Have you heard? Mahira ties the knot

Mahira Khan

Pakistani star Mahira Khan wed businessman Salim Karim in an intimate ceremony in the resort town of Bhurban. Her manager, Anushay Talha Khan, confirmed the news on her Instagram Stories with a video of the Raees actor walking down the aisle. The short clip opens with Khan, 38, walking towards the groom in a pastel lehenga with an elaborate veil. Khan is best known to people in India for sharing the screen with Shah Rukh Khan in Raees. In her home country, she has spoken affectionately of SRK, and has confessed her love for him on umpteen occasions.

Finally here

Kangana Ranaut's long-in-the-making film, Tejas, is set to be released in theatres on October 27, the makers announced yesterday. The movie, written and directed by Sarvesh Mewara, features Ranaut in the role of an Indian Air Force pilot. According to the makers, Tejas revolves around Ranaut's Tejas Gill, who aims "to instil a deep sense of pride in the valiant soldiers who tirelessly defend our nation, confronting numerous challenges along the way".

Revisiting a classic

Over 55 personnel of the Indian Armed Forces were special guests at the screening of the Hindi cinema classic, Sholay, on the third day of The Himalayan Film Festival in Leh. The screening of Ramesh Sippy's directorial venture at the Sindhu Sanskriti Kendra was attended by security personnel from the CISF unit KIBR Airport Leh and the Indian Air Force. While some audience members sang along to songs such as Ye dosti, picturised on Dharmendra and Amitabh Bachchan, from the 1975 multi-starrer, others made reels of their favourite actors delivering the dialogues.

The film school

Starting his career in the movies as an assistant to Sanjay Leela Bhansali was nothing short of attending a "film school", says Vikramaditya Motwane, crediting the master filmmaker for teaching him the art of being spontaneous on set. Motwane worked with Bhansali on his early films such as Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam and Devdas. During The Art of Getting Started session at The Himalayan Film Festival (THFF), the filmmaker described Bhansali as "an all-prep person". "What I've learned from him is planning, in terms of whether writing it, or a shot breakdown." He spoke of Bhansali's unpredictable approach. "He would say, ‘I want a rough mix of my film with birds for day and crickets for night'. You are a little like a deer in the headlights in the beginning, and then you're like, I'm going to figure this out. All that learning was fun. It's like going to a film school."

Virat returns to Mumbai due to personal emergency?

Amid reports of Anushka Sharma being pregnant with her second baby, rumour has it that cricketer-husband Virat Kohli's return to Mumbai had to do with a medical emergency relating to the actor. Kohli, who had been busy with World Cup 2023 warm-up matches in Guwahati, had to fly back to Mumbai to be with his wife. This led to further speculation that the actor is indeed pregnant. The couple's first child Vamika was born in 2021. Sharma had recently appeared apprehensive about being papped by lensmen in the city.

Pratik as Gandhi

Pratik Gandhi fittingly picked the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti to share details about his next venture that will see him essay the role of the father of the nation. The Scam 1992: The Harshad Mehta Story actor will play the titular role in an upcoming web series called Gandhi. "This is an important role. We will try our best to show his life and his journey. This is one of the first shows to depict something like this in the history of entertainment. I have been playing his role on stage for many years and am inspired by his simplicity. I have seen people adapt to simplicity."

Next, then next

Akshay Kumar is back at it again. The actor, who is known to deliver film-after-film in a matter of months, has announced his new venture, Sky Force, which will chronicle the "untold true story of India's first and deadliest air strike". The actor, 56, took to social media to share an announcement teaser on the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi and former prime minister Lal Bahadur Shastri, both of whom were born on October 2. "[There is] no better day than today to announce the incredible story of #SkyForce: Our untold story of India's first and deadliest airstrike. Give it love, please. Jai Hind, Jai Bharat (sic)," Kumar wrote on a microblogging site. Meanwhile, Kumar awaits the release of his next, Mission Raniganj, on October 6.