Have you heard? Shah Rukh Khan's quiet moves

Shah Rukh Khan

Though Shah Rukh Khan continues to be tightlipped about his projects, his latest ad with cricketers Smriti Mandhana, Jemimah Rodrigues, Taniya Bhatia and Shafali Verma for an auto brand has been unveiled. It consists of a fun-filled conversation between the cricketers and SRK, who turns chauffeur for them. King Khan has been lying low after son Aryan's arrest in a drugs bust case last October. He has also been off social media ever since. Earlier this month, wife Gauri posted a brand endorsement for an electronics brand featuring the two. SRK was seen in a commercial for a chocolate brand during Diwali. The superstar's fans, who have not seen him on the big screen after Zero (2018), are happy to see him in action, if not in movies, in commercials.

Team bonding

Ali Fazal shared a click from the set of his international venture, Kandahar, co-starring Bahador Foladi, Vassilis Koukalani, Navid Negahban and Gerard Butler. "I have no clue why I am holding an ostrich egg in my hand. Welcome to Jurassic Park," posted Fazal. Butler plays an undercover CIA operative stuck in Afghanistan in Ric Roman Waugh's directorial venture, which began filming in Saudi Arabia last month.

Moving ahead

After The Forgotten Army - Azaadi Ke Liye (2020) and Bunty Aur Babli 2 (2012), Sharvari is being roped in for Hichki (2018) director Siddharth P Malhotra's next. She is also the new face of a haircare brand. It is the third endorsement deal for the youngster, who is fast proving to be a favourite of the ad world.

Special wishes for buddy

Katrina Kaif's filmmaker buddy Ali Abbas Zafar turned a year older on Monday. Kat, who considers him brother, shared a series of pictures to wish him and tell him how much she "misses him". She featured in his directorial ventures, including Mere Brother Ki Dulhan (2011), Tiger Zinda Hai (2017) and Bharat (2019). He had announced a superhero flick starring Kaif, which was touted as the first to be headlined by a female actor. Zafar had completed a recce in Abu Dhabi but instead opted to shoot for an action-thriller with Shahid Kapoor. Kat will have to wait for her superwoman outing.

Ready for OTT action

Varun Dhawan shot for an OTT promotional campaign with South actor Rukshar Dhillon, who was seen in Sneha Taurani's Bhangra Pa Le (2020) alongside Sunny Kaushal. Karan Johar was also part of the hush-hush shoot. Dhillon is thrilled to be sharing screen space with the filmmaker and the actor but prefers to keep mum about the details. "Wait and watch," she says.

Beware of fake casting call

Anurag Kashyap slammed a fake casting profile on social media announcing auditions for Sacred Games 3. The filmmaker warned actors to not fall prey to the imposter. He added that casting was not underway for the web series as there were no plans for another season of the Saif Ali Khan and Nawazuddin Siddiqui-starrer. Sharing the screengrab on Instagram, Kashyap wrote, "This man rajbeer_casting is a scamster. I am filing an FIR against this person."

New notes

Amit Mishra has lent his voice to Naya safar in the second season of Unpaused. The anthology consists of five stories, which highlight the impact of the pandemic on people. "It's an inspiring and powerful track composed by Sachin-Jigar. I had previously worked with them for a song in Street Dancer 3D," says the singer. "The reach of digital platforms has grown tremendously in the past few years. It offers a breath of fresh air for music aficionados," adds Mishra who rendered Sakht jaan in the Ranveer Singh-starrer 83.

In the wild

On Monday, Akshay Kumar and Twinkle Khanna celebrated their 21st wedding anniversary at the Ranthambore National Park in Rajasthan. In a funny vein, Twinkle posted that if she met Kumar at a party today, she would not talk to him.

But he would strike a conversation by asking, "Bhabhi ji, how is Bhai sahab? Are the kids fine?" Kumar shared an Instagram video with daughter Nitara feeding cows. After sighting a tiger during the safari, he added, "Absolutely fascinated to see the majestic beauty. Mission Ranthambore accomplished. Thank God for incredible places like these."

We are family

Javed Akhtar clocked 77 years on Monday. Shabana Azmi wished husband Jadu (what she calls the veteran lyricist-writer) by posting a family portrait featuring Farhan and Zoya with their mom Honey Irani. Farhan's girlfriend Shibani Dandekar and Azmi's sister-in-law Tanvi completed the frame.