Have you heard? Back in action

Samanth and Varun Dhawan

Back in action

After a long break to address her health issues, Samantha is back at work. She recently began filming director duo Raj-DK's web series, Citadel, with Varun Dhawan. The Oo antava sensation had taken a sabbatical and headed to the US for the treatment of Myositis, an auto-immune muscle condition. As a result, the schedule of the Indian version of Citadel had to be deferred from last November to January 2023. She will dedicate the next few weeks to the action series, originally created by the Russo Brothers. Sam is also gearing up for the release of her mythological drama, Shaakuntalam, on February 17. After wrapping up the first schedule of Citadel, she will resume work on director Shiva Nirvana's Kushi with Vijay Deverakonda.

Southern sojourn

After wowing cine-goers with his villainous act as Adheera in KGF: Chapter 2 (2022), Sanjay Dutt is set for an encore. This time around, the actor will play the antagonist in south actor Vijay's next, to be helmed by Lokesh Kanagaraj. The shoot of the action thriller, tentatively titled Thalapathy 67, kicked off in Kodaikanal yesterday. Sanju, however, will join the unit next month. Apparently, he is taking home R10 crore for his baddie act. Trisha, Gautham Menon and Mysskin also play pivotal parts in the movie, which will be announced officially with a special video on January 26. Whether Thalapathy 67 becomes a part of Lokesh's cinematic universe, comprising Kaithi and Vikram, remains to be seen.

Valentine wedding for Abhishek-Shivaleeka

Celebrations continue for director Abhishek Pathak. After his last release Drishyam 2, starring Ajay Devgn and Tabu, became a huge box-office hit, he is set to tie the knot with Khuda Haafiz actor Shivaleeka Oberoi next month. The shaadi will take place in Goa, which served as the backdrop for his successful suspense thriller. The ceremonies will be held over two days at a sea-facing luxury hotel, in the presence of families and close friends. The actor-director jodi have been going strong for years. Abhishek popped the question to Shivaleeka during their Turkey vacation.

Tammy joins Rajini's next

Tamannaah Bhatia is the latest addition to the cast of Rajinikanth's next, Jailer. She filmed portions of Nelson Dilipkumar's directorial venture over the past few days in Hyderabad. The actor is juggling between Jailer and her Malayalam movie, Bandra, with Dileep, in Kochi. Tammy is slated to resume shooting for the Rajini-starrer in March. The Nelson-directed action drama also features Mohanlal and Shiva Rajkumar in pivotal parts. Talk in the south is that the release, initially slated for this summer, is likely to be deferred to mid-August. Sources claim that after the underwhelming performance of Beast, Nelson doesn't want to hurry with Jailer. "He wants to focus on making a quality movie. Arriving in cinemas during the summer holidays is not his priority," says a source.

Randeep's new double role

Over six years since Laal Rang, the team is set to reunite for a sequel. Interestingly, Randeep Hooda, who led Syed Ahmad Afzal's 2016 directorial venture, also serves as a producer on the second instalment, which is titled Laal Rang 2: Khoon Chusva. Akshay Oberoi and Pia Bajpiee will reprise their roles from the 2016 dark-humoured drama that explored how greed impacts friendship, brotherhood and love. The second edition, said to be darker and more violent, is slated to go on floors soon.

Twice as nice

It looks like we will get a double dose of Salman Khan this week. The actor will be seen channelling his Tiger avatar in Shah Rukh Khan's spy thriller, Pathaan. Director Siddharth Anand and producer Aditya Chopra have deliberately not shown a glimpse of Tiger in Pathaan's promos. We hear the makers want to surprise the audience with Salman's track in the thriller, which also stars Deepika Padukone and John Abraham. Moreover, buzz is that the teaser of Salman's Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan will be attached to the January 25 release. It was reportedly Adi's suggestion that Salman release the drama this Eid, after Tiger 3 - the original Eid release - was deferred to Diwali due to extensive VFX work.