Priyanka Chopra Jonas-Mahesh Babu song for Rajamouli film
Priyanka Chopra Jonas will groove with Mahesh Babu for S.S. Rajamouli’s jungle adventure film, tentatively titled SSMB29, following the South Indian tradition of naming the films after the filmmaker / star and the chronological number of the production. The Oscar-winner M.M. Keeravani composition is described as an “energetic folk-style dance.” R. Madhavan and Prithviraj Sukumaran are also in the cast.
S. S. Rajamouli’s Bahubali: The Epic packs both franchise films in 3 hours 40 minutes!
Talking of S.S. Rajamouli, his iconic Bahubali franchise (the 2015 Bahubali—The Beginning and the 2017 Bahubali 2—The Conclusion) is returning to theatres as a reimagined and remastered single film on October 31.
The special edition will feature restored visuals, selective alterations and even previously unseen scenes, and also will release in multiple premium formats in four languages. The film stars Prabhas, Rana Daggubati, Anushka Shetty, Tamannaah and Ramya Krishnan.
Shefali Shah to play Rishab Shetty’s mother Jijamata, Pritam to compose
Shefali Shah, TV, film and web series Diva, best known recently for Delhi Crime, Jalsa, Darlings and Human, will play Jijabai, Emperor Shivaji’s mother, who was known as Jijamata. And Kantara man Rishab Shetty will play the Maratha king in The Pride of Bharat—Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, directed by Sandeep Singh. In a bold and masterful stroke that sidelines hyped music names for historicals, the film will have music by Pritam.
Pragya Jaiswal to co-star with Sunny Deol
The Hindi adaptation of the Malayalam hit, Joseph, is being produced by Kamal Mukut, who delivered 2023’s blockbuster Gadar 2. And it repeats hero Sunny Deol as Soorya. The film is directed by M. Padmakumar, the same director.
Pragya Jaiswal, known for Khel Khel Mein and the Telugu hit, Daaku Maharaj, seems to have been recommended by Sunny’s younger brother, Bobby Deol, who was in that film’s cast. One query: aren’t remakes passe commercially in this age of OTT?
Salman Khan’s ‘walk’ clinched his debut
How many are aware that Salman Khan’s debut film was not Maine Pyar Kiya but as a second lead to Farouque Shaikh in the 1988 Rekha starrer, Biwi Ho To Aisi? Bollywoodhungama.com has quoted a story on how its director, J.K. Bihari noticed the “boy” and signed him, and says, “I was sitting in my garage and noticed a boy walking down the road towards me with a file in his hand. I just judged him by his walk that I am going to sign him. He came and discussed things with me and I agreed. He didn’t mention his father (the legendary Salim Khan)’s name. If he had done that, I may not have cast him.”
Salman’s humility and willingness to learn left a mark on Bihari, who later was to direct only one more film that flopped, Inteha Pyar Ki even as Salman Khan became huge!
Defamation suit against Netflix, Red Chillies Entertainment
Former Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) officer Sameer Wankhede has filed a defamation suit against Netflix and Red Chillies Entertainment over The Ba***ds of Bollywood, Aryan Khan’s directorial debut. The web series has courted controversy with a character resembling Wankhede, who had arrested Aryan in 2021 during a cruise drug bust. It showed a cop who detains an actor despite not finding any drugs at a party.
The Delhi High Court has issued notices to both Netflix and Red Chillies Entertainment. Senior advocate for Wankhede, Sandeep Sethi, said that his client and family have been subjected to relentless online abuse after the web series streamed with posts trolling Wankhede and his family. Wankhede alleged that the series was “deliberately conceptualized and executed” to malign his image and has portrayed him in a “colorable and prejudicial manner.”
