Have you heard? An in-house casting coup

Suhana Khan

Thanks to the stupendous success of Pathaan, Siddharth Anand has become one of Shah Rukh Khan's favourite collaborators. Even before their next film together, Tiger vs Pathaan, co-starring Salman Khan, goes on floors in February 2024, SRK and Siddharth will reportedly team up on another project. They are jointly producing a film that will also mark SRK's daughter Suhana's theatrical debut. The director, the film's cast and other details are being kept under wraps for now. Interestingly, the superstar-producer will have an extended special appearance in the movie, like he did in Dear Zindagi, while the narrative will revolve around the protagonist, essayed by his daughter. It is heard that the subject lent itself well to the father-daughter casting. Pre-production is underway, with the film slated to start later this year. Any filmmaker in B-Town would have loved to pull off this casting coup. But you can trust the sharp SRK to seize the opportunity himself.

Accident ho gaya!

Prithviraj Sukumaran recently met with an accident while shooting an action sequence for his next, Vilayath Buddha. Consequently, he suffered a leg injury. On the advice of his doctors, the actor underwent a key holder surgery at a hospital in Cochin last morning. The operation went smoothly and he has been advised a few weeks' rest. Sources claim that considering the extent of his injury, Prithviraj has been ruled out of action for two-to-three months. The actor plays the antagonist opposite Akshay Kumar and Tiger Shroff in Bade Miyan Chote Miyan.

Bracing for OTT thrills

Sonam K Ahuja is set to foray into the OTT arena. Her long-complete crime thriller Blind will finally release, albeit directly on JioCinema on July 7. Director Shome Makhija's adaptation of the 2011 Korean film of the same name also features Purab Kohli, Vinay Pathak, Lillete Dubey and Shubham Saraf. Sonam plays a visually challenged cop in search of a serial killer. Sonam had shot the movie during the pandemic in London. Abhi's next with dad's directorWhile his father Amitabh Bachchan has worked with Shoojit Sircar on quite a few projects, Abhishek Bachchan is set to begin working with the director soon. The actor has bagged the filmmaker's next, a yet-untitled slice-of-life movie. He is said to play a unique character in the film, something he hasn't attempted before. A large part of the narrative is set in the US, where Shoojit and his producer-partner Ronnie Lahiri have already done a recce of the locations they will shoot at. Abhi and Shoojit had been talking about working together for a while. The film is scheduled to go on floors this August.

It's the time to Chaiyya chaiyya

Arjun Kapoor turned a year wiser yesterday. He brought in his 38th birthday with a party at home. Ladylove Malaika Arora, friends Kunal Rawal, Arpita Mehta and others joined in the revelry. The highlight of the celebration was Malaika setting the floor on fire as she danced to her eternal chartbuster, Chaiyya chaiyya from Dil Se. A clip from the intimate bash went viral online, with Malaika performing her signature moves. She also marked the occasion on social media, sharing pictures of her beau. Alongside, she wrote, "Happy birthday my sunshine, my thinker, my goofy, my shopaholic, my handsome Arjun Kapoor."

Big B's new AI venture

Considering the chatter around Artificial Intelligence (AI) being heralded as the next big thing, Amitabh Bachchan has onboarded a generative AI company, which manages digital IPs across metaverse and blockchain, as a strategic partner. The Indian cinema icon, who has always striven to keep himself updated with the latest tech, has been quoted as saying, "I am intrigued with the way technology is evolving and the pace at which new innovations are coming up worldwide, one such being generative AI. I am happy to be a part of such an amazing futuristic world of generative AI, and have therefore partnered with Abinav Varma Kalidindi-promoted Ikonz Studios. Together we shall embark on this new metaverse world."