Ali Fazal to felicitate Judi Dench at a special event in Santa Barbara

The admirable, Ali Fazal, has been juggling between Bollywood and Hollywood. After his special appearance in Furious 7, he bagged his first lead role in a Hollywood film, Victoria & Abdul where he was paired opposite the legendary Dame Judi Dench as Queen Victoria and Ali was cast in the title role of Abdul Karim. The movie was the real-life story of Queen Victoria’s controversial friendship with an Indian help, Abdul Karim who later became an important courtman in the Victorian Empire. The film received great reviews for Ali and soon after he already bagged his second film in the west.  

Taking the honor of the film forward, this year at the Santa Barbara Film Festival, Judi Dench will be honored with the annual Kirk Douglas Award for Excellence in Films. Ali Fazal will be joining three of Judi's precious Co-stars for a special tribute presentation for the legendary actress. Ali will be delivering a speech at the ceremony in which he will be joined by other actors Jeff Bridges and Armie Hammer who will be honoring the actress together.  

This truly is a proud moment for Ali to be part of an honorary night for an actress like Judi Dench! When asked Ali he said," It was a world of a different experience to work with Judi Dench. She’s a powerhouse of a talent and I have learned so much from her. And now to be able to be on a platform honoring her is actually an honor for me. She’s rightfully deserving of this award and so much more. She’s one of the most humble, hard-working, energetic people I have met who still has so much appetite to learn. She’s has inspired me for years to come and I’m looking forward to seeing her again after two months in Santa Barbara"

‘I see Sai in you….’ says an Iranian Sai Baba devotee to Abeer

The biopic of Sai ‘Mere Sai’ on Sony Entertainment Television has been doing everything right to keep the audiences engrossed. In fact, recently an Iranian lady, Irfat, who happens to be a devotee of Sai Baba, has actually started considering actor Abeer Soofi as him. She believes his dedication and determination to play the saint has drawn her closer to Sai Baba and she went her way out of to meet him on the set. Irfat has been a follower of the show since its commencement and ever since, she wanted to meet Abeer and thank him for the way he is justifying the role. She used all the ways to contact him and expressed her desire to meet him on set. Abeer was overwhelmed with this and instantly accepted her wish and invited her on the set. A source from the set informs, “Irfat came on set and appreciated Abeer for playing Sai Baba. She also told him that she has been a Sai Baba devotee for a long time. She wanted to learn completely about Sai for which she shifted to Mumbai from Iran. Abeer was immensely happy to meet a true devotee of Sai Baba who has now become his biggest fan.”.

Bollywood queen Rekha praises Super Dancer Misti for her acting talent!

Rekha, one of the most revered actresses of Bollywood, graced the set of Super Dancer Chapter 2. While everyone including judges Shilpa Shetty, Anurag Basu and Geeta Kapur, Super Gurus and contestants seemed excited to meet and greet the Bollywood Diva, what unveiled in the show came as a big surprise for contestant Misti Sinha. The young talent has mesmerized everyone with her dancing skills, but after watching her performance Rekha felt she is also a fabulous actor. Rekha is the first one to spot her acting ability and ask her to recite a dialogue on stage. And when Misti recited the dialogue, everyone was shocked and surprised to know that she can pull off dialogue deliveries as brilliantly as her dance moves.  

Rekha asked Misti to recite the dialogue, “Sikandar toh Kya, 25,000 mein to tasveer bhi naa bechu”. Once Rekha showed the way or style in which the dialogue has to be recited, Misti quite naturally performed it. Needless to say, everyone cheered and lauded Misti’s newly discovered art of acting only with the help of Rekha. Interestingly, filmmaker turned judge Anurag Basu also expressed his wish to direct Rekha in one of his films and Rekha gave him the opportunity to direct Misti for the scene.

A source present on the set informs, “Rekha spotting Misti’s acting talent is one of the biggest surprises for this weekend’s episode. Misti not only entertained with her dancing skills but also enthralled everyone with her acting skills.” 

I feel at the top of the world: Saurabh Pandey on marrying Zara Barring

Actor Saurabh Pandey, who tied the knot with his longtime girlfriend Zara Barring on Monday, is ecstatic. The actor adds that there are still some functions that he has to attend to. “I feel I am on the top of the world after getting married. I don't know how does it feel but the time when I saw Zara Barring (Soni) coming towards me, at the wedding, it was like my body and my heart just grew ten thousand times. There was a different rush inside my body,” he says, adding, “I am not tired as yet. There is a reception in Delhi, there's a reception in our village in Uttar Pradesh. It's will go on another few days.”

Ask him if he danced in his baraat and he says, “I danced like crazy. I and my friends Gurmeet, Debina, Himmanshoo, Mohammad Nazim, Vikas Kalantri, Priyanka Chibber, we all danced well. We danced outside Chandan Theatre, which is close to the venue, Iskcon Temple.”

In fact, Saurabh adds that his friends and family enjoyed all the functions. “All the functions had their own colours, every function was unique in itself. I loved it all. Everyone loved it, everyone was happy. In fact, during the pheras at 4 am everyone was jolly as well, they were all awake and nobody was tired. It was really a meaningful Shaadi for everyone because the Pandit explained to us the meaning of the 7 pheras and 7 wows,” he says.

And did he have any wedding jitters before the marriage? “I wasn't scared of marriage because I was marrying the one  I loved. So it was not at all scary. Now we are together legally. We were always together and now we are married in front of society,” he says.

The couple is yet to firm up their honeymoon plans. “Honeymoon plans are yet to be decided and we are thinking probably Europe or New Zealand,” he says, adding, “We need to sit together and decide because my shooting schedule is also going to start soon. Even Soni is going to start with something, so we need to be well planned.”

But being busy is something that the actor has accepted. “Both of us, being from the same field, have erratic schedules, erratic timings. We need to balance everything,” he says.

Zara was working in Canada before trying her hand at acting in Mumbai. “I am completely ok if she wants to work in Canada. That is up to her to decide. I will support her either way,” he says.

Marriage isn’t a speed breaker in your career: Suhani Dhanki

Marriage might not be frowned upon, however it is often not welcome in showbiz. There is the common perception that actresses won’t be able to devote as much time, as earlier, to work, once they get married. However actor Suhani Dhanki disagrees. “I think marriage isn't a speed breaker in your life or an obstacle. I think marriage is more about companionship, so if you find the right kind of companion, it shouldn't form like a break in your life. I am lucky to have a partner who thinks the same way as I do, we both are very focused in terms of our careers. We knew if we got married we always would have a lot on our plate; our ambitions and aspirations and we never wanted to put a halt on that. I don't know what other actresses do but I think there is a time and age where you feel you are prepared to settle down and I think I am fortunate that I have found a family that doesn't expect me to change at all. They are allowing me to do everything I want,” she says.

The actor adds, “In fact, when I signed Porus, my wedding was getting fixed and I told Swastik Productions about it and they were okay with managing my dates. I don't really think that an actress getting married is really an issue anymore in the industry what matters is the work. Everyone is more interested in an artist's work, than what they are doing in their personal life. Also the fact that I am playing the love interest of Laksh, isn’t really a big deal. In the end, we are actors and we are all playing characters.”

“I am getting married on 3rd December and my fiance's name is Prathamesh Modi. He is basically from Mumbai and later he moved to London to study and is still staying there for professional commitments. He is a jeweller and financial consultant in London,” she says.

Suhani adds that the two met through their families. “We met in an arranged marriage setup through our mutual connections. We started talking as friends. I started talking to him because I had questions about London so I started talking to him and we've known each other for 2 years. It's been a quite a journey as my father wasn't happy about the idea of me moving to London, so it took very long to convince him but it is a love marriage of course,” she says.

Of course, dressing up for the wedding is exciting. “I am super excited to dress up for my wedding day I know we as actors keep trying out different attires. For my wedding, I have put in a lot of effort in putting together my outfit from the colour, to the embroidery, everything. Moreover, I decided for my wedding that my outfit would be made by the person who has been making my dresses since childhood that is my mother and Sunanda Shah. So they have actually put my wedding outfit together and for my reception, I am going to be wearing a Natasha Dalal outfit,” she says.

While some people are keen on getting married to someone from the same profession, Suhani says that to her these things never mattered. “Actually if you are an actor shooting or you work in a corporate sector, the hours of working vary everywhere. It doesn't matter whether you marry someone from the industry or out, at the end what matters is who you marry,” she says.