Have you heard? Double jeopardy

Arjun Kapoor and Bhumi Pednekar

Mid-day recently reported about The Lady Killer releasing in cinemas on November 3, despite a considerable portion left unshot (Completing deal with incomplete film, November 1). While the consequent poor box-office performance of Arjun Kapoor and Bhumi Pednekar's thriller was expected, it looks like there is more than meets the eye. While some sources had claimed that the Ajay Bahl-directed venture went over budget, some other industry insiders allege that the funds allotted for the making were siphoned off. It was much later when the director and his team discovered that the money was over. Bahl, who has previously made films like BA Pass and Section 375, tried raising funds from elsewhere, but in vain. The actors had no available dates as they had already committed to other projects. So the film, which was released with the help of some smart editing and voiceovers to replace the portions they hadn't shot, reportedly registered first-day domestic box-office figures of Rs 35,000 due to lack of buzz. Arjun and Bhumi distanced themselves from the film and didn't really speak about it in recent times. That's not all. Now, rumours are rife that the OTT platform, which had acquired the film as a package deal with a production house, is contemplating whether to stream it or not. Going by these developments, it looks like The Lady Killer has been killed rather abruptly.

Rakul, Neena begin a fun ride

Rakul Preet Singh began shooting a new film with Neena Gupta, who has been rediscovered by filmmakers after the unprecedented success of Badhaai Ho, in Alibaug over the weekend. Details of the project are being kept under wraps. However, we hear that the yet-untitled movie is a quirky comedy helmed by Ashish R Shukla. The director has previously made the thriller web series Candy, and also the satirical OTT movie, Bahut Hua Samman, which featured Sanjay Mishra and Raghav Juyal.

Vishal and the mystery of Joshimath

Writer-director Vishal Bhardwaj identifies himself as someone from Uttarakhand, he said, at the recent Dehradun Literature Festival. Odd then that while he was on a video call, participants from across the country were there in his home state's capital to listen to him. Bhardwaj divides his time between Landour (Mussoorie), and Andheri (Mumbai). His Landour neighbours include writers Ruskin Bond and Stephen Alter. With the latter, Bhardwaj said, he had scripted the first draft of Haider, as a full-on spy-thriller. Something he abandoned, upon mentor Gulzar's suggestion. Bhardwaj was on the panel, however, to exclusively discuss Agatha Christie - joined in by Mark Aldridge, the British expert/academic on the Queen of Crime, who has released a book on Detective Hercule Poirot. Bhardwaj's series Charlie Chopra, based on Christie's The Sittaford Mystery, dropped online recently. The show is subtitled, The Mystery of Solang Valley. Given that's where he shot it in Himachal Pradesh. But that was never the plan. Bhardwaj said, as per the story, he was looking for deep snow to set the series around. The places he had locked were in Uttarakhand: snow-laden Auli, and Joshimath, in the foothills. Only, what's a mystery of its own, by late 2022, in an ecological disaster, the town, Joshimath, had begun to sink under its own weight. Vishal had to give his adopted home state a miss. He would've enjoyed the offline conversations at Dehradun lit-fest, though.

Jury duty next

Radhika Madan has been named as a jury member of the Tallinn Film Festival. Incidentally, just last year, she represented her film, Sanaa, which was showcased there during the 26th edition of the Black Nights Film Festival. The annual cinematic extravaganza is held in November in the picturesque city of Tallinn, Estonia. Radhika joins a distinguished panel of jury members, including Nicolas Celis Lopez from Mexico, who serves as the Head of the Jury, along with Ron Fogel from Israel, Diana Ilijane from Germany, and Ran Huang from China. Honoured to be a part of the diverse and talented jury at Tallinn Film Festival, the actor said, "I'm excited to contribute my perspective to this incredible panel of judges."

Shaadi around the corner

Talk in tinsel town is that Randeep Hooda and Lin Laishram are set to take their love story to the next level. The Baaghi 2 actor and the Manipuri model-actor-businesswoman, who have been in a relationship for a while, made it social media official only last Diwali. Now, sources claim that Randeep and Lin are looking to get married by the month-end. Reportedly, the shaadi will be an intimate affair far away from the hustle and bustle of Mumbai, with only their families and close friends in attendance. Congratulations to the couple in advance.

What's happening, Bigg Boss?

Bigg Boss season 17 continues to make news. This time around for Isha Malviya and Samarth Jurel, who not only shared a bed, but also got intimate under their sheets. Netizens have panned the duo for their behaviour.

One social media shared a clip of the couple, saying, "Nibba nibbi Bigg Boss ko kuchh aur hi show banate hue." And to think that before the reality show began, superstar host Salman Khan had that he will control things if housemates don't behave in keeping with our culture.