Mumbai, Aug 31 (IANS) Actress Ila Arun, who is currently gearing up for the release of her streaming film ‘Haddi’, has shared that some of the scenes from the film were very demanding as they were shot in high temperatures.

The scenes were tough to shoot particularly for the lead actor of the film, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, as he had to shoot the scene in heavy layers of make-up and wig.

The film stars Nawazuddin in the role of a transgender character, who is very close to Ila Arun’s character of Revati Maa, Hijra Gharana’s mother candidly.

Talking about the challenges during the shoot, the actress said, “Some scenes were more like nightmares. It was a nightmare to work under those difficult situations in such heavy makeup. And hats off to Nawaz who used to take 6 hours to get ready with the wig, makeup, and everything else and still look flawless. The shoot happened at real locations in 45-46 degree celsius temperature without AC because the director chose a real location that was not equipped.”

She also spoke about her experience working with the debutant director, Akshat Ajay Sharma and how difficult it was to shoot at real locations, Ila Arun said: ” ‘Haddi’ being his debut film, the way he kept his calm in extremely high temperatures which went up to 45-46 degrees is indeed praiseworthy. He was facing challenges from every direction, right from the weather conditions [scorching heat] to other things. All the actors were equally suffering. There was no AC and so everybody was losing their temper. However, Akshat dealt with it in a very calm way. That’s the first success of a director – being able to tolerate everything for the sake of good work.”

The film, which also stars Anurag Kashyap, is set to drop on September 7 on ZEE5.

Mumbai, Aug 31 (IANS) On legendary writer Amrita Pritam’s birth anniversary, Rasika Dugal has expressed her heartfelt wish to portray the iconic wordsmith’s life journey in a movie, if such an opportunity arises.

Rasika said: “Amrita Pritams writings, to my mind, talk about romance and revolution in the same breath. There is a sadness, a sense of longing, a passion, a calm anger, a questioning and an imagination in her words which is never too conscious of itself and hence really hits home.” 

“I have been very moved by her poetry and very intrigued by her biographies. Here is a woman who lived life on her own terms- acknowledged her obsessions and passions and nurtured them fearlessly. It would be a dream come true for me to get an opportunity to portray her if a film about her is ever made. I have been manifesting this for quite some time. I hope the universe is listening.”

Amrita Pritam, a literary luminary whose words have resonated across generations, has left an indomitable legacy with her evocative writing and unflinching stance on life.

Her upcoming projects include reprising her role as Neeti Singh in the third season of ‘Delhi Crime’. Furthermore, she is set to return as Beena Tripathi in the much-anticipated third installment of ‘Mirzapur’. She will also be seen in a diverse array of projects such as ‘Little Thomas’, ‘Lord Curzon Ki Haveli’, ‘Spike’, ‘Fairy Folk’, and a few unannounced projects.

Mumbai, Aug 31 (IANS) Director Zoya Akhtar is ready to release her latest film ‘The Archies’, and before the movie launches, she has wished the cast best of luck as this film will mark each actor’s cinematic debut.

Taking to Instagram, she posted a black and white picture of the cast which includes Suhana Khan, Mihir Ahuja, Agastya Nanda, Khushi Kapoor, Vedang Raina and Aditi Dot.

All the actors appeared side by side and were seen smiling, with an ‘Archies’ billboard in the background in Mumbai’s Western Express Highway.

She captioned the post: “Your first hoarding is up kiddos. May there be many more. May you never stop working hard and forever remain wide eyed. I wish you the world.”

The actors all proceeded to thank Zoya Akhtar for this opportunity while actresses Mona Singh and Nitanshi Goel also wished them the best of luck.

But the response of netizens has remained the same, ever since the movie was first announced back in 2022 with its trailer.

The trailer for ‘The Archies’ received huge flak and was heavily trolled as people said that the film had little connection with Indian audiences except its extreme elite.

People accused the film of being a prime example of Bollywood’s nepotism as nearly every actor here comes from a rich Bollywood family, such as Suhana Khan, who is the daughter of Shah Rukh Khan and Agastya Nanda, who is the grandson of Amitabh Bachchan, and Khushi Kapoor, who is the daughter of Boney Kapoor.

Based on the 1960’ American comic book of the same name, according to the film makers, ‘Archies’ is a retro teen-comedy set in the 1960s which explores themes of friendship, freedom, love, heartbreak and rebellion through the lives of Archie, Betty, Veronica, Jughead, Reggie, Ethel and Dilton. It will take audiences to the fictional hilly town of Riverdale.

‘Archies’ will be released on Netflix, and will hit the streaming service on December 7, 2023.

Mumbai, Aug 27 (IANS) The recently released Sunny Deol-starrer film ‘Gadar 2’ is causing a rampage as it emerges as the third highest grossing Hindi film of all time after crossing the lifetime collections of the Aamir Khan-starrer ‘Dangal’ and more recently the Yash-starrer ‘K.G.F.: Chapter 2’.

Trade analyst Taran Adarsh took to his X (formerly called X) on Sunday to share the development in the collections of ‘Gadar 2’. The film has collected Rs. 439.95 crores in India so far.

He wrote, “CROSSES ‘KGF 2’, NEXT ‘BAAHUBALI 2’… After crossing lifetime biz of #Dangal, #Gadar2 overtakes #KGF2 #Hindi… #Gadar2 is now THIRD HIGHEST GROSSING #Hindi film in #India… Continues to smash #BO records at mass sectors… [Week 3] Fri 7.10 cr, Sat 13.75 cr. Total: ₹ 439.95 cr. #India biz (sic)”.

Film exhibitor and distributor, Sunny Khanna, CEO, Whitelion entertainment, had earlier told IANS: “The film has an average of 75-80 per cent occupancy rate in theatres on weekends. This film has given life to theatres which were thinking of shutting down. Leave aside the national chain of multiplexes, even the small multiplexes which earlier had an occupancy rate of 8 per cent are now witnessing 60% occupancy rate and it’s only because of ‘Gadar 2’”.

He shared that the film’s collections peaked on Independence Day: “The business of ‘Gadar 2’ was huge on Independence Day but what’s surprising is that the film witnessed just a marginal drop of 30 per cent on second Saturday. Even a big hit like ‘Pathaan’ which is the highest grossing Hindi film had a huge drop on second Saturday but ‘Gadar 2’ seems to be unstoppable at this point.”

He further mentioned that it’s a good time for movies in theatres because this is a rare occurrence when films from diverse geographies are doing good business. There’s superstar Rajinikanth’s ‘Jailer’, ‘Gadar 2’, the Chiranjeevi-starrer ‘Bhola Shankar’, ‘Gadar 2’ and the Akshay Kumar-starrer ‘OMG 2’ all of which are performing well at the box-office.

“There’s a good momentum in the industry. The exhibitor sector is a crucial sector and our industry has been facing major issues in this sector ever since the pandemic struck. But with the performance of ‘Gadar 2’, ‘Jailer’ and ‘OMG 2’ things are looking good,” Sunny concluded.

Hyderabad, Aug 24 (IANS) Allu Arjun became the first-ever Telugu actor to win the national award for best actor after he bagged the honours for his power-packed performance in ‘Pushpa: The Rise’ at the 69th National Film Awards announced on Thursday.

Celebrations broke out in Tollywood circles soon after the announcement, as greetings poured in for the stylish actor from all over the industry. There were celebrations at the house of the elated actor as his father and well-known producer Allu Arvind was among the first to greet him.

Sukumar, who directed the action-drama film, hugged the actor to congratulate him.

Several film personalities congratulated Allu Arjun, who became the first Tollywood actor to win the national award for the best actor in 68 years of the awards’ history.

Popular as ‘Bunny’ in film circles, Allu Arjun entered the film industry as a child artiste in 1985. ‘Gangotri’ (2003) was his debut movie as the hero. He established himself as a pan-India actor with the blockbuster ‘Pushpa: The Rise’.

The grandson of popular comedian Allu Ramalingaiah and son of Allu Arvind, Allu Arjun is also the nephew of megastar Chiranjeevi. Chiranjeevi’s wife Surekha is Allu Arjun’s paternal aunt.

Congratulating Allu Arjun, Chiranjeevi tweeted: “Proud moment for Telugu cinema. Heartiest congratulations to especially my dearest Bunny for the coveted National Best Actor Award. Absolutely proud of you.”

Leading actor Jr NTR also congratulated Allu Arjun, saying, “You deserve all the success and awards you get for Pushpa.”

Allu Arjun’s cousin Ram Charan and Venkatesh have also congratulated the actor.

Meanwhile, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy congratulated Allu Arjun for winning the maiden national award for best actor. He also congratulated Devi Sri Prasad on winning the national award for best music for ‘Pushpa’.

In his reply, Allu Arjun thanked Jagan Mohan Reddy for his congratulations.

The Chief Minister said the 69th National Awards have proved to be a bonanza for the Telugu film industry.

He also congratulated S.S. Rajamiuli for ‘RRR’ winning six awards, including best popular film.

Jagan Reddy also congratulated Chandrabose for winning the award for best lyrics for ‘Konda Polam’.