Have you heard? Table for two

Tara Sutaria and Kartik Aaryan

They are single and not surprisingly, ready to mingle too. Perhaps that is why Kartik Aaryan and Tara Sutaria mingled with each other over the weekend. The two actors had an intimate dinner date on Saturday night. Later, when it was time to leave the restaurant, they were spotted by the waiting paparazzi. Kartik and Tara didn't exactly pose for the shutterbugs as they walked out of the restobar. They hugged each other warmly before he escorted her to her car. After she zoomed off, he walked towards his ride and drove off. We haven't heard of the two collaborating for any project yet. So, guess they were just getting to know each other better over some sumptuous delicacies. That's some food for thought. No?

Cameo calling

After the hugely successful Jawan, Sanya Malhotra is set to team up with Atlee again. This time around, for his maiden Hindi production, starring Varun Dhawan and Wamiqa Gabbi. An adaptation of the filmmaker's Tamil hit, Theri, the movie is currently under production. Sources claim that when Atlee requested her to do a cameo, Sanya couldn't refuse.

"Having had a great time collaborating with Atlee on Jawan, Sanya couldn't say no to work with him again. Never mind the screen-time of her character, it's her way of expressing gratitude to him for casting her in Shah Rukh Khan's Jawan in the first place," says a source. Reportedly, Sanya shot her scenes with Varun in Mumbai suburbs last week.

When SRK reported on set before Big B

We have seen Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan teaming up for a new ad campaign. While the Hindi cinema legend is known for his punctuality, we hear that his younger co-star arrived much earlier on the day of shoot. R Balki, who helmed the commercial, revealed in a recent interview that SRK told him to ensure that he reached 10 minutes before Big B.

"Shah Rukh said, ‘You hold Amit-ji up wherever you can. I have to reach 10 minutes before him, whatever happens'," the filmmaker recalled. When told that they would start filming at 2 pm, the Jawan actor promised to be there by 1.50 pm. Revealing that SRK showed up half-an-hour before Bachchan, Balki shared that they cracked jokes and also helped and directed each other during the 12-hour shoot. "It was like one old school reunion. They get along famously together. It was the most fun day I've had in an ad shoot," he has been quoted as saying.

Vivek-Pallavi have epic plans

Much before The Vaccine War arrived in cinemas last month, Vivek Agnihotri had announced his next, The Delhi Files. It is the third of his Files trilogy, after The Tashkent Files (2019) and The Kashmir Files (2022). While he is set to begin filming early next year, the filmmaker announced his new three-part movie on the Mahabharata recently. Announcing the trilogy in Bengaluru, Vivek shared that they will be adapting Padma Bhushan awardee author Dr SL Bhyrappa's modern classic, Parva: An Epic Tale of Dharma. Conceding that it is an honour to make this film, Vivek's wife, actor-producer Pallavi Joshi said, "I want to understand the mammoth responsibility that we have on our shoulders. It is not easy handling a subject like Parva, handling the vision of the author. Parva as a film will be made in three parts, but we will also be making it in two languages, Kannada and English. It is great to have our friend, Prakash Belawadi as co-writer for our project."

Date problems

Rumours are rife that producer Sajid Nadiadwala, who was keen to begin work on Housefull 5 this December, has deferred his plans to the first quarter of 2024. Reason: the casting for the entertainer, which sees actors from the previous instalments reunite for Tarun Mansukhani's directorial venture, is taking longer than anticipated.

While Akshay Kumar is already on board to lead the upcoming edition, we hear the filmmaker approached Abhishek Bachchan and John Abraham to get on board too. Apparently, they were unable to commit the required bulk dates despite liking the idea. Not one to give up hope, Sajid is said to be getting good friend Akki to convince his dosts John and Abhi to team up for the laugh riot.

Akki is on a comedy trip now

Last week, Akshay Kumar shot with Ajay Devgn and Ranveer Singh for Rohit Shetty's Singham Again in Hyderabad. Now, he has begun shooting his new film, Khel Khel Mein, in London. Sharing an on-location video on social media, he wrote, "Can't help but smile when the camera rolls. Day one in London for Khel Khel Mein. Shooting begins. Need your love and best wishes." Director Mudassar Aziz's comedy sees Akki reunite with Taapsee Pannu and Vaani Kapoor. It is an official adaptation of the 2016 Italian comedy, Perfect Strangers. Incidentally, Akshay's first big hit, Khiladi (1992) was said to be a redux of Ravi Tandon's 1975 thriller, Khel Khel Mein, which was supposedly based on Louis Thomas's French novel, Good Children Don't Kill.