Browsing: Entertainment

Mumbai, May 30 (IANS) Mohak Matkar has given her two cents about “Saru,” as her show touches upon the topic of ragging and bullying. The actress said it isn’t just a fictional twist as it’s a reality many students silently suffer through.

In the current sequence Saru steps out of the comforts of her home in Khares, Rajasthan, to pursue higher education in Mumbai, her story takes a hard-hitting turn in the coming episodes when she becomes the target of ragging in her new college.What starts as subtle hostility soon escalates into public humiliation when her classmate Anika deliberately tears her blouse, prompting students to record the incident on their phones and turning it into a spectacle of humiliation. The experience pushes Saru into a moment of intense shame and self-doubt.For Mohak, portraying Saru during this emotionally charged track was both challenging and moving, as she said: “Ragging isn’t just a fictional twist—it’s a reality many students silently suffer through. Portraying Saru through this track was emotionally tough, but it made me reflect on how vulnerable students can feel when they’re away from home, trying to find their footing in a new world.”“What struck me most is Saru’s quiet resilience. She doesn’t lash out in anger; she just holds on to her dignity with the help of Professor Ved.”She added: “No dream should be broken because of someone else’s cruelty. I truly hope that this storyline not only sparks a conversation against ragging and bullying but also encourages students to seek support and reminds teachers to stay alert and compassionate.”“Even one voice speaking up—or one teacher standing by a student—can make all the difference.”“Saru” showcases the inspiring journey of a determined young woman from Khares village in Rajasthan, as she battles societal constraints to pursue her dreams of higher education. Portraying the lead role is Mohak.“Saru” airs every day on Zee TV.–IANSdc/

Mumbai, May 30 (IANS) As Bollywood actor Bobby Deol and his wife Tanya celebrate 29 years of marital bliss on Friday, veteran star and his father Dharmendra wished his “darling kids” “best of best in life.”

Dharmendra took to Instagram, where he shared two photographs of Bobby and Tanya from their marriage in 1996.“Happy Anniversary my darling kids. Wish best of the best in life . Enjoy this very very SPECIAL DAY,” Dharmendra wrote as the caption.Bobby and Tanya have sons Aryaman and Dharam.Dharmendra will next be seen in ‘Ikkis. The coming-of-age film is based on Indian war hero Arun Khetarpal, and will arrive in theatres on October 2, 2025. With this, Indian auteur Sriram Raghavan is returning to the silver screen with a war film.Sriram Raghavan is known for cult-classics like ‘Ek Hasina Thi’, ‘Johnny Gaddaar’ and ‘Andhadhun’.The upcoming film, titled ‘Ikkis’ stars veteran actor Dharmendra, ‘Paatal Lok’ star Jaideep Ahlawat, and Agastya Nanda, and also marks a shift in tone on Raghavan’s part as he is mostly known for thrillers and noirs.’Ikkis’ is set against the backdrop of the Battle of Basantar which was a crucial part of the 1971 war between India and Pakistan. ‘Ikkis’, produced by Maddock Films, is set to release on October 2, 2025.Talking about his work commitments, Bobby, who was last seen in the Telugu film “Daaku Maharaaj” directed by Bobby Kolli,will next be seen essaying the role of the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb in Pawan Kalyan’s period action entertainer, “Hari Hara Veera Mallu”.Shedding light on Bobby’s performance, director A M Jyothi Krishna had earlier revealed that the actor left him “speechless”. Backed by A Dayakar Rao under the banner of Mega Surya Production, “Hari Hara Veera Mallu” will see Nidhhi Agerwal, Nassar, Raghu Babu, Subbaraju, and Sunil in significant roles, along with others.–IANSdc/

Chennai, May 30(IANS)If sources in the industry are to be believed, ace director Mani Ratnam, whose eagerly awaited action extravaganza…

Mumbai, May 30 (IANS) Despite grooving to hits like “Aayi Nai,” “Na Na Na Na Re,” and “Chor Bazari Phir Se,” National Award-winner Rajkummar Rao says he prefers impactful roles over dance-centric ones, valuing films like Shahid, Maalik, and Newton for their rare depth.

Asked what would he choose – a Dancing Rajkummar or the one who has done films such as Shahid and Maalik, Rajkummar told IANS: “I’ll choose Shahid, Maalik, and Newton of the world because I can dance at a party too, make a video and upload it.He added: “But opportunities like these don’t come easily.”Rajkummar’s action-drama “Maalik” has been postponed. The film was earlier scheduled to hit theatres on June 20, but will now be released on 11th July 2025.In the film, which is currently in post-production, Rao will be seen playing a ruthless gangster. His portrayal of a gangster promises to showcase a side of him that fans haven’t seen before, adding an intriguing edge to the film.Directed by Pulkit, “Maalik” is produced by Kumar Taurani under the Tips Films banner and Jay Shewakramani’s Northern Lights Films.Talking about Shahid and Newton, the former film released in 2012. It is a biographical drama film directed by Hansal Mehta. Based on the life of lawyer and human rights activist Shahid Azmi, who was assassinated in 2010, the film stars Rajkummar as Azmi; Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub, Prabhleen Sandhu and Baljinder Kaur appear in supporting roles.Meanwhile, Newton released in 2017, the black comedy-drama film directed by Amit V. Masurkar. The film stars Rajkummar in the title role of a government servant who is sent to a politically sensitive area of central India on election duty. Pankaj Tripathi, Anjali Patil and Raghubir Yadav appeared in prominent roles.–IANSdc/

Chennai, May 30 (IANS) Filled with gratitude for making his film Thudaram a phenonmenal success, Malayalam superstar Mohanlal has now…

Mumbai, May 30 (IANS) Bollywood action hero Tiger Shroff has thanked his uncle, Subhash Ghai, whom he calls the ‘ultimate showman’, for making his father, veteran actor Jackie Shroff, an “overnight superstar.”

Subhash has shared a poster of the 1983 romantic action film “Hero” starring Jackie and Meenakshi Seshadri as the film clocked 42 years in Hindi cinema.Ghai wrote: “You need to have a courage to produce a FILM with NEW HERO on big scale with creative freedom to make a block buster like HERO which ran for 75 weeks n its music is still haunting. After 43 years. (sic).””Thanks to my team my actors n distributors n financier who supported me to establish MUKTA ARTS in 1982. Post HERO mukta arts groomed many stars who are legends today n produced 42 films under mukta…Feel blessed (sic).”Tiger took to Instagram stories, where he re-shared the poster and thanked the filmmaker for making his dad an overnight sensation.“Thanks for making my dad an overnight superstar uncle @subhashghail the ultimate showman,” Tiger wrote as the caption.Talking about Tiger’s work, the 35-year-old actor is currently busy with “Baaghi 4,” which is helmed by director A. Harsha. The film promises to take action to a whole new level.“Baaghi 4” was officially unveiled by Tiger Shroff in November 2024, when he shared a gripping first-look poster across his social media handles. The poster shows the actor in a raw, intense avatar, sitting on a toilet seat with a knife in one hand and a bottle in the other, surrounded by blood-soaked walls and unconscious bodies sprawled across the floor.The upcoming actioner, which also stars Sonam Bajwa and Harnaaz Sandhu, is all set to release in theatres on September 5, 2025.Meanwhile, Jackie is gearing up for the release of his upcoming film “Housefull 5,” which is slated to release on June 6, 2025.–IANSdc/

Los Angeles, May 30 (IANS) Hollywood star Scarlett Johansson said she remains committed to acting in projects she’d personally enjoy watching, even as she makes her directorial debut with the new drama film Eleanor the Great.The 40-year-old actress stepped behind the camera for the first time on the drama film which follows 94-year-old Eleanor Morgenstein who moves to New York after years living with her late best friend many States away to live with her daughter and forms an unlikely friendship with a 19-year-old journalism student.Johansson will be seen on screen in the upcoming film ‘Jurassic World Rebirth’ as covert operative Zora Bennett and, although she found directing to be creatively rewarding, she still is up for roles in the right movies, reports femalefirst.co.uk.The actress specifically wants to star in films that have the potential to attract audiences to the cinema.In an interview with Collider, she said: “My intention is to work on projects I would go and see, whether they’re like ‘Jurassic World’ or this film.”The commerciality of things is also important to me, too. Would audiences want to see this, too? Is this generally interesting? Those are things I look for and focus on and care about. So, we’ll see, I guess. I’m certainly still an actor for hire — I want that to be widely printed.”Johansson screened ‘Eleanor the Great’ at the Cannes Film Festival and she has said she shed many tears when directing on set because of the movie’s emotional story.The ‘Black Widow’ star hopes the film will have the same effect on audiences as she learned long ago that it is a powerful thing to be able to cry over a movie in public.Scarlett said: “The script made me cry, and so I knew there would be potential for tears, of course. Then, to cut it together – I’ve seen it a bajillion times, and it still makes me cry. It touches me in different moments. I love to cry in movies. When I was younger, I was a teenager, I used to stop myself from crying, and it was so painful. I think the greatest physical pain is holding in a cry. It hurts so much. Then, at some point in my life, I was like, ‘What am I doing? I’m just going to let loose and cry in this theatre.’ It was so liberating.”It feels so good to cry in a theatre with a whole bunch of people.”–IANSdc/

Mumbai, May 30 (IANS) Actor Vinay Pathak, who essayed the memorable role of Asif bhai in the National Award-winning film ‘Khosla Ka Ghosla’, has fond memories of working on the film.
The actor spoke with IANS, and shared that veteran actor Anupam Kher introduced him to Kashmiri cuisine while shooting for the film.He told IANS, “The work Anupam did behind the camera was amazing. How do you create an ensemble? An ensemble can be created, but the musicality of creating an ensemble is something not many people can do. Anupam was the conductor of the orchestra in that film. He made it into such a family, that even today, we are a part of that family, even today, I can call Anupam, I can call Ranveer, I can call Tara because we lived together for a month and a half. We ate together, we drank together, we used to plan on what we would eat in the afternoon, and what we would do in the evening”.He further mentioned, “I remember, Anupam introduced me to Kashmiri food for the first time. I am a vegetarian, so I thought, Kashmiri food is not for me. He told me, ‘You’re in for a treat. We will take you to a place’. And, he introduced me to a place in Delhi for Kashmiri cuisine. And, I fell in love with Kashmiri cuisine. We used to leave the game to give our shots. Sometimes we would play 20 questions. Anupam taught us 3-4 new games”.Earlier, Vinay Pathak, who is gearing up for the release of his upcoming film ‘Chidiya’, had revealed that ‘Khosla Ka Ghosla’ was actually Boman Irani’s Hindi film debut.However, the release of ‘Khosla Ka Ghosla’ was delayed over issues with regards to its distribution. Vinay said that the film was “in the box” for 3 years, and eventually ‘Munna Bhai M.B.B.S.’ marked the debut of Boman in Hindi films.–IANSaa/

Los Angeles, May 30 (IANS) Singer-songwriter Janet Jackson shared an adorable throwback picture to celebrate her sisters Rebbie and La Toya’s birthday.

Janet posted a picture of herself alongside sisters Rebbie Jackson, 75, and La Toya Jackson, 69, when they were kids. In the image, the trio are wearing matching black and gold ensembles. Rebbie and La Toya share a birthday, but were born six years apart.”I miss you both tremendously and love you incredibly!!!! Have an amazing special day!!! your little sister” the singer captioned the Instagram post.Rebbie has largely retreated from the entertainment industry following the death of their brother Michael Jackson in 2009. La Toya, also a singer, most recently appeared on The Masked Singer Australia in 2023, reports people.com.All three sisters appeared opposite their brothers on The Jacksons, a variety show that ran on CBS from 1976 to 1977. The Jacksons marked the first variety show on American television with an entirely Black cast. The show catapulted a number of the siblings’ careers, leading to the formation of the Jackson 5 and the eventual record-breaking solo careers of Michael and Janet.In other news, Janet was honoured with the Icon Award at the 2025 American Music Awards after performing on television for the first time in seven years, said that she doesn’t consider herself an “icon”.The star performed a medley ahead of receiving the night’s special award, reports deadline.com.“I am so honored and so grateful. I mean, no disrespect in any way, but I don’t consider myself an icon,” she said during her acceptance speech.She added: “My family, myself, our dream was to… It wasn’t ever to be famous, we weren’t always like that. We always had a special love for music, dancing, and singing. Fame came with the result of hard work and dedication.”Jackson said that her story and her family’s story was “truly an American story,” and added:, “This would have only happened in America.”“The one thing that I hope for is that I’ve been an inspiration to others and artists to follow their dreams and succeed,” she said before thanking everyone in her team.Jackson thanked her family, “who have been the biggest supporters,” and also acknowledged her fans.“Because of you and God, I’m standing right here,” Jackson said about her fans.“I wanna thank the AMAs for this honor, which I am humbly grateful. And last, but not least, keep God in every part of your life because that’s where he wants to be.”–IANSdc/

Mumbai, May 30 (IANS) Actor and producer Shweta Tripathi is all set to make her debut as a theatre producer with the staging of the critically acclaimed British play titled ‘Cock’.

The play will have its premiere show to take place on June 6 in Delhi at Max Muller Bhavan and June 10 in Mumbai at Prithvi Theatre to commemorate Pride Month.Speaking about the project, Shweta shared, “Theatre has always been my first love. It’s raw, immediate, and leaves no space to hide—from the audience or from the truth. Producing a play like Cock is a personal and creative decision born out of my belief that storytelling should reflect the world in all its complexity and beauty.Shweta is producing this place under her theatre production company called AllMyTea which is being directed by UK based, Manish Gandhi. The play has roped in actors Rytasha Rathore, Tanmay Dhanania, Sahir Mehta, Harssh Singh.For Shweta to bring back this play celebrating queer love and pride month is the highlight to celebrate and highlight this story during a month dedicated to celebrate the LGBTQ+ community.Written by British playwright Mike Bartlett, and being directed by Manish Gandhi, the play is an explosive, emotionally charged drama that delves into themes of identity, sexuality, and the fluidity of love. It’s honest, unapologetic portrayal of a man caught between the familiar and the unexpected—his long-time male partner and a new-found attraction to a woman.She added: “We are living in a time where people are finally feeling empowered to own their identities, and Cock doesn’t shy away from the discomfort or the beauty of that journey. It’s messy, human, and real. That’s what drew me to it.”The actress said that she wants to be part of stories that “make you uncomfortable in the best way—stories that spark conversations, empathy, and perhaps even change.”She continued: “Pride Month is a celebration, yes—but it’s also a reminder that visibility, inclusion, and acceptance are still ongoing battles. With this play, we aim to honour queer experiences and give them the stage they have long deserved.”The production is currently in casting and pre-production, with the play scheduled to open in June 2025 in Mumbai and Delhi.–IANSdc/