Aditya Datt Remembers Grandfather Anand Bakshi On His Birth Anniversary With A Heart-Warming Tweet

Director Aditya Datt, who has helmed ‘Karenjit Kaur: The Untold Story Of Sunny Leone’, is the grandson of legendary Indian poet and lyricist Anand Bakshi and on the occasion of his birth anniversary, his proud grandson remembered him with a tweet, which warmed the cockles of our heart.

Taking to Twitter, Datt wrote, “USTAD for #sanju ...LEGEND for the #world ...DADDY for us....grandpa...  #anandbakshi ... happy birthday....miss u  @nidhidattsood @chandnidatt @rakbakx @kavitabali @shreyabali19 @sidhantbali.”

Readers may remember that in Rajkumar Hirani’s recent release ‘Sanju’, Sunil Dutt’s character played by Paresh Rawal refers to Bakshi as an ‘Ustad’ for his inspiring lyrics and persuades Sanjay Dutt (Ranbir Kapoor) to listen to his songs for motivation. Not only this, in the film, the book based on Sanjay’s life is titled ‘Kuch Toh Log Kahenge’, which is the title of a song written by none other than Anand Bakshi.

Aditya, who is known for helming hit thriller ‘Table No. 21’, is being lauded for his directorial excellence with regards to ‘Karenjit Kaur’: The Untold Story Of Sunny Leone’, which is aired on Zee5.

Carnival Motion Pictures join hands with Sanjay Raut to co-produce Thackeray

From his humble beginnings as a cartoonist with The Free Press Journal to grow to emerge as a supreme political leader the first voice of the Maharashtrians in Mumbai's political and professional landscape, to establishing the power of the Marathi manoos on the national and global platform, Balasaheb Thackeray’s tale is legendary and immortal.

Needless to say, his life cannot be contained in a film unless it is penned by someone who has seen Thackeray the phenomenon at close quarters. Who else could be apt than firebrand journalist and MP Sanjay Raut, to chronicle Balasaheb’s rise in the film Thackeray, starring Nawazuddin Siddiqui, under the banner Raut'ers Entertainment LLP, directed by Abhijit Panse.

Post the teaser created waves across the world for its strength and the subsequent talk of the film being a no-expenses-spared biopic with elaborate sets and production values like no other, Carnival Motion Pictures has stepped in to be co-producers alongside Sanjay Raut in the film.

Post the phenomenal success of Sachin: A Billion Dreams in 2017, Carnival Motion Pictures is now actively producing Hindi, Malayalam and other regional language films.

Says Dr. Shrikant Bhasi, Founder and Chairman - Carnival Group, “ We at Carnival believe in content cinema. Balasaheb Thackeray is an example of how the common man can be the change. We are glad to be associated with Thackeray the film that showcases the life journey of Balasaheb and the histrionics of Nawazuddin Siddiqui. We are glad to be producing one of the most-awaited films of 2019 with Mr. Sanjay Raut."

Sanjay Raut adds, “If there is ever a personality whose biography should be made after Mahatma Gandhi, it is Balasaheb Thackeray. We welcome Carnival Motion Pictures to join us in reaching this film to millions of people the world over wanting to know more about the story of Balasaheb Thackeray, a man who brought out the super powers of the common man with his sheer presence. We look forward to the film reaching the masses the coming year.”

Produced by Shri Sanjay Raut and Dr. Shrikant Bhasi and Directed by Abhijit Panse, the film is slated to release on Balasaheb’s birth Anniversary i.e. 23rd January 2019.

Pooja Hegde sets new fitness goals for Housefull 4!

Pooja Hegde is certainly among those who believe in waking up early at the crack of dawn to lace up her running shoes and breaking into a sweat. 

Riding high on the success of her last release, Allu Arjun’s Duvvada Jagannadham (DJ), Pooja is touted as one of the most successful female stars not just in Bollywood but South industry as well. 

The talented actress, who is currently shooting for four big projects simultaneously, has opted for a new exercise regime for her next biggie, Housefull 4. It’s learnt that Pooja who is working round the clock fulfilling work commitments from one set to the other barely has time to sleep, forget about working out. 

A source says, “Pooja is one of the busiest female stars of the South film industry, working on big banner multiple projects. In spite of that, fitness always remains her priority and she has chalked out a new fitness routine by waking up at 4 am to break a sweat for her next, Housefull 4.” 

“Pooja hits the gym quite early unlike other female stars and post workout she starts shooting for her films from 8 am to 10 pm, sometimes even stretching for more,” the source adds. 

“It’s a mix of calisthenics and Pilates which has really got me good results. Since the last couple of weeks, I had to travel more for shoots at different locations. Fitness has always been my priority and I’ve chalked out a new fitness routine by waking up at 4 am and working out to stay in shape for Housefull 4. My diet is basic home food, I don’t believe in dieting. Just stay off the junk,” Pooja informs.

Taapsee Pannu takes role prep inspiration from Big B for Mulk!

Taapsee Pannu has been busy in the Scottish highlands shooting for her upcoming film Badla which is being directed by Sujoy Ghosh. She is also basking in the success of Soorma which has been doing well at the box office and is also currently awaiting the release of her next film, Mulk which is directed by Anubhav Sinha. The reason it has been touted as a much talked about film is because it talks about a topic everyone tiptoes around, Islamophobia.

Taapsee plays a lawyer in the film, Aarti Mohammed who takes to fighting a case in the court to battle the allegations on her father in law who becomes victim of religious discrimination on being accused of raising a terrorist son. In every scene from the trailer Taapsee hits the bulls eye with her delivery, acting and emotion. While this is the first time the actress is donning the role of a lawyer,it doesn’t   seem like it on screen.

 One of the inspirations who helped Taapsee during the prep of her role is her Pink and Badla costar, Amitabh Bachchan. As Taapsee saw the veteran actor play a lawyer in her first film with legendary actor in 2016, she took a few tips and points from his role as lawyer and applied it to her own. Taapsee who spent a considerable

Time with the actor back in 2016 during the shoot of Pink took nuances of his role and applied that to the prep of her own role as a lawyer this time around. 

Amitabh's role is one of the best lawyer roles on screen according to Taapsee and it seems like she really took inspiration from him during the shoot of Mulk.

Speaking about it, Taapsee said, “On celluloid, Bachchan sirs character and role in Pink and his portrayal of a stern yet convincing lawyer for me was the best point of reference. Since I have worked with him on the film in 2016, I had a good point of reference of how he executed the role. While pf course we are diverse as actors and the kind of role I essay and situations of my role are much different, there were still nuances of the role which I picked up”.

KWAN SOUTH AIMS TO HERALD A NEW ERA FOR THE ENTERTAINMENT ECOSYSTEM OF SOUTH INDIA

COMPLETES A YEAR OF SUCCESSFUL OPERATION, OFFICES IN SOUTH INDIA’S TWO MAIN FILM HUBS- ENTERS CHENNAI AFTER HYDERABAD, SIGNS ON TOP TALENTS, SETS UP SPECIALISED DIVISIONS

A year back, India’s leading entertainment marketplace-KWAN ENTERTAINMENT entered into a JV with South India’s largest production powerhouses Suresh Productions- heralded by Rana Daggubati introducing a specialized division- KWAN South.  Fast forward to a year, the entity has facilitated record making collaborations, set up profitable entertainment divisions and signed up leading talent to name a few accomplishments.

Leading names onboard like Venkatesh, Mahesh Babu, Regina Cassandra, Huma Qureshi to name a few, showcases a healthy mix of stalwarts and promising talent with a strong sense of conviction in Kwan South’s vision. KWAN South has taken a holistic approach in talent representations and focuses on building profiles rather than managing basic logistics and dates. It is a one stop shop for all stakeholders- from actors, directors, producers, writers to technicians.

Chennai will now be home to Kwan South’s second office and being the second largest South Indian Film Hub will is an apt choice for spreading out the second phase of operations for the division. Kwan South’s presence in two major film hubs of southern India – Hyderabad (Telugu) and Chennai (Tamil) gives them ease of access to major entertainment players.

Set up at its headquarters as a studio style agency, the entity is a close knit 20 member strong operating pivotal yet separate standalone profitable divisions; namely Talent Management and Casting, Live Performances & Appearances, Content and Packaging, Production Support- TV and Commercials, Brand Associations- Endorsements, Digital and Film Partnerships.

Actor, Businessman and Partner- KWAN South, Rana Daggubati (SP) added, “With KWAN South, we are acting as catalysts in the industry’s transformation while giving long due credit to our massive industry on the national platform and serving best interests of audiences with ace content and products”

Himank Duvvuru, Head- KWAN South stated, “The south film industry has a lot of talent and an incredible craft. However, streamlining operations is the need of the hour. With KWAN we have already earned the confidence of the top stakeholders in the industry and hope to bring out the craft in its purest forms for the audience, who deserve it. This Industry is on the cusp of change and we are confident of being deft pioneers in this scenario”

Despite its huge scale, popularity and productions it dishes out, the South Indian Film Industry is commonly still looked upon as a regional player and often denied credit as a national player. A major flaw lies in the industry’s fraternized, kin-based nature of operations.  Through KWAN South, the aim is to change the nature of processes, make it a collaborative system and realize its immense potential in terms of scale and value as an entertainment industry.