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...

Born in a small hamlet named Mingora, near the beautiful Swat valley of Pakistan, Malala Yousafzai (Reem Shaikh) has been academically inclined from a tender age. But, despite her father Ziauddin Yousafzai’s (Atul Kulkarni) unwavering faith in her and his community, their world comes crumbling down when the anti-education extremist group, Taliban, hijacks their otherwise peaceful valley and puts an indefinite ban on education for the girl child.
The mood of ‘Gul Makai’ is focused on the brutality that the local town-dwellers were subjected to during the Taliban occupation of Swat. Its tonality emphasises on one little girl’s unabashed and unquenchable thirst to acquire knowledge – not just for her own sake, but for every other girl child around her. True, the subject of this biographical piece is fascinating but, H.E Amjad Khan’s approach towards the same does not translate onto the big screen. For one, the narrative is messy from the word go and although Khan tries to juxtaposition Malala’s inner turmoil with the war waged by the Talibans, he ends up concocting a story that is half-baked, and riddled with glaring flaws and discrepancies. And, barring seasoned actors Atul Kulkarni and Divya Dutta, the star cast (including the protagonist) has failed to deliver believable performances. In fact, Reem’s version of Malala neither renders a cathartic experience for its viewers, nor does it evoke any sense of real emotions. Also, the background score is a replica of the 80s war films in a not-so-flattering way and the haphazard writing goes on for 132 minutes, making ‘Gul Makai’ a tedious watch.
It is quite disappointing that the film does not mention any of the controversies Malala has courted along the way, which is hard to overlook given the fact that the film is biographical in nature.
‘Gul Makai’ could have been a very strong story, but the initial spark fizzles out when translated on screen; the takeaway here is close to nothing.

Shraddha Kapoor on Street Dancer 3D: You Will See Me Dance My Heart Out In The Film Street Dancer 3D starring Varun Dhawan, Nora Fatehi, and Shraddha Kapoor will hit the screens on January 24, 2020 Shraddha Kapoor has had an amazing 2019, with two hit films to her credit- namely Saaho and Chhichhore and looking at the bouquet of films in her kitty, we are sure that 2020 looks equally promising. While the year will kick-start with the release on Remo D’Souza’s Street Dancer 3D opposite Varun Dhawan on January 24, 2020, she will also be seen in the third instalment to Baaghi titled Baaghi 3 opposite Tiger Shroff.
Now we all know that Shraddha Kapoor wasn’t the first choice for the film as the makers had roped in Katrina Kaif as the female lead, however, due to date issues, Katrina had to back out and that is when Shraddha Kapoor walked in. Now, seeing the trailer of the film, we can safely say that Shraddha Kapoor as Inayat is the perfect actress for the role, and as the name tells, Street Dancer is a dance flick and talking about the same, Shraddha said that the audiences will see her dance her heart out in the film. “I love learning different forms of dance and it made the experience of working on Street Dancer even more enriching. You will see me dance my heart out in the film,” said Shraddha.
Talking about the story of the film, Shraddha says that the film is built around a healthy competition between two teams from two countries. Now we all know that India-Pakistan cricket matches are something to watch out for and similarly, this Baaghi actress feels that since the “public interest is at its peak even during an India-Pakistan cricket match, so I am really excited about the film.” As part of the training for the film, Shraddha revealed that she had to train in a lot of dance forms. Street Dancer starring Varun Dhawan, Nora Fatehi, and Shraddha Kapoor will hit the screens on January 24, 2020.

REVIEW: “Kya main lagta hoon unhappy married types?” asks Jaswinder Singh aka Jazz to a 21-year-old Tia (Alaya F). Minutes later she drops a bomb on him revealing that there is a 33.3% chance that he is her father. Director Nitin Kakkar wastes no time in unraveling this quirky plot much of which is revealed in the promo, but the film still has its moments. The snappy first half is quite a riot as we are introduced to Jazz’s (Saif Ali Khan) uber-cool life. It is marked by wild partying and hooking up with girls half his age.
Saif has always been a natural at playing the suave and urbane kinds with the right dose of sophistication. He also brings out the vulnerability of his character despite his unhinged ways. Debutante Alaya F is confident as a young girl trying to reunite with her father against all odds. This new talent definitely shows promise and potential. Thankfully, her character and her performance are minus the melodrama and the theatrics, leaving you with emotional, but several light-hearted moments . Watching Tabu as a spiritually empowered hippy is quite refreshing, but the talented actress barely has any screen time or real purpose in the narrative. While Saif and Tabu come together after a long time, but here, they barely share any memorable moments. Among the supporting cast, actress Kubbra Sait has a stunning screen presence. Her character of a young divorced woman looking for a mature relationship is bound to resonate with many. Farida Jalal, Chunky Panday and Kumud Mishra also lend good support.
The film is highly entertaining in the first half when the narrative is light and breezy. The pace drops in the second half as it meanders towards predictable and slightly preachy parts. Especially, for single men who want to fly solo all their life. But in the end, 'Jawaani Jaaneman' comes out a winner with its non-judgmental approach and a contemporary story that showcases complex human relationships with all its quirks, firmly in place.

This Tanhaji:The Unsung Warrior Actor Replaces Rana Daggubati in Ajay Devgn's Bhuj: The Pride Of India Bhuj: The Pride of India features Ajay Devgn, Sanjay Dutt, Sonakshi Sinha and Nora Fatehi in key roles. It is set to hit the screens on August 14.
The makers of Bhuj: The Pride of India recently dropped the first look of the film featuring Ajay Devgn as IAF Squadron Leader Vijay Karnik. The war drama, which also stars Sanjay Dutt, Sonakshi Sinha and Nora Fatehi in key roles, also features Rana Daggubati in a pivotal role. But now, actor Sharad Kelkar, who is getting rave reviews for his portrayal of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior has replaced the Baahubali star as Rana has stepped out of the project due to his health issues.
Sharad Kelkar confirmed this news and said, “Bhuj has a lot of action and since Rana might take a couple of months to recover, Abhishek offered me this part. I’d told him I’d love to be a part of his debut film. I have a good bond with Ajay (co-star Devgn) sir and Sanju (Sanjay Dutt) sir as well". The actor revealed that during his childhood, he wanted to be an army officer. “At least I will get to wear a uniform now. I start shooting in a week. I practised judo for six years. That will come in handy now.”
For those unaware, Vijay Karnik was in-charge of the Bhuj Airport during the 1971 Indo-Pak war. On the other hand, Sanjay Dutt plays the character of Ranchordas Svabhai Ravari, who helped the army during the war. While Nora Fatehi will play an Indian spy named Heena Rehman, Sonakshi Sinha will be seen as a social worker named Sunderben Jetha Madharparya.
Vijay Karnik, with the help of the local women, reconstructed the destroyed Indian Air Force airstrip at Bhuj in Gujarat. Vijay earlier expressed his happiness of Ajay Devgn playing him in the film and said, "We were fighting a war and if there had been any casualties of any of these women, it would have been a great loss to the war effort. But I made the decision and it worked out. I had briefed them where they could take shelter if attacked and they followed it bravely. Also, I could only and only see Ajay Devgn essaying my character and I’m glad he’s on board."
Bhuj: The Pride Of India is set to hit the screens on August 14 at the box office.