Have you heard? Body double wanted!

Salman Khan

Body double wanted!

Though most actors perform their own stunts, many let body doubles do risky stuff. Salman Khan is no exception, and relied on Sagar Pandey for the purpose. Unfortunately, Sagar passed away on September 30 following a heart attack while training at the gym. The superstar paid tribute to him in a social media post. Along with a picture of them together, Salman wrote, "Dil se shukar ada kar raha hoon for being there with me. May your soul rest in peace brother. Thank you. #RIP #SagarPandey (sic)." Having worked with the actor for about a decade, Sagar was familiar with his body language, style, reflexes and other nuances when it came to action scenes. Talk is that his untimely demise has left a void in Salman's professional life. The team of Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan is reportedly finding it tough to find a replacement for Sagar. More so at a time when the actor-producer is keen to release Farhad Samji's directorial venture on December 30. Apparently, the team still has a long way to go even though they have finished about 70 days of shooting. How Salman will cope up with the remaining action scenes for his upcoming offering remains to be seen. For that, keep watching this space.

In action mode

Urmila Matondkar is all set to make her digital debut with the web series, Tiwari. The actor, who trained rigorously for the last six months for Surabh Varma's directorial venture, says, "Tiwari offered me a character and a story arc that is challenging as a performer and things that I haven't attempted so far." Admitting that she can't wait to start shooting for the series, that kept her hooked till the end during the narration, Urmila adds, "Though it's an emotional mother-daughter story at the core, at the same time, it has everything from drama to action to some thrilling twists and turns."

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Feeling the kicks

Alia Bhatt added yet another honour to her repertoire. The Gangubai Kathiawadi actor received the Time 100 Impact Award in Singapore on Sunday evening. Proud to represent India in the global arena, she said, "When it comes to making an impact, I hope that I can continue to do so in whatever way possible." Alia, who is all set to welcome her firstborn with actor-husband Ranbir Kapoor, added, "But for now, tonight, this award has genuinely made an impact on me and my little one, who has relentlessly kicked me through this speech."

Money matters

Talk in Tollywood is that producer Dil Raju is not too pleased with director S Shankar delaying his film starring Ram Charan, tentatively titled RC15. Apparently, the director has prioritised Indian 2 after the Kamal Haasan-starrer was revived a couple of months ago.

Moreover, unhappy with the Telugu crew, Shankar brought in his Tamil crew instead, which led to an increase in the costs. Consequently, the allotted budget has been spent and RC15 is barely halfway complete. Sources say, Raju is hoping to at least recover his cost, if not make any profit from RC15.

Letting go and moving on

Now that Vikram Vedha has completed its first weekend in cinemas, Hrithik Roshan is letting go of his character, Vedha. The actor, who has already begun training for his next, Fighter, shared how he moves on from his screen avatars. Making the red or the black thread tied around his wrist a part of his characters, the actor said, "Vedha got it at dress rehearsals, while Kabir got it at the War mahurat puja, and I made it a part of him." Admitting that the ritual of cutting the thread is always confusing, Hrithik shares, "For Vedha, I tried once my shoot got over but couldn't, then when my dub got over, but again couldn't. And then I finally did when the question I ask myself had a satisfactory answer, ‘Did I give this everything I had?'" He signed off thanking director duo Pushkar-Gayathri for giving him the opportunity to play the antagonist.

Jugglebandi, anyone?

Sanya Malhotra has been juggling between Delhi and Chennai for the last few weeks, and will continue to do so for a couple more. Reason being that she is shooting two different films in opposite parts of the country. On the one hand, she is filming director Meghna Gulzar's Sam Bahadur in the capital. She plays Silloo Manekshaw to Vicky Kaushal's Sam Manekshow in the biopic on the legendary Field Marshal. On the other hand, she is shooting for another project in the Tamil Nadu capital. So, after completing an 18-hour shift in Delhi at 2 am, Sanya takes an early morning flight to Chennai for her other big budget entertainer. Since both are crucial projects, there's no respite for the actor till she wraps up one of them in the coming weeks.

Shankar finds ‘mini Manna Dey' on show

Shankar Mahadevan, Neeti Mohan and Anu Malik, who are judging the latest edition of Sa Re Ga Ma Pa L'il Champs, are said to be most impressed by Atanu Mishra. They were surprised to hear that the contestant, nine, from West Bengal is a huge fan of the late legendary singer Manna Dey and worships him like God every day before his riyaaz. His rendition of Ae meri zohra jabeen, amazed them so much that they got emotional. "I have understood that you are a true bhakt of Manna Da and the song that you have sung is a qawwali from the time when we were all kids. But the way you sang it was just fantastic," observed Anu. Agreeing with him, Shankar added, "We must name him as the ‘Mini Manna Dey' of our show today itself."

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