Will Elnaaz Norouzi take centerstage in second season of Sacred Games?

The first season of the Netflix series Sacred Games met with tremendous response. And the catch phrase, "Sab marr jaayenge, sirf Trivedi bachega" almost became iconic. So much so that, it was the most shared line from the show on social media and even attracted loads of speculation as well as memes. 

But not many have noticed that as far as the female characters go, most of the main female characters die in the series, with the exception of Zoya, played by Elnaaz Norouzi. 

So can we say, "Sab marr gaye, Elnaaz bach gayee"!! (wink, wink) The lady will have a pivotal part to play in the second season. "The response to the first season was much bigger than what I had imagined. So I'm definitely looking forward to the second season," says an elated Elnaaz.

Inspite of hailing from Iran and having studied in Germany, Elnaaz is particularly proud of the fact that she has herself dubbed her dialogues in Sacred Games, where she features along with established stars like Saif Ali Khan, Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Radhika Apte. 

In fact, Elnaaz who actually knows seven languages, has perfected her Hindi diction. Directed by Anurag Kashyap and Vikramaditya Motwane, the series is based on Vikram Chandra’s critically-acclaimed novel of the same name.

Manmarziyaan star Abhishek Bachchan visits the Golden Temple

Abhishek Bachchan who was recently in Amritsar to promote his film Manmarziyaan , paid a quick visit to the Golden Temple while in the city.

The star travelled with producer Aanand L Rai and the film’s writer Kanika Dhillon, after celebrating Raksha Bandhan in Mumbai.

Abhishek promoted Manmarziyaan in Nagpur and flew back to Mumbai to celebrate the festival. Later that day ,he took the afternoon flight to Amritsar, where he started the promotions on an auspicious note by visiting the temple.

The team later also visited Ahuja Lassi Shop and Kesar Da Dhaba, given that both Abhishek & Aanand Rai are foodies and wanted to try the local cuisine of Amritsar.

Sophie Choudry's Dua Lipa moment on the ramp

Last week saw Mumbai's anticipated fashion event of year with some of the biggest names in Bollywood walking at the Lakme Fashion Week that concluded last evening with Kareena Kapoor Khan as the showstopper.

The 5 day spread fashion soiree had quite a few highs with one of the highlight being VJ, actress & singer Sophie who's earlier graced the fashion week as a showstopper albeit this time with a legit live performance as she sang two of the greatest hits by Dua Lipa.

Originally British, Sophie Choudry moved to Mumbai to pursue her dreams & in no time rose to being called the original pop diva with her songs like 'Ek Pardesi & Mera Babhu Chail Chabeela' & now belongs to the creme de la creme crowd of the Bolly town. Sophie travels across the globe for her live gigs & this year made a debut at the Lakme fashion week as she performed live on stage.

Sophie took to her social media to share videos of her performance & in no time was flooded with messages being compared to the icon Dua Lipa herself. Her close friend Varun Dhawan was all praises for Sophie. Sophie shares her excitement, 'When designers ask you to be their showstopper, it's like being their muse & it's always special. In my case it was the designer's first show so hopefully it will always be memorable for him. What was even more special for me though was that I got to sing for SVA couture. Of course I do a lot of wedding & corporate performances but the fashion world doesn't get to see me sing live very often & I got to perform 2 of my favorite songs 'One Kiss' bu Dua Lipa & 'Ain't nobody' so it felt great since the response was so incredible.'

Celebrities spread the message to stop ‘Behen Ki Gaali’

In a diverse and multilingual country like India, learning a new language always is adrenaline pumping. However speakers of any language range from sophisticated and civilized to uncivilized and foul. Indians, in general, are habituated to using swear words in their communication. Every region, language or social group has its own set of foul words which are widely prevalent among its speakers. Some of the foul words are however common to all. These are readily used by certain individuals, not always as a way of insulting but also sometimes as a catharsis too. One such swear word used commonly and liberally by Indians is ‘BEHENC@*&’

Proton Communications – a communications agency came up with this unique idea of celebrating Raksha-Bandhan  with this social message which received the support of various celebrities. Raksha-Bandhan  is usually celebrated as the day of bonding between brothers and sisters. The festival has become an occasion of national solidarity and state tradition. This Raksha-Bandhan , Proton Communications through the help of various celebrities decided to carry on various activities urging people to give up this word. This move was supported by various Bollywood and TV celebrities, radio stations and news channels. 

Speaking on the occasion Sonu Sood said, “I wish you a great Raksha-Bandhan ; I want a promise from all my fans to stop using ‘behen ki gaali’ and to stop other people from using it as well. Have a super year ahead.” Actress Harshali Zine who has been a part of TV shows like Diya Aur Baati Hum & Hitler Didi said; “Every brother gives some or the other gifts to his sister on this day be it chocolates, mobile phone, Jewellery etc. I urge all the brothers to stop using ‘behen ki gaali’ from this Raksha-Bandhan . This could be one of the best gifts that you can ever give to your sister." She was also a part of the on-ground activity for this campaign at  Andheri Station. 

Singer Bhoomi Trivedi also gave out a strong message saying “Do you guys abuse your sisters? No. Then why use ‘behen ki gaali’. Pledge that this Raksha-Bandhan  you will stop using ‘behen ki gaali’.” Actress Vindhya Tiwari who was a part of TV Shows like Naagin 2 and Sasural Simar Ka said “Raksha-Bandhan  strengthens the bond of a brother-sister relationship . I want to request everyone to take a pledge to stop using ‘behen Ki gaali’ and this could be the best gift that anyone can give to all the sisters.” Actress Gauri Tonk who was a part of TV shows like Kahin Kissi Roz and Ek Boond Ishq said, “A very happy Rakshabandhan to all of you. We all love our sisters so much and can’t even bear to hear a single word against them. If you love your sister so much then why use ‘behen ki gaali’. I request all of you to stop using this swear word. Any word said with aggression helps relieve anger. Let’s pledge to stop using this word.” Comic Balraj Syal who is currently in Australia gave out this message “I wish all the brothers celebrating the festival with their sisters and those like me who are far off but still celebrating the festival in spirit a very happy Raksha-Bandhan . Let’s pledge that this Raksha-Bandhan  we will not use ‘behen ki gaali’ and will motivate others also to do so.”   

Actress Aashi Gaur of the TV Show ‘Bhabhiji Ghar Par Hain’ commenting on the occasion said, “Wish you all a very happy Raksha-Bandhan  . I am asking for the biggest gift this Raksha-Bandhan   from my brother and request all you sisters out there to do the same. Brother you have given me everything, but this time I need a promise from you that you will stop using ‘behen ki gaali’ yourself and also stop others from doing it.” Actress Neha Marda said “This Raksha-Bandhan   let's take an oath to stop using ‘ behen ki gaali’ and educate everyone else also. Wish you all a very happy Raksha  Bandhan .” Jayesh Joshi, Maha-Mantri, Business & Industries Cell, BJP also supported the campaign and extended his full support for the noble idea. Commenting on the occasion he said “I request all brothers to stop using ‘behen ki gaali’ and stop anyone else who uses it. This could be a real gift for your sister. Jai Hind.” Poonam Dhillon, Jyotii Sethi, Anuritta Jha, Nandhish Sandhu, Sakshi Pradhan, Hritu Dudani, Raju Shisatkar also extended their support to the campaign.    

Chirag Bagaria, Business Head, Proton Communications said “We are a communications agency and believe in giving out clear and strong messages; be it for our clients or for the society. Our team ideated this campaign #SpeakRight and through the help of various celebrities and on-ground activities we could get this message across. 'Bhaiya iss Rakshabandhan Behen ki gaali dena chhod do' was the central message that we gave out through the #SpeakRight campaign.” 

Ravindra  Nayak of Corronet Innovations whose event company executed the campaign said; “We have old relations with Proton Communications, and when they came to us for execution of the campaign we got rolling. It was a good idea and a great time to roll out the message. A high traffic area like Andheri station was the perfect place for the campaign as there are a lot of footfalls of the suburban train and metro travellers. We plan to take the #SpeakRight campaign to newer heights going forward with more places to activate.”  

Mega budget of Rs 15 crore for Siddharth Kumar Tewary's show Radha Krishn

With the aim of bringing to life the classic love saga, Star Bharat offers the magnum opus show on the greatest ever love icons. While Radha Krishna has defined the meaning of love for all, the show is a fascinating journey into the era that explores many unknown facets about their love story. To ensure that the grandeur of the show surpasses everyone’s expectations, the makers are leaving no stone unturned to pay attention to every minute detailing.

The set, which is divided into multiple parts including Vrindavan, Gokul, Golok, Vrindavan jungle, the costume, jewellery, the research and a massive team involving more than 300 members, is surely going attract everyone’s attention. Since the makers are aiming at offering a never-seen-before visual extravagance through the mythological show, the budget has also been much higher than the usual shows on Indian television.

Apparently, the overall budget of the Siddharth Kumar Tewary produced show is more than Rs 15 crore. Sumedh Mudgalkar will be seen playing Krishn and Malika Singh will be seen playing Radha in the upcoming Star Bharat show, Radha Krishn.