Arbaaz Khan will be seen in a double role for the 1st time ever in Chandrakant Singh’s untitled thriller film which will be shot entirely in Arosa, Switzerland. Chandrakant Singh who has made 3 comedies & 1 social awareness with Women Empowerment film Six X is now planning an untitled thriller film with Arbaaz Khan in double role. The film will be entirely shot in Arosa, Switzerland. The film is produced by Mahendra Singh Namdev & Rakesh Datta. The film will also have Kannad superstar Aindrita Ray who will be making her debut in Hindi film. Arbaaz Khan averred, “I am playing a double role, but can’t divulge the details. Its an interesting script and the makers thought that I fit the part.” While Chandrakant Singh averred, “Arbaaz Khan will play contrasting characters. One of the role will be that of Switzerland based business tycoon, who gets married at 40 to a much younger girl. The plot thickens after he is murdered.

Banner: Meena Shamim Films
Producer & Director: Munnawar Shamim Bhagat
Star Cast: Bhushan Pradhan, Sanskruti Balgude, Prajakta Dighe & Shekhar Phadke
Music: Rafique Shaikh
Debutant director Munnawar Shamim Bhagat, who has also produced Nivdung, has made an experimental albeit a topical film based on the farmer’s suicide.

Keshav (Bhushan Pradhan) is a struggling musician who fails to make any mark. So much so that even his live – in girl friend ditches & deserts him for another beau. Keshav now wanders aimlessly and even decides to commit suicide. He lands up in a village where he is given shelter by an old woman who lives with her young daughter (Sanskuti Balgude). They both fall in an unexplained bond of silent love. Pressurized by a the Village Money lender, the trio of them take to farming on a barren land. But still Keshav tries to commit suicide many times till a ray of hope arrives with a full on Monsoon.

Debutant director Munnawar Shamim Bhagat has made a sensitive film on the evergreen topic of farmers committing suicide in villages. His directorial treatment succeeds in driving home the right message. But still he could not resist the temptation of placing a lavni song in such an emotional narrative.

Performance wise both Bhushan Pradhan & Sanskruti Balgude steal the limelight with their restrained act. But they sometimes appear to be uncomrtable in certain scenes. Veteran actress Prajakta Dighe is good but Shekhar Phadke is a total misfit in the role of a villainous Money lender.

All said and done Nivdung is more of a single theatre film for the interiors than that of a Multiplex Cinema of metrpolitan cities. Moreover Nivdung may garner a lot of critical acclaim and awards galore in the Global Film Festival circuit.

Banner: Yash Corporation
Producer: Paresh Mehta
Director: Suzad Iqbal Khan
Star Cast: Narendra jha, Komal Thacker,
Paresh Mehta, Raj Sharma, Amit Lekhwani, Master Sagar Nath Jha, Kumar Vaibhav & Sudam Aftab Khan
Music: Biswajit Bhattacharjee (Bibo) & Varun Agarwal

Director Suzad Iqbal Khan in his 1st 2 directorial outing had dabbled with 2 varied genres of filmmaking namely a sleazy movie titled Monsoon & a comic caper movie titled Murari – The Mad Gentleman and now in his 3rd directorial offering My Father Iqbal he has done a complete volte face by directing an extremely heartwarming albeit an emotional saga of a heart touching relationship between a father & his son.
Take a bow Mr. Suzad Iqbal Khan for your directorial crowning glory for My Father Iqbal.

The scripted scenario of My Father Iqbal, based on a real life incident of an engineer from J & K’s PwD Department. Iqbal Khan (Narendra Jha) fulfils multiple responsibilities in his life. He is a husband, father and above all, a sincere & honest citizen. My father Iqbal captures the struggle of a father who would go to any length to achieve the dreams of his child while maintaining his duty towards the country. My Father Iqbal also depicts the patriotism of a common man who fights for his country. There are also some light elements in the film portraying a typical middle class husband – wife relationship, their love & their tiffs. In fact My Father Iqbal not just showcases a man’s protective attitude towards his family but also towards the entire society that he lives in. Some terrorists use him to create havoc in the atmosphere that the family hails from. He always sacrifices his dreams and how his honesty is disturbing the corrupt people and how they trap him is unfolded in the film. However, he stands like a protective rock and saves everyone from the evil intentions. He is actually a father in true essence.

Director Suzad Iqbal Khan’s My Father Iqbal may have been based on a true life incident of an Engineer’s life but it sounds more like an inspirational semi autobiographical account. Be that whatever it may be but Suzad has done full directorial justice to the film. Although one finds many unexplained loopholes. The picturesque locales of J&K have been beautifully captured. But the editing of the film could have been more crisper.

Performance wise the scene stealer’s of the film are Narendra Jha as Iqbal Khan, Komal Thacker as Sahiba & Master Sagar Nath Jha as Iqbal Khan’s son’s childhood. While actor – producer Paresh Mehta as Sho Police J&K, Raj Sharma as Xen Pwd, Amit Lekhwani as Terrorist, Kumar Vaibhav as MLA & Sudam Aftab Khan as the grown up son of Iqbal Khan have lent an adequate support in carrying the narrative of the film forward.

Tail Piece: At the Box Office turnstiles the prospects of My Father Iqbal may not sound very encouraging. But in the Global Film Festival circuit it will definitely garner a lot of critical acclaim & awards galore.

Nikil Kumar Signs A 2nd Film

The debut hero of Jaguar Nikil Kumar hailing from an affluent family makes entry also in Telugu with the same title. For the release of his debut film the happy news is that he has already signed his 2nd film. Telugu films director Surendra Reddy is directing Nikil Kumar. The film is going on the floors on Nikil Kumar’s father former Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy’s birthday on 16th Dec, 2016.
Surendra Reddy has directed some of the high voltage action films like Race Gurram, Kick et al. This will also be a bilingual in Kannada & Telugu. Although the film of Surendra Reddy goes on the floors on 16th Dec, 2016 the actual shoot starts in Feb, 2017. Nikil Kumar is undergoing some more training before start of his 2nd film.

AK 57 Shoot Resumes

Thala Ajith’s AK 57 directed by Siva has completed the 1st schedule of shoot last month in Europe. The team has been taking a short break in Chennai so far. The 2nd schedule of the shoot has begun in Hyderabad as planned earlier. The shooting will go on for more than 2 weeks in the Capital City of Telangana. AK 57 stars Ajith & Kajal Aggarwal in lead roles. The supporting cast includes Thambi Ramaiah, Karunakaran, Appukutty and many others. Anirudh Ravichander is rendering the musical score for this grand project of Sathya Jyothi Films banner.

G. V. Prakash Signs C. V. Kumar

GVP is on a signing spree and apart from his Diwali release Kadavu Irukaan Kumaru directed by M. Rajesh the youngster has Bruce Lee, Adangadhey and the Rajeev Menon – A. R. Rahman project amongst other films under his belt. A new film with G.V. Prakash Kumar as the hero was announced recently titled 4G directed by debutant Venkat Pakkar an erstwhile assistant of Shankar. The film is produced by C.V. Kumar’s Thirukumaran Entertainment in which Sathish plays a prominent role while the heroine and the other cast & the crew details will be announced soon.

Soundarya Rajinikanth Reunites With Dhanush

Kalaipuli S Thanu after the monster hit Kabali directed by Pa. Ranjith and starring Superstar Rajinikanth is producing Soundarya Rajinikanth’s new movie titled Nilavukku En Mel Ennadi Kobam. Moreover it has been widely reported that Dhanush is writing the screenplay for the film and is also likely to play the lead role. News is now surfacing that Bollywood sensation Sonam Kapoor will play the love interest of Dhanush in Nilavukku En Mel Ennadi Kobam. Sonam Kapoor was the heroine in Dhanush’s Hindi debut Ranjhanaa (2013) and the duo are reuniting after 4 years. Official confirmation regarding the cast & the crew will be out soon.

Aishwarya Rajesh In Director Ameer’s Next

Young actress Aishwarya Rajesh has achieved the admiration of movie buffs & critics within a short span of time thanks to her brilliant portrayal of a wide range of characters she got to play. She has acted in the films of acclaimed directors like Pa.Ranjith, Manikandan & Seenu Ramasamy.
At present she is in talks to play one of the heroines in director Ameer’s film with Arya as the male lead. The film has been tentatively titled as Santhana Devan and Satna Titus of Pichaikkaran fame plays another female lead role in this film. The film will have scope for 2 leading heroines which will be played by Satna & Aishwarya,

Prominent Hero To be a Enact The Main Lead In Poonam Pandey’s Film

VBR Creations & Sooraj Productions are jointly producing a movie starring Poonam Pandey, Asish Vidyarthi and an undisclosed prominent hero in lead roles. Director Bhavani Masthan is the writer of the story & the screenplay. The film is touted to be a comedy entertainer & a love triangle. Vijaybhaskar Reddy & Fakruddin Shah are the producers. The movie was launched recently y in Hyderabad. Venkat is the cinematographer.

Pawan Kalyan’s New Movie Launched

A Pawan Kalyan film in the direction of RT Neason of Jilla fame has been launched. While A M Rathnam is the presenter, S Aishwarya of Sri Sai Raam Creations is the producer. It’s their Production No. 4. Aishwarya is currently producing Gopichand starrer Oxygen. The movie was formally launched at a puja ceremony held in a Film Nagar office. The puja was attended by Pawan Kalyan, AM Ratnam, RT Neason, Jyoti Krishna, Sharrat Maraar et al. Details as to when the movie will go on the floors and other cast & crew members are not yet out.

Shatamanam Bhavathi 1st Teaser Out

The teaser of Shatamanam Bhavathi was out recently. First things first. It comes across as an “accha” Telugu family entertainer, complete with Prakash Raj (who is older than his age) & Jayasudha. Mickey J Meyer keeps the Brahmotsavam tune in his kitty and goes beyond. The lush greenery of Coastal Andhra is enticing. Sameer Reddy’s visuals are fabulous. Sharwanand & Anupama Parameswaran are out to be in love & be loved. As far as Sharwa is concerned, this is as yet his one of the most soft core roles, perhaps. As Dil Raju says, let’s meet for Sankranthi 2017.

Taramani Gets Dubbed Into Telugu

Tamil drama Taramani, starring Vasanth Ravi & Andrea Jeremiah in lead roles, is being dubbed into Telugu by DV Cine Creations. D Venkatesh has admittedly acquired the rights by paying a fancy price. Directed by Ram, the maker of the National Award -winning Thanga Meengal, the film has music by Yuvan Shankar Raja. Theni Eashwar has handled the cinematography while Sreekar Prasad has done the Editing. Anjali has a guest role here. The title will be announced soon. Entha Varaku Ee Prema, starring Jiiva & Kajal Aggarwal, is currently in dubbing stage. We will release the 2 films simultaneously,” the makers have said.

Shweta Menon Ready To Get Raunchier!

Shweta Menon made her mark in Mollywood by her woman oriented films. In her upcoming film she plays a man’s role. The film is directed by Rajilal Damodaran and is titled Naval Enna Jewel. Recently in an interview she stated that before marriage her parents didn’t restrict her from doing what she liked. Now her husband too, he is encouraging and asked her to do better roles. To a question about her part in kick starting woman oriented films in Kerala she replied, “Well I was sick & tired of the “Bold” characters that kept coming to me. I wanted to do something lighter, like in Salt N’ Pepper, or even something raunchier than Rathivirvedam.

Govind Padmasoorya To Make His Debut In Kollywood

Govind Padmasoorya, known as GP is the darling of TV audiences. His job as a host of reality dance show made him a sensation among the audiences of that program especially amongst the women folk. In the filmi world, he has not shown a big presence till now, but had acted in a few noted movies. He was last seen in Pretham which was a horror comedy which he acted alongside Jayasurya, Aju Varghese & Sharafudheen. He has informed his fans through his Facebook page that he is stepping into Kollywood in a Jiiva starrer Kee. It is directed by Kalees. He also said that he is donning an antib – hero role and he will join for shoot by the end of this month.

Sudeep Hebbuli Nearing Completion

Another mega budget movie with big names working in it Hebbuli of Kichcha Sudeep, Samantha in lead of this SRV Productions Raghunath & Umapathi Pictures Umapathi joint venture is nearing completion. This is a big canvas film in the direction of S Krishna a famous cameraman & director of super hit film Gajakesari. An army based film Hebbuli Kichcha Sudeep is in a commander’s role serving the country and he saves from the hands of terrorists. He has variety of get up and the role is a major one in the career of 50 plus film’s actor Kichcha Sudeep. He reminds us Dr Vishnuvardhana of Muththina Haara.

Arbaaz Khan is set to be seen in double role for the 1st time ever in Chandrakant Singh’s untitled thriller film which will be entirely shot in Arosa, Switzerland.

Chandrakant Singh who has made 3 comedies and 1 social awareness with Women Empowerment film Six X is now planning an untitled thriller film with Arbaaz Khan in a double role. The film will be entirely shot in Arosa Switzerland. The film is produced by Mahendra Singh Namdev & Rakesh Datta. The film also have Kannad superstar Aindrita Ray who will be making her debut in Hindi film. Arbaaz Khan averred, “I am playing a double role, but I can’t divulge the details. Its an interesting script and the makers thought that I fit the part.

Chandrakant Singh averred, “Arbaaz Khan will play 2 contrasting characters. 1 role will be that of a Switzerland based business tycoon, who gets married at 40 to a much younger girl. The plot thickens after he is murdered.

Poet Tanveer Ghazi seems to be over the moon these days. The highly coveted shayar can’t seem to get over the appreciative phone call he received from Amitabh Bachchan himself for his work in Pink. “It’s like a dream come true. I still pinch myself sometimes,” says Ghazi jubilantly.

Tanveer has been a writer all along, mostly famous for his verses, poems and what not. So much so that the Maharashtra Government has awarded him with the famous Sahir Ludhianvi award for his contribution to shaayri. Being a person who refused to go through the grind to get big projects Tanveer took his time to make a mark in the industry. “I am not a person who would want to go through the typical Bollywood struggle to get work. I write because I enjoy writing and I am thankful to Allah – The Amighty that whatever I have written till now has been appreciated by people,” avers Tanveer who has 2 books Ehsaas & Samundar, a collection of his poems in Hindi & Urdu respectively, to his name. “I was recognised in the space I belonged and that’s what matters most. But I did do some work in Bollywood like the critically acclaimed film Manthan. I started off with writing just 1 song in that film and Ravindar Jain ji was doing the music of that movie around that time but slowly song after song I took over the writing work because the director liked my work so much.”

“I faded into my homeland again but then I kept being called back for more & more work. My last film before Pink happened was Hate Story 2,” he adds.

So how did Pink happen? “Shantanu Moitra Sir was looking for a writer and since I had worked with singer Harshdeep Kaur for her album, she recommended my name. The 1st time he called he gave me 10 minutes for dummy lyrics. It was too little a time but I had to gave my best shot, in my record time, I wrote the final lyrics. Surprisingly, the work I sent was liked so much that it immediately got finalised and that’s how the song “Kaari Kaari” happened in Pink,” and while talking about his experience of having worked with Shantanu Moitra he starts gushing about his Amitabh Bachchan experience, “I was called once again for a verse that Amitabh Sir had to recite during the climax of the film. It was a herculean task to come up with something for him and I gave it all to it. My verse was liked by Amitabh so much that he personally called me up to applaud me for it and that was the best day of my life.”

Little do many know that apart from Tanveer Ghazi there are only 4 other lyrics or poets or writers who’s works Amitabh Bachchan has recited in films 1st one being Sahir Ludhianvi’s works in Kabhie Kabhie, then it was Javed Akhtar’s verses in Silsila, his own father Harivansh Rai Bachchan’s works in Agnipath, Gulzar’s verses in Aks and eventually came Pink.

Well Big B’s words have surely encouraged Ghazi to venture full fledgedly into film industry. In the times of meaningless songs, Ghazi will truly be a breath of fresh air!

Two power house personalities namely actor -director Sajid Khan and actor-producer Riteish Deshmukh have joined hands together recently to host a celebrity talk show named Yaaron Ki Baraat on Zee TV Channel. The show premiered on 8th Oct, 2016 and it will be telecast in the prime time slotting of 9 pm every Saturday and Sunday. Yaaron Ki Baraat will span 10 weeks of rollercoaster joyride. This unique albeit first of its kind talk show will focus on Bollywood star pairs who are friends. It borders on their friendship over the years. It will be layered with wit and humor including anecdotes from their personal as well as their professional life. Caught up with Ritiesh Deshmukh, to get more info about the show in the Press Conference held at Studio 8 in Filmcity.

How did the idea about the celebrity talk show Yaaron Ki Baarat germinate?

The show Yaaron Ki Baraat has been conceptualized by Esselvision and Sajid (Khan) was roped in before me and it was Sajid who had asked them to contact me and ask me if I was interested in hosting the show along with him and most important if I would be able to spare time for the show amidst all my over busy schedule. But the moment I met them, including Sajid, and heard the concept of the show I was like game for it and gave my instant nod of approval.

Whose idea was it to have Amitabh Bachchan & Shatrughan Sinha as the first long lost Bollywood friends to appear on the show?

Once Sajid and me were up for the show. We had a sort of many joint meetings with Esselvision guys to discuss further about the game plan of the show. It was in one such meetings that both Sajid and me sounded off the idea to have both Amitji and Shatruji on the show and the moment we made this suggestion everyone in the meeting had this zapped up expression on their face and even we both were shit scared and nervous on how are we were going to achieve this impossible feat.

And then?

Then we just cooled down and we both decided to meet Amitji and Shatruji and convince them to be the first ever guests on the show. So I met Amitji and Sajid met Shatruji and narrated the concept of the show to them and once again we were shocked and surprised when they agreed to be the first guest on the show. Later on even Shatruji’s better half Poonam Sinha and his daughter Sonakshi Sinha informed us that Shatruji was too excited to be on the show with Amitji, as it was almost three and a half decades that both of them were appearing together on one platform. Yet we both could not believe that it was possible till their car reached Filmcity Studio, till they settled down in their Vanity Van and till they donned their make up. Finally we heaved a sigh of relief when we actually started shooting with them. Of course we were both nervous thinking that anything could have gone wrong and the shoot may have to be cancelled at the last moment. But thankfully everything went right, just as we had planned it. After the shoot there was appreciation galore even with a snide remarks that perhaps Amitji – Shatruji episode should have been a curtain’s down grand finale episode. But we promise to bring more excitement in the grand finale episode. In fact having both Amitji and Shatruji in the curtain raiser of Yaaron Ki Baraat was our trump card.

Maybe Sajid and you can bring together the jodi of Salman Khan – Shah Rukh Khan for the grande finale episode!

We both can’t promise the viewers on that score but we give our full assurance that we will try our level best to bring them together on the show at least in one of the episodes if not for the grand finale episode.

What exactly is the concept of the show?

We all have a Best Friend in our lives and we celebrities are no exception. Despite constant comparisons, constant cut throat competition, hectic schedules and frequent travels some of the Bollywood star friends have still managed to hold on to their friendship over the years. So for the first time ever on Indian Television, Zee TV Channel brings to the viewers this fun filled chat show Yaaron Ki Baraat.

Please Continue!!!

First of all this show will put celebrity friendships to test through a series of fun challenges and tasks. The guests will also share sepia toned memories including heartwarming anecdotes from their friendship over the years. They will also recreate the magic of their professional as well as personal lives and sometimes even spill the beans on each other. They will sportingly take on dares, parodying the most iconic scenes from their cult films and also reminiscing the good old times with pictures and videos. We will also put their compatibility to test over fun games. In fact they will let their hair down and have a good time. Our idea is to let spontaneity take over and reveal their fun sides to the viewers who will also participate with their rare Q&A sessions.

By the way who christened the show as Yaaron Ki Baraat and why only this name?

The show earlier had another working title but it was not jelling well with the real concept of the show. So on an impulse I suggested the name Yaaron Ki Baraat and it had an instant Bollywood connect with the superhit Bollywood film Yaadon Ki Baraat and the show is also about Bollywood star friends going down the memory lane and also getting nostalgic about it.

What are the exciting line – up of star friends for the show and will you both bring together even female star friends?

We will bring 20 pairs of star friends on the show in the alloted 10 weeks and if the show goes well then we may also have a second season as for now we are having a line – up of Karan Johar – Farah Khan, Sania Mirza – Pariniti Chopra, Harbhajan Singh – Yuvraaj Singh etc etc etc. Maybe we will try to bring even the current Bollywood actors like Ranveer Singh – Arjun Kapoor. We will try to bring other good friends from Business as well as Political arena and of course even other female star friends like we brought together Sania and Pariniti.

Will you also have Bollywood stars who were thick friends earlier and cannot see eye to eye now?

Sorry to say but this is not a reconciliation show. It is very difficult to make them friends again, at least not on the show. But on second thoughts you have sounded off a very good idea. Maybe we can work on it in the second season that is, if there is a second season and if we will still be hosting it. You see there are sometimes a lot of slip between the cup and the lip.

How was your experience of hosting the show?

While I have already hosted award ceremonies, Yaaron Ki Baraat will be my first time as the host of a chat show on a Hindi GEC. So to host a show celebrating friendships with a very close friend like Sajid feels apt. He has a great sense of humor, an impeccable sense of timing and together we hope to create the light hearted kind of atmosphere for the celebrities to open up and share things they have never ever spoken of. We look forward to entertaining audiences and letting them experience the friendships of their favorite stars. As for my personal experience of hosting Yaaron Ki Baraat I would say that both Sajid and me are like two old buddies who just got together for this show and had a lot of fun. In fact to be very frank we both had a real BLAST!!!