Have you heard? More voices for India

Amitabh Bachchan

A bevy of stars have put their might behind the PM's endeavour to promote local tourism after his post on his travels to Lakshwadeep. The latest actor to comment on the location is Amitabh Bachchan, who, while responding to a post made by Virendra Sehwag, shared: "I have been to Lakshadweep and Andamans, and they are such astonishingly beautiful locations, [with] stunning waters, beaches and underwater experiences that are simply unbelievable. Hum bharat hain, hum aatmanirbhar hain. Jai Hind," Bachchan wrote in his post on X.

The last one

Sushmita Sen is all set for her "antim vaar" as Aarya Sareen as the makers have announced the newest edition's release date - February 9. Sen, who essays the titular role of Aarya Sareen, said: "Aarya holds a profound place in my heart, and as season three continues, it's like watching two pieces of my soul come together. Each episode of Aarya is a journey into a world that has become an important part of my existence." She added that with the arrival of Aarya Antim Vaar, viewers will get to witness "the profound evolution of this character".

A bit of bad

Konkona Sensharma, who is geared up for the release of the dark comedy thriller series, Killer Soup, has shared that she is ‘sick' of doing earnest roles, and loves playing women who are a little ‘irresponsible', and have shades of grey. Sensharma takes on the intricate role of Swathi Shetty in the Manoj Bajpayee-starrer. "When I look for roles, I see what the script is like. The entire script has to be cohesive. I try to choose roles which are interesting, because I am sick of doing earnest, good kind of roles, or morally upright women. I love playing women who are a little irresponsible, who have shades of grey, who are living lives according to what they want, on their own terms," she said.

Bridging the gap

Rana Daggubati, who attained pan-India fame after he played Bhallaladeva in Baahubali, has said that the film introduced India as a single cinematic nation to the world. "When I first came to Mumbai, I felt that there were so many filmmakers in the country, but they don't know what is happening in different parts of the country. In the South, no one knew what was happening in Hindi cinema. I knew cinema never had a boundary. So I started to work there, and it needed one film. Baahubali was the answer, and it made everyone see India as a single cinematic nation. A lot more will happen now."

This take

A group of 20 Singapore-based Indian professionals have joined hands for a short film, narrating how two journalists belonging to different schools of thought, reported about the 2012 Delhi gang-rape victim who was airlifted from New Delhi to a hospital in the city state in an effort to save her life. Titled Saahasi: Dateline Singapore, the 27-minute short is directed and produced by Zafar Anjum. It was released on YouTube on January 5. According to Anjum, the idea of Saahasi came from Singaporean journalist Gurdip Singh. "I was attracted to the idea because the film had a kernel of truth in it. It tries to shine a spotlight on media ethics," the filmmaker said.

New addition

Vaani Kapoor is set to play the lead opposite Ajay Devgn in Raid 2. The film went on floors on January 6 in Mumbai. Devgn took to Instagram to announce the new addition. "Welcome to the team," he wrote in his post of the film that will release theatrically on November 15. "The energy on set was nothing short of electrifying," he shared. Raid released in 2018 and starred Saurabh Shukla and Ileana D'Cruz.

New look out

The first glimpse of NTR Jr and Koratala Siva's Devara released recently, and sees the former in a new avatar. Janhvi Kapoor plays the female lead in the film that also features Saif Ali Khan in a key role. Siva will helm the franchise, which is expected to have two parts. The first part, Devara Part 1, will release worldwide on April 5, 2024, in Telugu, Tamil, Hindi, Kannada, and Malayalam. The film stars Prakash Raj, Srikanth Meka, Tom Shine Chacko, Narain, and other notable actors.

What a failure?

Filmmaker Vidhu Vinod Chopra's 12th Fail - a biographical drama - has become the highest-rated Indian film of all time on IMDb. On the list of the top 250 Indian films, 12th Fail has secured the number one spot with a rating of 9.2 out of 10. The other four films on the list of the top five Indian movies of all time include the 1993 animated film Ramayana: The Legend of Prince Rama, Mani Ratnam's Nayakan, Hrishikesh Mukherjee's Gol Maal, and actor R Madhavan's directorial debut, Rocketry: The Nambi Effect. With this rating, the Vikrant Massey-starrer is ahead of several acclaimed Hollywood films.