Trust Shah Rukh Khan to make news. His presence at the Locarno Film Festival over the weekend was no different. The actor received the Pardo Alla Carriera Award at the 77th edition of the prestigious film festival and his acceptance speech has gone viral ever since. “Thank you all for welcoming me with such wide arms—wider than the ones I do on screen,” he joked, referencing his famous open-armed pose. Downplaying the weather of the Swiss city, he called it a “beautiful, cultural, artistic and extremely hot city with so many people crammed into a small square.” He humorously added, “It is just like being home in India.”
King Khan didn’t shy away from flaunting his funny side as he seemingly struggled to pronounce the name of his award—Pardo Alla Carriera Ascona-Locarno Tourism. “This award here, which, for the life of me, I’ve been trying… I can’t pronounce,” he joked before playfully renaming it “the Leopard award for being the most awesome in the world, in the history of humility and kindness and goodness.”
On the flipside, a video of SRK appearing to push an old man has polarized netizens. While some called him rude, others stated that it was a friend of the superstar. One fan added, “Now try spreading negativity. LOL!”
Karan Johar is planning to expand his vision for his production house. Rumours are rife that he is looking to sell a stake in Dharma Productions. Consequently, the Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani (2023) maker has invited some of the country’s biggest businessmen to invest in his company. Besides business houses based out of Mumbai and other metro cities, a music company has been sounded off. Not surprisingly, the music company is also said to be a frontrunner in this race. The filmmaker had been planning to take his company to newer heights. At one time, he was apparently contemplating an IPO (Initial Public Offering), but he changed his mind. A few years ago, buzz in B-Town was that KJo was planning to get an ace industrialist to invest in his production house. However, those reports faded off in the wake of the pandemic.
Sidharth Malhotra is not too deterred by the debacle of his last action thriller, Yodha. After his plans of collaborating with Meghna Gulzar fell through, the actor has moved on to another film. Sid is reportedly shooting for director Balwinder Singh Janjua’s film in Uttarakhand. Not much is known about the movie except that the narrative revolves around family, relationships, the protagonist’s home and land.
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After working with Naseeruddin Shah in films like That Girl in Yellow Boots (2010) and Waiting (2015), Kalki Koechlin is teaming up with him again. This time around, for a stage adaptation of William Shakespeare’s King Lear. Naseer essays the titular role, while Kalki plays his daughter, Cordelia. Directed by Rehaan Engineer, the play will open at Prithvi Theatre Festival this November. Produced by Ira Dubey, it also features Denzil Smith, Jim Sarbh, Neil Bhoopalam, Ira Dubey and Sheena Khalid. Come January, the team will perform in Bengaluru, and later at NCPA in April 2025.
It appears that Akshay Kumar is not doing the remake of Tiranga (1993). Producer-distributor Narendra Hirawat has denied making an adaptation of the Nana Patekar and Raaj Kumar-starrer. While he confirmed that he is making a movie with Akki, he reiterated that it is not a redux of the action drama. He also maintained that they are collaborating on a new and original script. Hirawat also promised that an official announcement will be made soon. For now, Akki has Khel Khel Mein up for release.
Over the weekend morning, Arjun Rampal took to Instagram to share that his account on X has been hacked. He cautioned his followers not to respond to any posts from his microblogging handle. Alongside an image of the microblogging platform, Arjun wrote, “Not good news… my X account [has] been hacked. Please don’t respond to any tweets or messages. #accounthacked (sic)” Last seen in Crakk with Vidyut Jammwal, the actor recently began working on his next, with director Aditya Dhar. The espionage thriller stars Ranveer Singh, Akshaye Khanna, R Madhavan, Yami Gautam and Sanjay Dutt.
The team behind Gyaarah Gyaarah had a surprise for Mumbaikars recently. ZEE5 marked the release of Karan Johar and Guneet Monga Kapoor’s web series with a 3D projection against the backdrop of the iconic David Sassoon Library’s clock, which is also an integral part of the city’s heritage. Dhairya Karwa, Raghav Juyal and Kritika Kamra joined Guneet and director Umesh Bist for the launch at the landmark venue. Raghav said, “Seeing our story come to life through cutting-edge 3D projection mapping on this historic building was the perfect way to announce the arrival of the series.” Calling it a proud moment for them, Kritika added, “It was thrilling to see the magic of Gyaarah Gyaarah come alive via 3D projection, lights, sound and drama. It is a great start, drawing attention to this iconic landmark and giving everyone a glimpse of the adventure that lies ahead.”
