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Around Tinsel Town
>> Anant Ambani-Radhika Merchant wedding: Hollywood and Bollywood turn up to attend India’s biggest wedding
From the likes of John Cena, Justin Bieber and Kim Kardashian to Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan and Sanjay Dutt, several Hollywood celebrities and Bollywood A-listers graced the week-long wedding festivities of Anant Ambani, the youngest son of Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani, and Radhika Merchant, daughter of industrialist Viren Merchant.
On Saturday, the couple had a special sangeet ceremony, which was attended by Madhuri Dixit, Khushi Kapoor, Ananya Panday, Salman Khan, MS Dhoni, Aditya Roy Kapur, Alia Bhatt, Ranbir Kapoor and many other celebs. The event saw Canadian pop star Justin Bieber perform some of his chartbusters, setting the stage on fire with ‘Baby’, ‘Peaches’, ‘Love Yourself’, and ‘Sorry,’ while superstar Salman Khan grooved to ‘Aisa Pehli Baar Hua Hai’ with the groom-to-be. Real-life couple and ‘Brahmastra’ co-stars Alia and Ranbir shook a leg with Akash Ambani on the latter’s song ‘Show Me The Thumka’ from the 2023 movie ‘Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar’.
The couple’s haldi ceremony was attended by the likes of Salman, Ranveer Singh, Ananya Panday, and Sara Ali Khan
Bollywood
‘Kill’ raises ₹3.55 crore in two days at box office
Tabu, Ajay Devgn’s ‘Auron Mein Kahan Dum Tha’ to arrive in August
Pooja Hegde wraps up ‘Deva’ co-starring Shahid Kapoor
Reema Kagti’s ‘Superboys of Malegaon’ to have world premiere at TIFF 2024
Divyanka Tripathi says she and husband Vivek Dahiya were robbed in Florence, passports stolen
Hollywood
’The Shining,’ ’Nashville’ star Shelley Duvall dies at 75
Paramount to merge with Skydance following $8 billion deal
Oscar-winning producer on ’Titanic’ and ’Avatar’, Jon Landau, dies at 63; Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet pay tributes
Harvey Weinstein faces new sexual assault allegations ahead of retrial
Alec Baldwin cast as reckless flouter of rules at his trial in cinematographer’s shooting
‘Shrek 5’ officially in the works with Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy and Cameron Diaz to reprise iconic roles
‘Inside Out 2’ surpasses ‘Incredibles 2’ to become highest-grossing movie in Pixar’s history
Kevin Costner’s second ’Horizon’ film pulled from theatrical release
‘The Devil Wears Prada’ sequel in the works with original screenwriter tapped to return
James Wan’s ‘The Conjuring’ franchise sets its final outing for September 2025 release
‘Spider-Man Noir’ series gets eight-episode run at Amazon MGM, casts Brendan Gleeson as main villain
Robert Pattinson to produce and possibly star in Paramount’s ‘Possession’ remake
Jennifer Lawrence to headline sci-fi black comedy ‘Why Don’t You Love Me?’
Regional cinema
‘Kalki 2898 AD’ crosses Rs 800 crore mark at global box-office
Actor and TV presenter Aparna Vastarey passes away; Karnataka leaders and industry colleague pay tribute
Netflix announces ‘Modern Masters: SS Rajamouli,’ a documentary on ‘RRR’, ‘Baahubali’ filmmaker
Shivarajkumar’s first look from ‘Bhairavana Kone Paata’ out
First look of Shivarajkumar from Dhananjaya’s ‘Uttarakaanda’ out
Gautham Menon to make his Malayalam debut with Mammootty’s next
Mohanlal’s film with Sathyan Anthikad titled ‘Hridayapoorvam’
Manju Warrier’s ‘Footage’ gets a release date
Ram Charan-Shankar’s ‘Game Changer’ wraps up shoot
First look of Priyanka Mohan from Nani-Vivek Athreya’s ‘Saripodhaa Sanivaaram’ out
Yogi Babu’s film with Chimbudevan, ‘Boat,’ gets a release date
Yogi Babu’s next, ‘Constable Nandhan,’ goes on floors
Santhanam’s ‘DD Returns’ gets a sequel; Arya to present film
World cinema
‘Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War’ Part 3: The Conflict set for October 2024 premiere
‘Fire Force’ announces Season 3 for two cour release in 2025 and 2026
Trailers
‘Gladiator 2’ trailer shows Paul Mescal carry forward Maximus’s legacy in Ridley Scott’s epic sequel
A shimmering Vikram searches for gold in trailer of Pa Ranjith’s period actioner, ‘Thangalaan’
‘F1’ teaser trailer shows Brad Pitt take the wheel in ‘Top Gun: Maverick’-style high-speed fun
Kathryn Hahn returns as Agatha Harkness in trailer of ‘Agatha All Along,’ a genre-bending ‘WandaVision’ spinoff
Multiple stories intertwine in trailer of Prakash Raj, Raj B Shetty web series, ‘Ekam’
Trisha puts up a brave fight against evil in trailer of Sony LIV’s thriller series ‘Brinda’
Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain delve into dark secrets in trailer of ‘Mothers’ Instinct’
Trailer of Bala’s intense actioner, ‘Vanangaan,’ shows Arun Vijay as an accused with a secret
Teaser trailer of ‘Solo Leveling’ Season 2 highlights epic showdown between Jinwoo’s shadows and enemy monsters
Essential reading
1) Director Shankar on ‘Indian 2’, challenges of a sequel, employing new technology and more
>> The veteran filmmaker explains where his brand of stories stems from and talks about completing 30 years in the industry
2) Siddharth interview: In ‘Indian 2,’ Kamal Haasan let me compete with him
>> He speaks about what he learnt from filmmaker Shankar and how his character in the film is close to his real-life personality
3) Nag Ashwin: Part two of ‘Kalki 2898 AD’ will be bigger with Kamal Haasan, as Yaskin, stepping out of his ‘vimanam’
>> The director holds forth on his blockbuster film and addresses the highs and criticisms
4) Sudha Kongara interview on ‘Sarfira’: Akshay Kumar has not lost touch with his roots
>> She speaks about remaking Suriya’s ‘Soorarai Pottru’ in Bollywood as ‘Sarfira’ with Akshay Kumar
5) Roland Emmerich interview on ‘Those About To Die’: Ancient sports, Godzilla and Hollywood’s newfound obsession with the Roman Empire
>> He also reflects on his filmography, dropping hints about future projects and a fond look back at an Oscar-winning reptilian icon
6) Parthiban interview: ‘Indian 2’ might be priority, but give ‘Teenz’ a chance too
>> The Tamil actor-director talks about taking on Kamal Haasan’s at the box office with ‘Teenz,’ an adventure film featuring children
7) Watch: Why ‘Indian 2’ is a litmus test for Shankar
>> After 28 years, can the Shankar and Kamal Haasan combination recreate the magic?
8) Santhosh Narayanan interview: On the music of ‘Kalki 2898 AD’ and understanding Nag Ashwin’s vision
>> He also talks about how ‘Kalki 2898 AD’ was made to be an auditory experience, as well as a homage to veteran composers
9) Junaid Khan interview: ‘I come from immense privilege, cannot pretend otherwise’
>> The newcomer talks about his cinematic debut ‘Maharaj’, his learnings from theatre school, and being Aamir Khan’s son
10) Kamal Haasan’s ‘Indian 2’ | What could Indian thaatha do in present-day India?
>> One perhaps expects that the issue of corruption in India is painted in a much more nuanced and holistic manner in Shankar-Kamal Haasan’s ‘Indian 2’
11) Nitin Zihani Choudhary on ‘Kalki 2898 AD’: We designed guns with no trigger or barrel; it was like trying to reinvent the wheel
>> The production designer discusses how the different worlds of the film evolved from a 400-page lookbook
12) Actor Aju Varghese: The success of ‘Gaganachari’ has been overwhelming
>> The Malayalam actor talks about the hilarious sci-fi mockumentary, his journey as an actor, and his Tamil projects
13) Kalyani Malik’s tribute to legends, from Mohammed Rafi to SP Balasubrahmanyam
>> The composer pays tribute to music legends through three songs, with lyrics by MM Keeravaani, Madan Karky and Shagun Sodhi
14) Review of K. Hariharan’s ‘Kamal Haasan — A cinematic journey’: A masterclass in acting
>> Unravelling Kamal Haasan, actor, filmmaker, technician, the bahuroopi and a quick-change artist who can metamorphose into many characters
15) Folk singer Parvathy Baul on her upcoming biopic, ‘Joyguru’, which was announced at the Cannes Film Festival
>> Parvathy hopes the movie will help youngsters find the ability to celebrate small wins in life
16) Ilaiyaraaja’s latest album, Divya Pasurams, once again proves his impeccable composing skills
>> The album presents a few selected pasurams, which have been set to different ragas, from Nalayira Divya Prabhandam
17) Moon on the Man by Prince Shah takes a hard look at reality, illusions and truth
>> The documentary is about one of India’s youngest freedom fighters, and a former child artiste who worked with the greats of his time
What to watch
1) Kamal Haasan, Shankar’s underwhelming sequel, ‘Indian 2,’ relies more on its past legacy and future promise
2) Akshay Kumar is on autopilot in this ‘Soorarai Pottru’ remake, ‘Sarfira’
3) Scarlett Johansson and Channing Tatum soar with this loony tune, ‘Fly Me to the Moon’
4) Puerile buddy comedy ‘Wild Wild Punjab’ is not wild enough
5) Nicholas Cage’s ghoulish boogeyman crowns Osgood Perkins’ rancid fever dream, ‘Longlegs’