Hariharan and Sons Release Their First-Ever Single Together – Afsaane

The renowned Bollywood playback and Ghazal singer Hariharan and his sons Karan and Akshay Hariharan have come together to unveil their first ever single – Afsaane. Afsaane is a romantic Ghazal sung and composed by Hariharan, music produced by Akshay Hariharan and its lyrics have been penned by Ameeta Parasuram. The music video features Hariharan’s son Karan Hariharan and Bollywood actress Sandeepa Dhar with A. Hariharan. The video is now available on Times Music YouTube channel. 

Afsaane is a romantic Ghazal which showcases the journey of love – Falling in love, cherishing good moments, going through different phases of agony, ecstasy, commitment and more. The song is originally derived from a poem which had followed the tradition of Urdu Ghazal poet Dagh Dehalvi. 

On asking about the song, Hariharan said, “Afsaane is one of the most beautiful Ghazals I have sung till date. The lyrics are so meaningful and have been beautifully written by Ameeta Parasuram.  Also, the song is very special to me because this is the first time I’m closely working with my sons. 

On this, Karan said, “My first cameo appearance was in a music video at the age of 4. This is the second time that I’ve been given a chance to feature in a music video again. Afsaane has been beautifully composed and sung by my father Hariharan and my brother Akshay has done the music production. The three of us together have done many music shows in the past, but this the first time that we three have collaborated in such a manner. Hope people will love our musical combination”! 

Karan Hariharan is a budding actor in the Film Industry. He has graduated from the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute Los Angeles. He is also well versed in martial arts and gymnastics. He made his Bollywood debut as a lead actor in the film ‘Missing on a Weekend’ (2016) alongside Pavan Malhotra. He made his first cameo appearance with his father for the popular track ‘Halka Nasha’ at the age of 4.

Akshay Hariharan is the elder son of renowned singer A. Hariharan.  He is a music director in the Indian Film industry and has composed and produced songs for films such as Kokanastha and Black Home. Currently, he is working on an Indo-polish movie called 'Nie means Nie' directed by Vikash Verma under the banner of g7 films which is slated for release in 2019. In addition, he has produced 3 songs in the Ghazal album 'Hazir 2' featuring Zakhir Hussain and Hariharan. Finally, he has produced the National Game anthem which was held in Kerala in 2015. The anthem was written by Javed Akhtar also featured artists such as Hariharan, Yesudas, Shreya Ghoshal, Benny Dayal, Salim Merchant and Broda V. 

Hariharan is a renowned playback singer and composer who has given a plethora of chart-topping hits for decades. He is an established Ghazal singer and one of the pioneers of Indian Fusion Music. He was honored with the Padma Shri by the Government of India in the year 2004.  He has been accorded with an uncountable number of awards. Some of them include – National Film Awards (1998,2009, Kerela  State Film Awards (2011),  Swaralaya-Kairali-Yesudas Award (2004), Filmfare  Awards  South ( 2011), Asianet Film Awards ( 2011 and 2012) and many more.

Anil Kapoor learns to play the trumpet for Fanney Khan

Superstar Anil Kapoor kickstarted his career with Woh Saat Din (1983) for which he learnt to play the harmonium .Ironically , 35 years later, the star learnt to play the trumpet for his upcoming film Fanney Khan.

Says Anil Kapoor, "The trumpet is an integral part of my character in the film. My character, Fanney, plays it when he is sad or happy. So I had to make it look real. I was excited to learn a new instrument and took lessons from [professional player] Ramesh Kumar Gurung.It was challenging to emote while using the instrument.”

The star chronicles the place of music in his career as he also learnt the sitar as a child artist starring in Tu Payal Mein Geet (1971) and would travel from Chembur to Bandra for his lessons as a 12 year old. He says, “I learned to play the harmonium from Ustad Iqbal Ahmed Khan. Music has played an integral part in my career. I understood melody and rhythm through the characters I have played

Mukesh Chhabra scores a sixer

Renowned casting director-filmmaker, Mukesh Chhabra has made a substantial contribution to Indian cinema by introducing some of the most remarkable talents in the country to the world.

Having worked closely with award-winning filmmakers for landmark movies, the cinephile has yet again proved his mettle – of spotting the talent in six successful projects this year so far!

Associated with critically acclaimed and commercially successful films such as Gangs of Wasseypur, Shahid, Kai Po Che, Highway, Haider and Dangal, the ace casting director-turned-filmmaker has worked on various interesting projects this year catering to different target audience and for different mediums including Baaghi 2, Veere Di Wedding, Sanju, and Sacred Games, Lust Stories in the web series space.

With years of cinema expertise and now also ruling the internet space, Mukesh has successfully spotted and honed the very best of acting talent in line with the exact requirements of feature films, TV commercials and other mediums. Having worked on two 100 crore grossers this year – Baaghi 2 and Sanju, Mukesh has handpicked and trained competent artists to portray challenging roles that were seemingly in complete contrast to their inherent psyche and potential.

“Casting is one of the core aspects of filmmaking. I want to help talented people meet the right directors. I love casting more as it gives me happiness. While working on a project, I only follow my script while casting. As far as Bollywood is concerned, only your talent will take you further.”

Mukesh successfully heads his own casting company and is a credible authority to open the topic to conversation. The ace casting director will be working on 35 more films including Nitesh Tiwari’s next and will soon announce a very big show for Netflix.

Sony Max Highlights and Listings- 16th – 31st July

MON	16-Jul-18	09:00:00PM	DANGEROUS KHILADI 6
TUE	17-Jul-18	09:00:00PM	YEVADU
WED	18-Jul-18	09:00:00PM	MAIN HOON LUCKY THE RACER
THU	19-Jul-18	09:00:00PM	RAJ MAHAL 3
FRI	20-Jul-18	08:00:00PM	TERROR 2
SAT	21-Jul-18	08:00:00PM	BLACKMAIL
SUN	22-Jul-18	08:00:00PM	Kanchana Returns
MON	23-Jul-18	09:00:00PM	DYNAMITE
TUE	24-Jul-18	09:00:00PM	SON OF SATYAMURTHY
WED	25-Jul-18	09:00:00PM	Janta Garage
THU	26-Jul-18	09:00:00PM	KAASHMORA 2
FRI	27-Jul-18	08:00:00PM	KANCHANA THE WONDER CAR
SAT	28-Jul-18	08:00:00PM	THE FATE OF THE FURIOUS
SUN	29-Jul-18	08:00:00PM	SARRAINODU
MON	30-Jul-18	09:00:00PM	HYPER
TUE	31-Jul-18	09:00:00PM	YEVADU 2

Pankaj Tripathi roped in for Season 2 of Sacred Games?

Actor Pankaj Tripathi had a successful year in the year 2017 with multiple releases that even won him a National Award for his film Newton. The year 2018 already saw him in some interesting projects including Tamil film Kaala, Angrezi Mein Kehte Hai, Phamous, Kaalakandi, Punjabi film Harjeeta and very recently in Anurag Kashyap and Vikramaditya Motwane's video on demand series on Netflix Sacred Games. The series is divided into 8 episodes and has Saif Ali Khan, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Radhika Apte, Neeraj Kabi, Kubra Sait, and Luke Kenny amongst many others. Sacred Games is a crime thriller drama and has kept viewers on the edge of their seat.

Set in Mumbai with multiple twists and turns in each episode takes Vikram Chandra's novel adaptation to a great height. Out of the entire cast of Sacred Games, the surprise package is Pankaj Tripathi who plays a very important character that has the efficiency to take the plot for its makers for part series. The Masaan actor’s role has wickedness, a very ruthless yet very subtle and calm character that has been played by Pankaj in his own stride. The plot ends at a point where it has the full potential of a Sacred Games Season 2 where Pankaj will be seen as one of the main characters. The makers already roped him to play the main antagonist in season 2 where he will be more dreaded and fearless than Nawazuddin in season 1.

We cannot wait to see this super talented actor to play the part in Sacred Games Season 2, who has left his mark on each role he has played so far.