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Latest Trade News
– Bollywood lost a veteran actor whose applaudable contribution to Indian cinema will never be forgotten. Om Puri passed away on Friday morning due to cardiac arrest at the age of 66. We will see him onscreen for the last time in Salman Khan’s ‘Tubelight’ where he plays a Muslim Gandhian during the Indo-China war.
– In our last column, we mentioned about Salman Khan doing Remo D’Souza’s next film, and last week it was officially confirmed. First Salman revealed that in an interview to a leading Indian daily and then Remo himself spoke about it. Salman will be playing a retired dancing coach and a father of a 13-year old girl who herself is a dance prodigy in this yet-untitled film, which is said to be an emotional father-daughter relationship movie with dance and music as backdrop. The ‘Dabangg’ actor will be required to lose his weight and learn dance moves for this film which will mount the sets once ‘Tiger Zinda Hai’ is completed.
– Ali Abbas Zafar who delivered the 300-crore (INR 3 Billion) film in the form of ‘Sultan’ last year, has now started working on his next directorial venture. The filmmaker is currently in Marrakesh, Morocco, location scouting for ‘Tiger Zinda Hai’. The Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif starrer, which is a sequel to Kabir Khan’s 2012 blockbuster ‘Ek Tha Tiger’, will go on floors by the end of this month and will be shot in Mumbai and at various foreign locations. The film will release on December 22 this year. One more thing, there’s a buzz that Rajkumar Hirani’s Sanjay Dutt biopic is also going to release on Christmas weekend clashing with the Salman Khan film. We want to clarify it here that this news is not true. The makers of ‘Dutt’ haven’t announced its release date yet and we have come to know that they will announce the date only after the film goes on floors.
Trade Announcements
– As previously mentioned in this column, we have already confirmed Hrithik Roshan and Karan Malhotra’s next collaboration. This yet untitled film which marks the second team up of Hrithik with Karan Malhotra after ‘Agneepath’ remake, is going to be completely different from their first movie. This movie will be an out-an-out comedy, with Hrithik playing a double role. Though the double role is not new for Hrithik, what’s exciting is that one of his characters will be Sikh, something he hasn’t portrayed so far. The director has completed scripting and will soon work on other aspects of the filming process.
– The most awaited ‘Baahubali 2’s teaser is coming very soon. According to reports making headlines in the media, ‘Baahubali 2’ teaser will be launched around January 23-24 and will be attached to the prints of Shah Rukh Khan’s ‘Raees’, which releases worldwide on January 25. The lead actor Prabhas recently wrapped up the movie after a gruelling schedule that lasted three and a half years. Rajamouli and the entire team were seen emotional on the sets that day. The director later shared a message for Prabhas on his Facebook page. “And thats a wrap 4 prabhas. 3.5 years. One hellof a journey Thanks darling.No one had as much belief on this project as you. That means a lot.”, he wrote.
– While there’s still four months left to go for the release of ‘Baahubali: The Conclusion’, there are lots of buzz regarding its helmer SS Rajamouli’s next movie post it. It’s also being reported that he may direct a Bollywood movie, possibly starring Salman Khan. But this seems unlikely as we are now hearing that Rajamouli is planning to make a bigger film than ‘Baahubali’ next. The director who is known for films that are rich in content, scale, visuals, VFX, songs and all, will next make a film on Mahabharata – the oldest Sanskrit epic of ancient India, into a three-part series and it will have the same grandeur in terms of visuals and budget. In fact, it’s said to be the costliest project ever in the history of filmmaking in India. The film will star actors from both South and Hindi film industry. But let’s wait for the official confirmation.
– There’s a saying in the film industry that one film can make or break your career and that’s what exactly has happened with Parsi actor Jim Sarbh who found belated success after playing a terrorist in ‘Neerja’. The theater actor has currently more than four films in his kitty and among them, three are big-budget movies. He’ll be seen playing different characters in Dinesh Vijan’s ‘Raabta’, Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s ‘Padmavati’ and Rajkumar Hirani’s Sanjay Dutt biopic. While he plays a Parsi in the Dutt biopic, he has distinct negative character shades in Raabta. There’s no information about his ‘Padmavati’s role but we are hearing that he plays a Muslim character for which he’s currently learning horse-riding.
– Imran Khan who had been missing from action since September 2015 after the debacle of ‘Katti Batti’, is finally returning to the big screen. He has signed actor-turned-filmmaker Raj Singh’s directorial debut which will go on floors in June this year. Imran is said to be seen in a completely different avatar in this quirky dark thriller. According to Deccan Chronicle, “Imran has finally chosen an offbeat film. He will be seen in Raj Singh’s directorial debut. The actor-turned-director had been looking to direct for a long time, and when he narrated his power-packed, and dark script to Imran, the latter instantly gave his nod to the movie. The film will start rolling in mid-year, and will be produced by Phantom Films. The makers are hunting for a female lead.”
The Khans
– Shah Rukh Khan is called a ‘business minded actor in Bollywood. But it seems his industry rival and friend Salman Khan, after beating him badly at the box office, is all set to challenge him in business line, too. Salman is currently running the Being Human Foundation, Being Human Clothing, Salman Khan Films (production house) and Being Human Jewelry and recently launched his application, Being In Touch and the next in line is Being Human Bike. But he is not stopping here. The actor is now soon going to launch his own music label. Salman Khan Music, as it has been called, will help in launching outsider musicians and singers. The music of Salman’s forthcoming films will also be releasing through this label. Kabir Khan’s ‘Tubelight’ which releases in Eid, will be the first movie album under Salman Khan Music. More details about this new venture is expected to be out soon!
– Arbaaz Khan’s much-talked third installment of ‘Dabangg’ is not going to see the green light anytime soon. The film was supposed to begin just after ‘Tiger Zinda Hai’ but Salman has given the dates to Remo D’Souza for his emotional-dance drama, which ultimately pushes ‘Dabangg 3’ to next year.
– Aamir Khan seriously condemned the Banglore molestation incident, as reports ANI. He said: “The incident that took place in Bengaluru was very disappointing. We feel ashamed that such incidents take place in our country. I think it’s the responsibility of everyone along with the administration to see that law and order prevails…. The law and order mechanism and the judiciary and police should bring the culprit to task at the earliest as it happens in other countries. For example, when such an incident takes place in America, the guilty are not only arrested but they are given punishments as well within two or three months. I think when such a change will take place, things will automatically change.”
Best Tweets of the Week
@SubhashGhai1 – Sad abt departure of great actor #om puri at 66 leaving an inspirational journey of ordinary man to extra ordinary int actor for next gen.
@iamsrk – “Gods garden must b beautiful, He always takes the best” Will miss ur laughter over the shared brandy in Berlin. Will miss u lots Omji. RIP
@AnushkaSharma- #OmPuri’s talent and versatility has brought so many characters to life. An inspiration to many actors. May his soul rest in peace.
@akshaykumar – Sad to hear about the passing away of the very talented Om Puri, my co-actor in many films…heartfelt condolences to the family. #RIP
@AnupamPkher – I have known #OmPuri for d last 43yrs. For me he’ll always b a great actor, a kind & generous man. And that is how world shud remember him.
Box Office
– Aamir Khan’s ‘Dangal’ is doing unbelievable business at the box office. The film has become the second highest grosser of all time, doing a humongous business of over 330 crore nett in just 17 days and it’s now looking to become the historical all time highest earning film, beating the previous ‘PK’ (340 cr) in the next two days.
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