Film Industry

Director Sujoy Ghosh, who is known for edgy thrillers like Kahaani (2012) and Kahaani 2: Durga Rani Singh (2016), is all set for his next outing, Badla. The film is a Hindi adaptation of the 2016 Spanish crime thriller, The Invisible Guest. It will bring Amitabh Bachchan and Taapsee Pannu back together in lead roles, after their last successful outing in Pink (2016). While Big B plays a high-profile lawyer, Taapsee will be seen as a powerful business woman.

Talking about the film, the actress says, “Badla is whodunit murder mystery and I think that genre hasn’t been explored much in Bollywood. Most whodunits progress in a linear fashion but here, you have two people (Taapsee and Amitabh Bachchan) sitting across a table and discussing the same incident multiple times from different perspectives. There are various versions to the same incident and it’s about discovering which one is right, especially when no one is telling complete lies. What’s true and what isn’t… how do you find that? The audience will become the judge. The story is interestingly crafted and layered. You won’t even go for a loo break for the fear of missing out on a crucial scene.”


On his part, Sujoy is happy to work with Amitabh Bachchan once again. The filmmaker says, “I love working with sir. Every time I work with him, I learn something new. Making a film is such a long and arduous task that you need to be with people who you enjoy working with. They need to make you look forward to your work. In a way, he is the youngest member on the set.”

Badla, presented by Red Chillies Entertainment, in association with Azure Entertainment, co- produced by Gaurav Verma, and produced by Gauri Khan, Sunir Kheterpal and Akshai Puri, releases on March 8.

Recently, Zayn Malik tweeted to Gigi Hadid, saying, “Love you” — making fans wonder what the on-again, off-again couple’s current relationship status is. Hadid is yet to reply to her former flame’s message, but has tweeted back to a couple of fans.

A source told an American website in January that the two broke up, but not because they don’t love one another. “After trying for a long time, the couple just couldn’t make it work. Zayn has been dealing with personal things for a while and Gigi has become a comfort blanket for him,” the source explained.


“Gigi will always support him but she realised only Zayn can help Zayn.”

Director Sunil Pathare’s long and interesting journey of exploring different creative endeavours has resulted in him making Meera, a 30-minute film on women’s safety. His passion for photography and landscape paintings, intertwined with his penchant for storytelling, holds him in good stead. Talking about his passion for filmmaking, Pathare says, “A good idea and a thought-provoking message, if executed well, will always find an audience. Once an idea makes its place in my mind, nothing deters me from seeing it through.”

The film is Pathare’s directorial debut and he chose to take a non-commercial route while making a sensitive and muchneeded film around women’s issues. He adds, “Looking at the situation not only in India, but around the world, there should be many more films like Meera. If we have a medium like cinema that can create an influence around the world, we should use it to bring about a change.”


Full of ideas, Pathare aims to venture into unexplored realms of filmmaking by experimenting with thought-provoking themes and subjects. The story of this movie depicts an alternate reality where there is no law stopping men from committing violent sexual acts against women. The narrative unfolds in a different way and puts forth lot of questions for the viewers to assess.

Meera, a Maxwell Entertainment presentation and Roopesh Rai production, produced by Kapil Pathare, creative producer Roopesh Rai Sikand, features Kimaya Bhattacharya playing the title role.

She’s one of the most followed celebrities in the world, especially on social media. Having made an impact in both Bollywood and Hollywood, Priyanka Chopra has always marched to her own tune. In a recent conversation, the actress says glorification of trolling has added “crazy pressure” on entertainers. She feels the increasing prevalence of trolling culture will only lead to bullying and depression.

Speaking about the pressure of being a global star, the Quantico actress says, “First of all, the pressure comes from people’s opinion and how in today’s age everyone’s opinion becomes news. Most of the time, I see media writing about someone getting trolled for this or that. I have never understood how somebody’s opinion becomes news. How the media gives such credence to maybe 500, 600 or 1000 people writing behind the anonymity of the computer.” Priyanka also adds, “Those are the pressures that are not even created by us or the fans. It is just created by the one thing — which is the internet. It has has made people’s job easier... You can make a story out of anybody’s comment. Glorification of trolls has added crazy pressure on entertainers.”


The actress has come back to India for her brother Siddharth Chopra’s roka ceremony, which took place in Delhi recently. Right now she’s in Mumbai for professional commitments. And, speaking about the demanding lifestyle of a celebrity, she says, “There is something called living your life according to the social responsibility that you feel as an individual and then there is something else — living your life according to how everybody else wants to you to live. That is not the world we should live in.” Priyanka has also faced the wrath of social media for myriad subjects like her dressing style, using firecrackers at her wedding last year or even for taking her husband and singer Nick Jonas’ last name.

She points out a serious implication that comes out of the trolling culture, as she explains, “Our children should not be thought that people’s opinions are that important... When they get bullied in school or when they get bullied as teenagers because of the comments written on Instagram, it can lead them to depression or taking harsh decisions in their lives. It is being propagated by these stories where we give so much importance to the way we look on Instagram or what we talk about on Twitter or what our image is.”

Talking about her own journey, she says, “I have not lived my life according to somebody else. I have walked to the beat of my own drum, but I am very cognizant of somebody’s feelings as a public person.” 

Gurmehar Kaur says those who ridiculed her in 2017, now understand the relevance of peace between India & Pak

Gurmehar Kaur, the Delhi University student who kicked up a storm in 2017 with her post on social media, advocating stronger Indo-Pak relations, says her narrative against war is being understood now by people in the face of military escalation at the Indo-Pak border. The girl, who is now an author and student peace activist, says she still fears radical student outfits, who had threatened her when she posted a video in 2017 saying that, Pakistan didn’t kill her father, a martyred Indian Army officer, but the war did. Speaking to the team at an event, Gurmehar reitertated her stand. Excerpts.

Given the present situation between India and Pakistan, has your stance changed since the time you first started the narrative of peace between the two countries?


My stance will never change. My stance is something that I came to terms with after twenty years of walking this planet, and isn’t something that dawned on me one fine day. It’s a very strong opinion that I formed over the years. In the present situation in the country, people ask me why I haven’t made my opinions vocal now. I tell them that, I don’t need to speak about it again and again. Now that the fear of war is looming, people are like, ‘Yeah that silly girl was right’. I think now other people need to say what I was saying back in 2017. I have said enough.

In your opinion, is the present situation between India and Pakistan scary?

I am actually surprised that someone is using the word ‘scary’. Because when I had posted an anti-war narrative, people threatened me, hated me. Even now, the word they use is ‘tense’ and not scary.

Last time when you took a stand against political party, they threatened you with death and rape. You had to leave Delhi for a while too. Do you still feel fear?

Yes, I am still scared. I don’t take the metro, and I still travel by auto. I don’t take public transport anymore. I am now extra careful, and don’t go out in particular spaces or places that has radical presence. I will only go to certain events that are taking place for peace, or for protests against war. And if I am going to attend events, I don't really put out my location or whereabouts on social media. I just be a part of the protest and mingle with the crowd as one of them.

RAW is a tale of patriotism and valour



The teaser of RAW (Romeo Akbar Walter), which released on Republic Day, has caught the attention of every patriotic citizen. Set in the tumultuous period of 1968-71, the film is based on true events that left an impact on the future of three countries. It was one of the shortest wars in history, with the Pakistan Army eventually surrendering to the Indian Army. The story is based on a period where the subcontinent’s most decisive battle led to the birth of a new nation — Bangladesh. The country’s intelligence agencies played a crucial part in this conflict where India’s every action was precise, impactful and deadly.

Written and directed by Robbie Grewal, this espionage thriller is a salute to those who serve the nation behind enemy lines and yet remain nameless faceless and often forgotten. The trailer of the much-anticipated film is being launched today by producers Ajit Andhare, COO, Viacom18 Studios, Ajay Kapoor, Producer and Managing Director, KYTA Productions and Vanessa Walia of VA Films. John Abraham essays the role of a RAW agent, who chooses to serve his country and sacrifices everything he has... even his very existence. The film also has an ensemble star cast featuring Jackie Shroff, Mouni Roy, Suchitra Krishnamoorthi, Sikander Kherr and Raghubir Yadav.


RAW (Romeo Akbar Walter), produced by Viacom18 Motion Pictures, Dheeraj Wadhawan, Ajay Kapoor, Vanessa Walia, and Gary Grewal, releases on April 5.

Kartik Aaryan

The story of Kartik Aaryan and Kriti Sanon’s Luka Chhupi is set in Gwalior and recently, while promoting the romantic comedy, the lead man revealed that he was warmly welcomed in the city with placards with slogans like ‘Son of Gwalior’. It was during a location reccee that the director, Laxman Utekar discovered that the quaint Madhya Pradesh city is Kartik’s home town. However, Laxman admits that he was surprised to see the kind of fan-following the actor enjoys back home.

When we asked if it became a nuisance to shoot in the city, Laxman told us, “Kartik is a superstar in Gwalior. I am not joking; we had to call the police and get extra bouncers to guard him. We were shooting at the Gwalior Fort and it became so difficult to film, because there were thousands of people waiting to see him. When we cast him, I had thought yeh ubharta sitara hai, but eventually, I realised yeh already sitara hai.”


Despite being in his home town, Kartik preferred to stay with the film team. Laxman reveals, “You can’t force actors to hang out with the unit or to stay in a hotel together with everyone in the crew. In that sense, Kartik was very professional. He stayed with us throughout the schedule except for the days when we were not shooting. Those were the only days when he went to see his parents and friends, or they came to spend time with him. He used to get irritated if an acquaintance dropped by when he was shooting. He had that apologetic expression on his face. He hates being distracted at work.”