Paatal Lok actor Jaideep Ahlawat is nown to play many diverse characters on screen but the audience does not know much about his personal life as he often puts up a charming face when he is at events or talk shows. But, in a recent interview, Jaideep honestly admitted about his anger management problems. He revealed that even though he has made many attempts to fix it, his temper can sometimes be “destructive.”
The actor sat down to have a conversation on the YouTube channel of Rekhta, where he talked about his life, his career, and everything in between. While talking about his language, he shared that in the early days of trying to become an actor, he found it difficult to speak colloquial Hindi because his Haryanavi dialect would often show up in the middle of his speech. He also spoke of another bad habit, which sometimes creeps back into his life – his anger.
Jaideep admitted that he still has trouble controlling his anger and said, “My temper is still a bit of a problem. I snap very quickly, and at that point I don’t understand anything. Even though I try my best to keep it under control, once I snap, it becomes very difficult to bring it back on track. I usually have to leave that space, because if I continue to be in that space, my anger will just keep on increasing.”
The actor continued, “Agar main kisi space mai hoon, aur mai kisi cheez se irritate ho raha hoon (If I am at a place and I am getting irritated by something), I try my best to keep calm or not get affected. But agar woh hat gaya (once I snap), I have to leave that particular space, because if I don’t, I won’t be able to be in that space again. So temper is still a problem. Ab boht control mein hai (Now it is quite in control), but it is very destructive. A few times, I have reacted violently, and that is a problem.”
Jaideep was last seen in Sriram Raghavan’s war film Ikkis, which was led by debutante Agastya Nanda. He has several projects in the pipeline, including King, with Shah Rukh Khan.
Manoj Bajpayee’s upcoming film Ghooskhor Pandat has been making headlines even before its release—and for all the wrong reasons. The film has been facing backlash for allegedly disrespecting a particular community through its title. Following widespread criticism, the promotional material was taken down from the internet, with Netflix reportedly removing the teaser after receiving directions from central authorities. Now, Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak has also weighed in, strongly criticising the film.
Speaking to the press on Friday, the UP Deputy CM said, “The way people from the film industry are targeting Indian culture, and especially the Brahmin community, is highly reprehensible. Such films should not be released to the public, and I strongly condemn them.”
FWICE issues warning to makers of Ghooskhor Pandat
Meanwhile, the Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE) has also raised serious objections to the film’s title, warning that it could hurt community sentiments and disturb social harmony. FWICE addressed a letter to several industry bodies, including the Indian Motion Picture Producers’ Association (IMPPA), Producers Guild of India (PGI), Indian Film and Television Producers Council (IFTPC), Western India Film and TV Producers’ Association (WIFPA), as well as OTT platforms such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Zee5 and Sony Liv.
In its letter, FWICE stated: “The Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE), representing 36 affiliated associations and scores of members comprising workers, technicians, and artists of the media and entertainment industry, writes to you with serious concern regarding a controversial film being produced under the title Ghuskhor Pandat by Mr Neeraj Pandey under his banner Friday Filmworks.”
It further read, “FWICE and all its affiliated associations strongly object to the use of this title, as it appears to single out and target a particular community and its traditional means of livelihood in a derogatory and offensive manner. Such a title has the potential to hurt sentiments, provoke misunderstanding, and disturb social harmony.”
Emphasising its stance, the body added, “FWICE firmly believes that there should be no division in society on the grounds of caste, creed, religion, or profession. All professions are equally dignified and deserving of respect. The film industry, being a powerful medium of expression, carries a moral and social responsibility to ensure that its content and titles do not promote hatred, disrespect, or unrest among citizens.”
FWICE also appealed to producers to refrain from registering or continuing with film titles that are provocative in nature and capable of creating unrest among Indians, while condemning the title of Neeraj Pandey’s film.
The letter concluded with a warning: “Please note that if the needful is not done forthwith, FWICE shall be compelled to advise all its affiliated associations and its scores of members to distance themselves from any project of the said producer.”
Protestors burn effigies of Neeraj Pandey-Manoj Bajpayee
Adding to the unrest, members of the Brahmin community staged protests across several cities, demanding a change in the film’s title. In Bhopal, Akhil Bhartiya Brahmin Samaj protesters were seen holding placards that read: “Iss film ka nirmata Neeraj Pandey murdabad,” “Digital platform Netflix ko bandh karo, FIR karo,” and “Iss film ka kalakaar Manoj Bajpayee murdabad,” among others.
Similarly, in Prayagraj, members of the Rashtriya Parshuram Sena protested by burning effigies of Neeraj Pandey and Manoj Bajpayee at Subhash Chowk in Civil Lines. The protesters were seen beating the effigies with slippers, kicking them, and eventually setting them on fire, with hundreds in attendance.
Separately, Mahender Chaturvedi filed a writ petition before the Delhi High Court seeking a stay on the release of the Netflix film, alleging that the title is communally offensive.
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) also issued a notice to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting after receiving a complaint claiming that the title “promotes negative stereotypes” and “vilifies a recognised social group.”
The makers have also been accused of not obtaining mandatory permission for the film’s title. Film Makers Combine (FMC), a Mumbai-based organisation, raised objections and issued a notice to the production house.
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Makers of Ghooskhor Pandat react to the controversy
Responding to the backlash, Neeraj Pandey released a statement saying, “We understand that the title has caused hurt to some viewers, and we genuinely acknowledge those feelings.”
Manoj Bajpayee, meanwhile, took to his official X handle and wrote, “I respect the emotions and concerns people have shared, and I take them seriously. When something you are part of causes hurt to some people, it makes you pause and listen.”
Defending the filmmaker, the actor added, “In my experience of working with Neeraj Pandey, there has been a consistent seriousness and care in how he approaches his films.”
Border 2 Box Office Day 15: Sunny Deol-starrer witnesses its lowest collections so far.
Border 2 Box Office Collection Worldwide Day 15 Update: After a strong opening weekend and the Republic Day holiday, the Anurag Singh-directed Border 2 has witnessed a steady decline in collections. As it enters its third week, the film has recorded its lowest single-day total so far, earning Rs 2.85 crore on Day 15, according to industry tracker Sacnilk.
Border 2 has now earned Rs 297.25 crore net at the domestic box office, a strong total by any measure. However, the trajectory of its collections raises concern. Of the overall earnings, Rs 224 crore came in the first week, while the remaining Rs 70 crore was added amid significant turbulence at theatres. Overall, the film’s collections have dropped by nearly 69% compared to its opening week.
Border 2 faced limited competition upon release, with the Dhurandhar wave having largely subsided by then. In fact, Border 2 drew away much of the remaining audience interest from Aditya Dhar’s film, which was already in its eighth week in theatres. However, an eight-week theatrical run now appears unlikely for Border 2, as it has been posting single-digit daily collections for five consecutive days.
The occupancy figures support the aforementioned assessment, with overall occupancy averaging 8.60%. Morning and afternoon shows recorded low occupancies of 4.16% and 7.85%, respectively, placing increased pressure on the evening and night shows. The latter fared relatively better, registering occupancies of 9.41% and 12.97%.
Directed by Anurag Singh, the cast of Border 2 includes Sunny Deol, Varun Dhawan, Ahan Shetty, Diljit Dosanjh, Sonam Bajwa, Mona Singh, Medha Rana and Anya Singh.
Amazon is now offering original AirTag down to $17 with free shipping for Prime members or on orders over $35. That’s 41% off both the original list price of $29 and the cost of a single AirTag 2. This is also the lowest price we’ve ever tracked for a single AirTag on Amazon.
of 4-pack of original AirTags are now marked on $64 shipped. Regularly $99, the same as the new model 4-pack, that’s 35% off sticker price and the lowest price we could find. At 35% off, you’re looking at the lowest price we’ve tracked on Amazon outside of the Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2025 deals that had it down to $62.99.
While the new AirTag 2 may not come with an exciting new feature that everyone is talking about, it does come with more than a few significant improvements over the original, as detailed in our comparison piece right here.
Here are some of the main differences:
Second generation ultra-wide chip
Tracking 1.5 times farther from the father than the original
Apple Watch support
50% louder speaker
That’s a good thing for sure, but there are also a number of aspects of the experience that are exactly the same, including the same battery life, nearly identical design (aside from the literal fine print) and, of course, the MSRP. The new one is clearly better, but if you’re a casual user and maybe need to get some of these, the prices are much lower on the original now.
Apple sells refurbished iPhone 16 now, but Amazon’s refurbished units are much less – 16 Pro Max 1TB now $611 off
As you can have recently seen in 9 to 5 MacApple has just started offering refurbished iPhone 16 series devices on its online storefront. Thing is, you can score Amazon Premium Refurbished units with a 1-year warranty for much less. it 1TB Titanium Black iPhone 16 Pro Max is now $611 off original price on Amazon. Details below.
Amazon is now offering Refurbished Premium iPhone 16 Pro Max units with a storage capacity of 1 TB down to $987.47 shipped. This is an unlocked unit that carried a list price of $1,599 in brand new condition – it’s within $2 or so of the lowest we’ve ever tracked on Amazon.
While the refurbished iPhone 16 Pro Max units newly offered by Apple are availableyou can’t even get 512GB for such a low price there. The 256GB model costs $929 from Apple while the 512GB is $1,099 – no 1TB models are offered at the time of writing.
Yes, they come directly from Apple, and it doesn’t get any more reliable than that, but Amazon’s revamped Premium listings delivered by and from Amazon are easily the best we’ve come across. And they are also much less expensive than Apple.
This 13-inch M5 iPad Pro 1TB mobile model is nearly $400 off today (‘Great’ – update)
We’ve spotted a few opportunities to score some notable discounts on the latest M5 iPad Pro this week – you’ll find them below, but this morning we also spotted a chance to save nearly $400 on refurbished units in “excellent” condition through Best Buy – that is 1TB 13 inch cell model.
At Best Buy you’ll find the well-known Networkstore that sells silver 13-inch M5 iPad Pro with 1 TB of storage and cell improves down to $1,699.97 shipped. This refurbished unit carries a new price of $2,099 and is now just $400 off.
Yes, this is a refurbished unit, but considering how expensive these M5 iPad Pro machines can be, we wanted to at least make sure this option was on the table for people looking to keep an extra $399 in their pocket.
This model, while currently at full price Amazon at the moment, has seen a few offers in new condition, but nothing like we have here today. The Space Black or Silver variants have never dropped below $1,943 on Amazon.
These refurbished units are covered under Best Buy Return and Exchange Policy should have a problem and, according to said listing, ship with an “Apple One (1) Year Limited Warranty.”
Today’s accessories and charging offers:
The latest iPad mini now $100 off, all colors on the most affordable model drop to $399
Regularly $499, that’s a $100 price drop and, outside of the $390 short offer for the blue model, on par with the lowest price of the year.
Today’s deal is on par with the pricing we spotted for Black Friday 2025. There have been a few chances to get these cars down $120, mostly during Prime Day events, as well as an all-time extremely short sale of $150 off, but that was a very short Cyber Monday deal that barely lasted the full 24 hours.
As mentioned above, some colors with the 256GB storage capacity have now gone up in price, but there are $100 price cuts elsewhere in the lineup that are still live at the time of writing:
Big $300 price cut hits Apple’s latest M5 MacBook Pro: 24GB and 32GB models
This week is bringing the best prices we’ve tracked to date on Apple’s latest M5 MacBook Pro lineup. Led by a variety of 300 dollars price drops in B&H on select configurations, we’re looking at prices that are below nearly all the deals we spotted during the Black Friday deal season, Amazon included.
In addition to the 24GB model with 512GB SSD you see listed below that we featured yesterday, there are also a pair of upgraded models with 32GB RAM configurations that are now $300 below list price at Apple and elsewhere:
It’s worth noting that while Amazon is offering as much as $200 off the configurations it carriesdoesn’t offer any of these particular configurations – there are no 32GB models available on Amazon, and the 24GB only configuration is much more expensive with a 1TB SSD.
This is where B&H really shines when it comes to the MacBook. It offers seriously great deals on setups that you would normally have to go directly to Apple for in many cases. While retailers like Amazon tend to remain thoroughly competitive and often have lower prices on the configurations they carry, these are deals you just won’t get.
That said, Amazon’s deals on the M5 MacBook so far have reached $250 off — that’s the deal we’ve got coming up through the holidays at the end of 2025. And that leaves B&H’s deals up for grabs for now as some of, if not, the best we’ve tracked down if you’re into these RAM/storage bundles.
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4 min readNew DelhiUpdated: Feb 7, 2026 09:08 PM IST
Anyone who has watched Mardaani 3 knows that this time, the makers have centred the film around the sensitive issue of child trafficking. Coinciding with the film’s release and promotions, reports claiming that over 800 people had gone missing in just 15 days in Delhi were circulated, leading to panic. The figures were widely circulated on social media, amplified by several influencers, and soon snowballed into a full-blown panic among the public.
The situation escalated to a point where the Delhi Police had to step in. While the police did not deny the authenticity of the data itself, they raised concerns about the manner in which the issue was being projected online. In a strongly worded statement, the authorities claimed that the narrative was being pushed through ‘paid promotions’ for monetary gains, sparking speculation that the comment was an indirect reference to the promotional campaign of Mardaani 3. Amid the growing chatter, Yash Raj Films (YRF) has now broken its silence and released a statement.
Responding to the allegations, a YRF spokesperson told SCREEN,“Yash Raj Films is a 50-year-old company founded on the core principles of being highly ethical and transparent. We strongly deny the accusations floating on social media that Mardaani 3’s promotional campaign has deliberately sensationalised a sensitive issue like this. We have immense trust in our authorities that they will share all facts and truths in due course of time.”
How the ‘800 missing people’ claims began
A few days ago, a PTI report stated that over 800 people went missing in Delhi during the first 15 days of 2026. The report triggered widespread alarm and intense online discussion. Prior to this, social media had already been flooded with posts claiming that around 60 girls had gone missing in Mumbai within 36 days—a claim that was later dismissed by Mumbai Police as fake.
Soon after, the Delhi data—based on official records—was picked up by multiple media houses and shared extensively across platforms, reigniting fears around women’s safety.
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Delhi Police flags ‘paid promotions’
Taking to its official X (formerly Twitter) handle, Delhi Police issued a clarification, stating: “After following a few leads, we discovered that the hype around the surge in missing girls in Delhi is being pushed through paid promotion. Creating panic for monetary gains won’t be tolerated, and we’ll take strict action against such individuals.”
The police further clarified that while the data is accurate, the numbers are consistent with historical averages and do not indicate any sudden or abnormal spike.
Why Mardaani 3 was dragged into the controversy
Following the police statement, several content creators and influencers suggested that the alleged paid promotions were linked to Mardaani 3, given the film’s theme involving the kidnapping of young girls for scientific experimentation.
One influencer commented, “Look at the coincidence—Mardaani 3 is based on mass disappearances of girls, and at the same time, news of 800 girls going missing surfaces.” Calling it out as “cheap publicity,” such claims further fuelled online speculation.
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However, with YRF categorically denying any involvement, the matter continues to remain under scrutiny as authorities investigate the source behind the paid amplification of the issue.
4 min readNew DelhiUpdated: Feb 6, 2026 02:27 PM IST
Streaming giant Netflix released their 2026 slate for their Indian fans earlier this week, and one of its titles attracted negative attention almost instantaneously. Director Neeraj Panday’s cop thriller Ghooskhor Pandat, starring Manoj Bajpayee, immediately attracted legal complications as many claimed that the title vilified the Brahmin community. A lot of legal chaos has already ensued, and after Neeraj Pandey, the lead actor, Manoj Bajpayee, has broken silence on the whole matter.
Why the row over the title
The use of the word Pandat, which is associated with the Brahmin community or a priest, religious scholar, with ghooskhor (someone who takes bribes) has raised the heckles. As per the legal notice, the title impacts the dignity of the Brahmin community and hurts sentiments. The notice demands the immediate withdrawal of the title Ghooskhor Pandat, calling it defamatory, unconstitutional and socially incendiary.
Manoj Bajpayee on Ghooskhor Pandat row
Bajpayee took to his Instagram account and addressed the delicate situation. He wrote, “I respect the emotions and concerns people have shared, and I take them seriously. When something you are part of causes hurt to some people, it makes you pause and listen. As an actor, I come to a film through the character and the story I am playing. For me, this was about portraying a flawed individual and his journey of self-realisation. This was not meant to be a statement about any community.”
The actor defended his director and said, “In my experience of working with Neeraj Pandey, there has been consistent seriousness and care in how he approached his films. The filmmakers have decided to take down the promotional material in light of the public sentiment. This shows the seriousness with which the concerns are being taken.”
Neeraj Pandey apologises and takes down teaser
Before Bajpayee, Neeraj himself took to social media and decided to apologise for hurting sentiments. He wrote on Instagram that, “Our film is a fictional cop drama, and the term ‘Pandat’ is used simply as a colloquial name for a fictional character. The story focuses on an individual’s actions and choices and does not comment on or represent any caste, religion, or community… We understand that the title of the film has caused hurt to some viewers, and we genuinely acknowledge those feelings.”
He added, “In light of these concerns, we have decided to take down all promotional materials for the time being, as we believe the film should be experienced in its entirety and understood in the context of the story we intended to tell, rather than judged on partial glimpses. We look forward to sharing the film with audiences soon.”
Legal action against the film and director Neeraj Pandey
According to a report by ANI, Neeraj Pandey and his team have been named in an FIR filed at the Hazratganj Police Station, Lucknow. The makers are being attacked for the title, with the complainants claiming that it “hurt religious and caste sentiments.” The teaser of the film suggests that the protagonist, played by Manoj, is a corrupt police officer. This doesn’t sit right with many people who are claiming that this creates an unnecessary correlation between a certain caste and corruption or other vices.
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A writ petition has also been filed at the Delhi High Court, demanding a stay on the release of the film. The legal problems and red tape don’t stop there, as the makers also have to deal with complaints to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and allegations from the Film Makers Combine.
The former problem is a result of a letter sent by NHRC (National Human Rights Commission) to the I & B ministry. The complaint suggests that the film promotes “negative stereotypes” and it disregards the complexities of India’s “social fabric”.
The Mardaani franchise, headlined by Rani Mukerji and produced by Aditya Chopra’s Yash Raj Films, is best known for its ferocious antagonists who make the mission of top cop Shivani Shivaji Roy an uphill battle. In the first two instalments, the makers kept the antagonist card close to their chest, only revealing fleeting glimpses in the trailer.
Mardaani 3 marks the first time that they chose to disclose the antagonist Amma, the head of a human trafficking racket, in the trailer itself. Another departure from the previous two instalments was writing a woman antagonist, played by seasoned theatre artist Mallika Prasad, who also teaches acting. “It’s such a powerful move. One of the crucial things the franchise has done is to flip around the villain. Thus far, Shivani Shivaji Roy is beating up the man who’s responsible for crimes against women. But this flip to a woman antagonist is very interesting,” Mallika tells SCREEN in an exclusive interview.
Rani Mukerji as Shivani Shivaji Roy in Mardaani 3.
“It says that evil is gender-neutral. Power, unrestricted and unaccounted for, corrupts whoever is holding it, whether it’s a man or a woman. It’s not binary,” she adds. Does a woman antagonist in a franchise like Mardaani also imply that it’s also the women who perpetuate crimes against other women? Mallika interrupts mid-sentence and claps back, “No, that’s a man’s story. Bury it before it’s even stated.”
But being a woman also makes the antagonist of Mardaani 3 more complex and layered. Infamous as ‘Amma’, she has motherly instincts of her own, even though on the other hand, she weaponizes those very instincts to lure young girls into her dhandha. “That makes us think about our nature as human beings. So long as it’s our child, it’s the mother’s instinct. But everything else is about profit. So, she finds a way to manipulate the other kids, shows them a brighter future of samundar or freedom, drugs them, and takes something away from them. To an extent, all of us are like that. When it comes to our own, we’re all motherly. But otherwise we’re the perfect monster,” says Mallika.
*Spoiler alert* Mallika also points out that her motherly instincts are rather intertwined with her business because even when she adopts a boy, she turns him into another monster, a more ambitious and ruthless one at that. “She adopts him because she sees the same grit and unhingedness in him. She’s actually creating a global second line. I don’t know too many women who are that smart these days. And she’s a woman from the streets. I’m actually very proud of Amma,” says Mallika. *Spoiler alert ends*
She insists that I quote her on that last sentence even though it could go very well against her. That’s because as a theatre actor and a teacher of acting herself, Mallika places empathy at the top of the list of virtues. “She has fought her way up from bondage. God knows what she did to that dalal she worked for. Her rise is the power she had to pay for the power she holds now,” says the actor, adding, “When you see somebody rise from nothing, you’ll recognize that it couldn’t have been for nothing. You realize the toll it took on them. That’s where you get empathy from a character so different from your own life.”
But the empathy for Amma doesn’t prevent her from cracking what she admittedly admits is a bad pun. “Her ‘organs’ were removed and ‘donated’ when she was just 13, but that’s when she rose through the ranks to become the don of an ‘organized’ crime. Sorry, I needed to crack that bad joke. But I admire her journey from rising from the ground and now running a kingdom on fear,” says Mallika.
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Like her character, Mallika has also hustled her way into the film industry. She landed an audition for Mardaani 3 when casting director Shanoo Sharma spotted her playing Zubeida in Abhishek Chaubey’s 2024 black comedy thriller show Killer Soup on Netflix India. “Shanoo told me this two days ago when I asked her. I’ve gotten even my earlier work on the basis of my previous work. When I sent the self-tape, she said she hadn’t seen anything like that in a long time. That made me really happy,” says Mallika, smiling.
She credits Shanoo and Aditya Chopra as the reasons “why I’m here today”. Aditya Chopra famously told Vishal Jethwa, who played the antagonist Sunny in Gopi Puthran’s Mardaani 2, that he has to match up to the great actor that Rani is. But his feedback for Mallika’s performance was fairly minimal. “He gave me no notes. He loved what I did,” she says, adding that she feels “very happy” to stand in the same pantheon of Mardaani villains as Jethwa and Tahir Raj Bhasin from the inaugural part, which released back in 2014.
However, unlike those men, Mallika didn’t get a chance to share the frame with Rani. Even the limited scenes they shot together were done using stand-ins. “That’s actually something you have to learn to do, to stay within the continuity. Even in your close-ups, many people will stick their hands out for you to talk to them, but I don’t like that. I’d much rather imagine the other character in the empty space there,” confesses Mallika.
Every Mardaani villain so far has had to fight his way out of being stereotyped as an antagonist. Mallika shares that concern, but is optimistic of experimenting. “Sometimes, that’s the journey an actor also crafts. But there have been people who’ve done a very different thing from their last one. Like Fahadh Faasil does a negative role, then the lead role, and then even a minor role. But there’s an expansiveness to an actor who’s exploring different characters. I imagine I want to do that too. Sometimes, the same story told by somebody else will be a completely new world,” she says, signing off with those glinting Amma eyes.
Veteran actor Suniel Shetty’s son Ahan Shetty has returned with the blockbuster success of war drama Border 2 after being away from screens after his debut Tadap (2021). However, the actor didn’t appear in any more projects after that and even faced speculation that he was ousted from Sajid Nadiadwala’s Sanki due to high entourage costs. But now, in a recent interview, his father Suniel defended him, claiming that Ahan has never gone overboard with his entourage. He also revealed that he himself brings his own food and water from home.
During a candid conversation with Lehren Retro, Suniel supported the high fees and entourage costs of actors, on the condition that they should become an equal partner in the film. “They are asking for more, I agree, but they are taking what they have a right on, because a lot of recovery also happens. The excel sheet and your math says that you can bring the numbers. My point is that you should charge that much, but join the film as a partner. Take a share. A lot of factors matter for a film to work at the theatres – the right time, marketing, a good film, combination of artists, and others. You should become a partner so that you are also involved and can do the math,” he said.
‘Suniel Shetty brings his own food, water’
When asked about the rumours suggesting his son Ahan Shetty’s entourage was excessive, the veteran actor firmly replied, “Ahan has never gone overboard with his entourage. These are all rumours. This gossip was circulated as per the producer’s convenience. If the producer says that he can show a bill, then I will see. There the father steps in and will step in, very very clearly. Don’t spread lies to hide your weaknesses, because it’s not fair on Ahan.”
He continued, “These are all rumours. And unfortunately, this is the condition of films now. Ahan is very very careful with his entourage. And if it’s his entourage, he will pay for it. He is aware of that. When Suniel Shetty takes his food and water from home… my staff has been told that if you are eating the unit’s food then it’s fine, but if you want to order from outside, put the bill under my name and not the producer.”
After citing his own example and the instructions he has given to his team, Suniel further added, “My staff can’t dare to do otherwise, so Ahan’s staff would definitely not do it. And, Ahan has just arrived, this is his time to settling into the industry, so there are no tantrums. Ho hi nahi sakta (it’s not possible).”
Bollywood entourage costs skyrocket
For the unknown, Ahan Shetty’s high-budget action-thriller, produced by Sajid Nadiadwala, opposite Pooja Hegde, was set for a 2025 release. However, the project was put on hold reportedly due to high production costs – expensive entourage expenses and difficult market conditions.
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Entourage costs have become a massive issue for the Hindi film industry with actors often bill producers for their staff costs and demand multiple vanity vans. Earlier producer Karan Johar had spoken about it, “I have an ethical problem with entourages, not a financial one. We set a fixed budget for such needs. But if an actor wants anything beyond that, be it a personal trainer or specific dietary requirements, they should cover the cost themselves. I will pay for it only when it’s essential for the film, like in a sports drama requiring a certain physique. But if you are a regular hero, then your job is to look good, and look fit, you are an artist. If you want to eat healthy food, please go ahead, but why should I pay for that?”
Netflix recently celebrated celebrated its 10 years in the country, and to mark the occasion, it announced over 20 new movies and shows. One of them was the series Family Business that marked the return of actor Rhea Chakraborty, who has not worked for seven years. She recently took to social media to share her gratitude and what this chapter of her career means to her.
Rhea posted a video on Instagram, where she can be seen getting ready for some kind of event, presumably the announcement event of Family Business. The caption of the video said, “7 years have passed since I went to set, but I’m still the same girl who came to Bombay at 17 with a dream to be an actor. A part of me moved on, but a part of me stayed and waited. And I’m here, once again in my chapter 2. It seems ‘life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.’”
In the video, Rhea Chakraborty could be heard talking about how this is a “surreal” experience for her and that she never thought about acting again. She said, “I have done a film after 7 years. 2019 was when I last shot for Chehre, and now my next show is releasing. It’s actually really bizarre — It’s surreal almost. I didn’t expect to act ever again. It’s unreal in a way, because it’s like a dream, right? Like, this was my dream when I was 17, and then all of that happened, and I stopped getting work.”
The successful entrepreneur added, “I had to not keep living this dream. And then again, you’re back on it, but you have changed a lot. Because now you have a different career. In many ways it doesn’t mean as much to you, but in many ways it still means more than it did before, right? This is the kind of entertainment that is scripted. Well, that was also scripted.”
The cast of Family Business also includes Anil Kapoor, Vijay Varma, Dhruv Sehgal, Neha Dhupia, Raima Sen, Akash Khurana, Apara Mehta, Nandish Sandhu, Anant Nag, Rohan Vinod Mehra, Tina Desai, Kanwaljit Singh, Madhoo and Inayat Sood.
Choreographer Shakti Mohan has ended the long-standing debate about whether she performed Katrina Kaif’s stunts in Dhoom 3’s “Kamli” song once and for all. The choreographer spoke about Katrina’s dedication to her craft and revealed how the actor insisted on doing every step herself despite receiving bruises all over her body.
When asked if she did Katrina’s stunts in the song, Shakti said, “Has anyone see me do stunts in reality show Dance India Dance? Also, if I have to be a body double of Katrina Kaif, don’t I have to have a very different type of skin tone? My skin tone and height doesn’t match with her. How can I be her body double?”
Clarifying how Katrina performed all the steps herself in the song, Shakti said, “I was assisting Vaibhavi Merchant during the song. This was before I started working as a choreographer. So, Katrina had to do the song solo and they needed somebody to teach her the moves. We rehearsed for 1.5 months. And I had to do the dance in one take.”
Shakti added that Katrina’s performance put pressure even on the choreographers. “This was a crazy experience for me because when Katrina came in, suddenly there was so much pressure on everyone that you have to dance like her despite me being a professional dancer. I have been doing this all my life. And Katrina was like I am not going to give up. She would perform all the steps one after another minus all the stunts. Just for the stunt, they got the body double from France. Her body double in that song actually settled in India and got married here,” Shakti said.
Recalling Katrina getting bruised while shooting the song, Shakti said, “There were so many things that a body double could do instead of her, but Katrina insisted that she wants to do. There was this one very difficult step where you were required to do the back arch, but she didn’t give up. She had bruises all over her body. She is very hard-working. Also, after the shoot got over, she sent me a bag to my home with a very nice note.”
(Photo: Instagram/Manoj Bajpayee)
Rani Mukerji as Shivani Shivaji Roy in Mardaani 3.
