Have you heard? Facing off

Ajay Devgn and Riteish Deshmukh

Riteish Deshmukh will be seen as the antagonist in the upcoming Ajay Devgn-starrer, Raid 2. Directed by Raj Kumar Gupta, the film will see the two actors facing off on screen for the first time following their collaboration in comic films. Filming, which commenced in Mumbai last week, will subsequently be held in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan.

On my terms

Sonam Kapoor is ready to explore streaming platforms if she is approached with a tentpole film or series, she says. "For me, being a part of good cinema is all that matters. The platform where it's releasing is immaterial because the world has changed. I'm excited to lead a project on a streaming [platform] that bowls people over. I'm loving the diversity of the content. I have always wanted to make my foray into streaming, provided I'm headlining a tentpole film or a series on a global streaming platform," she said.

Feel the love?

Actor Randeep Hooda's infant male horse has been named Veer after the revolutionary, Veer Savarkar. The actor, who will feature as Savarkar in his next, Swatantrya Veer Savarkar, shared: "He is cute, athletic and shy. I've named him Veer. My other [mare], Hope, has grown up so much, and turned out so beautiful. My retired warrior, Rommel, is having a good retired life on the farm too. Feeling blessed."

One language

Veteran lyricist-writer Javed Akhtar discussed the history of the origins of the Urdu language in India, and said, "It's been about 200 years since the separation of Hindi and Urdu was accepted by the authorities. But, they were always one. [Unfortunately], people can't speak any Urdu phrase without using Hindi terms. Why can't some of us scholars, writers and researchers put together a common dictionary in the forgotten language which we call Hindustani? A dictionary with some excellent words of both languages, Hindi and Urdu, in one place. Imagine how rich our vocabulary will be!" Akhtar also spoke about the plight of young actors when sharing that he writes Hindi dialogues in the Roman script for them because "they can't read anything else".

Getting political

Actor Abhishek Bachchan joined the league of actors who've extended their support to the government ahead of the Ram Mandir opening in Ayodhya. "I also want to go to Ram temple and have darshan. The way the general public is enthusiastic about the Ram temple in Ayodhya [is noteworthy]. This kind of enthusiasm is also on my mind. I want to see how the temple is built."

Dad again

Jumping from one mythological show to another, actor Arav Chowdharry spoke of how his outing as Bhishma Pitamah in Mahabharata differs from his act in the newly released show, Shrimad Ramayan. "I had a lot of time on hand to prepare for Bhishma. I had a lot of time to explain how Bhishma is aging, talking, and walking. Bhishma had a very mighty personality. When it comes to King Dashrath, there are a lot of dialogues. He is extremely emotional about his sons. There is an emotional complexity to his character that I must portray in every scene. And that's a challenge," he added.