abyss of chasing the love of his life. Shahid’s performance lets the character get away with a lot of vices like womanizing, drug addiction, alcoholism and brash male toxicity. For some, his actions and recklessness might seem problematic, but that is evidently his character sketch, and Shahid plays it with brutal honesty. Shahid Kapoor completely surrenders himself to the extremism of Kabir Singh. The powerhouse performer plays each and every shade of Kabir with such passion and perfection that his conviction makes you root for him, even when he is far stretched from being the picture perfect lover boy.It is only because of Shahid’s strong performance that many of his characters’ excesses seem justified. His character is deeply misogynistic, abusive, reeks of misplaced sense of male entitlement - exactly the kind of man that our society reeling under patriarchy and sexist stereotypes need to call out. His psyche and behaviour are dominated by his irrepressible anger and desperate need to be in charge of the women he is obsessively in love with.
In terms of screen space, no one comes close to the leading man. For most part, film’s leading lady Kiara remains demure and is left to use silence as her only tool for performance. With such limited scope, she never really gets a chance to shine. Shahid’s trusted friend Shiva (Soham Majumdar), on the other hand, gets ample opportunity to show solid support even when his friend is way out of line.
The film’s conflicts in the second half start becoming repetitive. The pace of the film becomes an issue with a runtime that is undeniably long. Thankfully, the realism and build up to Kabir’s deterioration is well executed and so is the practical support that he gets from his family. Writer-director Sandeep Vanga Reddy, who also helmed the Telugu original, makes his hero vulnerable but not weak enough to feel sorry for.
The remake stays mostly true to the original. However, the original had better chemistry between the lead actors, hence the love story seemed more effective. Also, Kabir Singh is a tad more humane than Arjun Reddy while being equally intense. He always shows up looking dapper, even in the most dire conditions. So it isn’t a surprise that the most pretty girls, including a heroine Jia (Nikita Dutta), falls for his unabashed charm. Film’s music compliments the narrative with its soulful renditions in the background.
While 'Kabir Singh' is a welcome change from stereotypical love stories, this kind of love affair needs some getting used to. If you can generally accept the fact that human beings can be flawed (sometimes deeply flawed), you will be able to stomach this rebellious story of love with extreme madness, often lacking rationale and reason. Through his protagonist, Sandeep bets all his cards on his leading man, making sure you either love him or hate him, but you can’t ignore him.

Arjun Patiala Story: This spoof comedy narrates the story of a cop Arjun Patiala (Diljit Dosanjh) and his sidekick Onidda Singh (Varun Sharma). Together, will they be able to accomplish their mission of a crime-free town with their goofy style of policing?

REVIEW: 'With you always,' reads the slogan on the police van of the fictional town of Ferozepur in Punjab. The man in charge is Arjun Patiala - a handsome young gabru jawan, who has his priorities set (read women, whiskey and work). Giving him company is his trustworthy but goofier constable Onidda Singh, who has given up on women after multiple heartbreaks. He has now settled for a buffalo as his lady love. If you thought that's bizarre, then wait for more. There is a glamorous yet feisty television reporter Ritu Randhawa (Kriti Sanon), who casually reports on the dreadful trigger-happy goons who infest Ferozepur. An unscrupulous MLA Prapti Makkad (Seema Pahwa), who is often referred to as 'Property Makkar' for her nefarious deals in the real estate. And there is also a gullible goon called Sakool (Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub) and a host of other quirky characters including IPS Gill (Ronit Roy), who is frankly the only sorted one (for the most part). All of them are part of a fictional story of a formula film narrated by a writer, who often breaks the fourth wall and talks to the audience. This altogether takes away the scope of taking the film seriously.
The film's first half breezes through with a few fun moments including a cameo by Sunny Leone. It fails to register her acting skills (or the lack of it), but leads to a forgettable item number that is admittedly mandatory in such a narrative. Diljit Dosanjh delivers a decent performance with a few laugh-out-loud moments. His innocence brings out the vulnerability of his character that is instantly likeable. His leading lady Kriti Sanon (introduced as Heroine No.1) looks flawless, but the same cannot be said about her character. The writing gives her little to work with other than mouthing dialogues without much conviction. But the one who manages to deliver most laughs is Varun Sharma. From his amusing backstory to his forced singlehood, Varun is simply the guy, who can make you laugh at his expense. He also gets some of the best lines that fall quite short in pulling off an out and out comedy.
The movie's writing, direction and execution become increasingly childish and pointless in the second half, as it stumbles towards a hotch-potch of a climax. Thankfully, the makers do not resort to cheap, offensive or vulgar humour in a desperate attempt to make you laugh. Film's music is average except for the peppy dance number 'Preeto'.
Spoof comedies can be a tricky affair and this one is way too underwhelming to tickle your funny bone for full two hours.

Several of his friends and filmi folks, who haven't seen him on the big screen in four years, have been congratulating him for attempting to play a teacher who speaks shudh Hindi, a tribute to his father Dharmendra's character in 'Chupke Chupke'. Now that the film, which centres around vasectomy, is all set to hit the screens, the actor will start looking at the other projects he has been offered. For Bobby, his dad has always been a huge inspiration. He says, "I am hungry for work. I want to collaborate with good directors on interesting scripts. I am happy that Poster Boys has got me back on everyone's minds. I am looking forward to new subjects and roles." The upcoming comedy, the remake of a Marathi film of the same name, also features macho Sunny Deol as one of the victims of a campaign that promotes vasectomy. The reason an actor with a repertoire of action films agreed to be a part of this light-hearted project is that today, meritorious content seems to have outshined big-budget projects. 'Poster Boys', produced by Sony Pictures Networks Productions, Sunny Sounds Pvt Ltd, Shreyas and Deepti Talpade, releases on September 8.