Have you heard? Heroines welcomed

Disha Patani, Akshay Kumar and Jacqueliene Fernandez

Talk in tinsel town is that the heroines for Welcome 3 have been finalised. This will be the first of Akshay Kumar's latest collaboration with producer Firoz Nadiadwala to go on floors early next year. In keeping with the franchise template of the conflict centred on the female leads, the makers have roped in Jacqueliene Fernandez and Disha Patani for the third instalment. While the first two editions were helmed by Anees Bazmee, the third part will see Ahmed Khan pick up the directorial baton. Akki reprises his character Rajiv, while Sanjay Dutt and Arshad Warsi step in to play Uday Shetty and Majnu respectively. The five actors and the makers reportedly did a photoshoot at Empire Studios last week. Firoz and Ahmed plan to announce their new laugh riot soon.

To new beginnings

Now that the verdict on Bawaal is out, Varun Dhawan has moved on to his next. He begins filming director Kalees's Hindi adaptation of Atlee's Tamil hit, Theri, in Mumbai today. While Keerthy Suresh and Wamiqa Gabbi have been signed on as the leading ladies, Varun is said to be filming solo portions today. Apparently, the actor will shoot for the announcement promo and some key scenes. Atlee and Murad Khetani are jointly producing this action entertainer, and will announce the collaboration with a special teaser packed with action and drama. Though Varun has played twins before in Judwaa 2, the Theri remake is said to present him in a never-seen-before avatar.

A new dawn

Farhan Akhtar is set to announce his next, Don 3, with Ranveer Singh. He shared a post revisiting the journey of the enigmatic character, first created by Salim-Javed and played by Amitabh Bachchan, and later reimagined by him with Shah Rukh Khan. "The time has now come to take the legacy of Don forward and joining us in this new interpretation will be an actor whose talent and versatility I have long admired," Farhan wrote, hoping the new actor gets the same love as the two iconic actors.

Pooja reminisces her journey

During a recent conversation with co-contestants Abhishek Malhan, Manisha Rani and Bebika Dhurve on Bigg Boss OTT 2, Pooja Bhatt revealed how she grew tired of acting and made her transition into production and direction. She reminisced, "I felt the desire to escape to a place where anonymity prevailed." Pooja, who returned to acting after 21 years with Bombay Begums, added, "Throughout my journey, I consistently collaborated with new talents, aspiring to elevate them into stardom. When my actors used to be appreciated, I felt my work paid off."

A special pop art for Sonu

Recently, Team India Creative Unity, comprising a cohort of skilled artists, paid a tribute to Sonu Sood who has emerged as a real-life hero for the masses in recent years. They created a pop art piece spanning 1.17 lakh sq ft in Ajitwal, Moga, where the actor hails from, to acknowledge his contribution as an actor and a humanitarian. The art piece encapsulates Sonu's journey as an actor and a philanthropist. The actor is currently working on his next, Fateh, revolving around ethical hacking, which he is also producing.

Paras's sneakers obsession

Kundali Bhagya actor Paras Kalnawat is an avid collector of accessories. However, few know that he has a huge closet dedicated only to his sneakers. Apparently, he owns about 400 pairs, wearing a different one to the shoot every day. "I believe life is too short to wear the same sneakers every day," he said about his obsession. Calling his footwear wardrobe his "happy place", the actor added, "These aren't just shoes; they are footprints of my soul's journey. And I'll keep walking, taking one stylish step at a time."

Same but different

During the success meet of Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani recently, Karan Johar shared that Alia Bhatt shot the wedding sequence with Ranveer Singh just four days after tying the knot with Ranbir Kapoor. The filmmaker added that the mehendi her character Rani Chatterjee has is the same and was just darkened for the shoot. Mehendi designer Veena Nagda shared some pictures of Alia, clarifying, "You can clearly see her wrist is empty in the last photo, which is after her wedding. For the movie, we did the entire wrist design. We also made changes to the design on her fingers. Few other changes were made to overall design."