Have you heard? Sidharth Malhotra is Bollywood’s latest action hero

Sidharth Malhotra and Karan Johar

Move over Hrithik Roshan and Tiger Shroff, Sidharth Malhotra is Bollywood's latest action hero. On Thursday, Karan Johar announced Dharma Productions' first action franchise, Yodha, headlined by protégé Malhotra. Helmed by Sagar Ambre and Pushkar Ojha, it will hit screens on November 11, 2022. Johar added that the female leads will be finalised soon, leading to buzz about which Dharma talent he will rope in. The success of Shershaah, also produced by KJo, has made Malhotra "more confident" as an actor and "all charged up". The film's title, Yodha, is not exactly unique. In 1991, Sanjay Dutt, Sunny Deol and Sangeeta Bijlani starred in a thriller by the same name, directed by Rahul Rawail.

Twin joy

Preity Zinta and financial analyst husband Gene Goodenough are now parents to twins, Jai and Gia, via surrogacy. The Los Angeles-based actor shared the news on social media. "Gene and I are overjoyed, and our hearts filled with gratitude," wrote Zinta. The couple wed in 2016.

Republic Day 2023 outing

Ranbir Kapoor and Shraddha Kapoor's untitled film will release on January 26, 2023, the makers announced on Thursday. Luv Ranjan's romantic comedy, also starring Dimple Kapadia and Boney Kapoor, was earlier slated to release during Holi 2022. It will clash with Deepika Padukone and Hrithik Roshan-starrer Fighter. In August, director-producer Siddharth Anand had announced the release date.

FWICE seeks apology

The Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE) has demanded an apology from Vir Das for his ‘I come from two Indias' monologue in Washington, saying his comments offended India in a foreign land. BN Tiwari, president, FWICE, said the association would not allow Das to shoot and filmmakers to work with him. "What he said was disgusting. We won't support him till he says sorry," added Tiwari.

Let the good times roll

The wedding celebrations of Anushka Ranjan and longtime beau Aditya Seal have begun. Anushka's bestie and Versova neighbour Vaani Kapoor led the bride squad at the bachelorette party. Another round of festivities saw Sussanne Khan with rumoured beau Arslan Goni, Shabinaa Khan, Krystle D'Souza, Aly Goni and Nikhil Dwivedi in attendance. Ranjan, who was seen in Wedding Pullav (2015), and Indoo Ki Jawani (2020) actor Seal tie the knot this weekend. Anushka's sister Akansha is Alia Bhatt's childhood bestie. There's chatter that Bhatt and beau Ranbir Kapoor are planning a special performance on Anushka's big day.

Sallu, Ranveer at IFFI opening

The opening ceremony of the 52nd edition of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) Goa, which gets underway tomorrow, will see Salman Khan, Ranveer Singh, Shraddha Kapoor, Riteish and Genelia Deshmukh in attendance, according to an IFFI release. It will be hosted by Karan Johar and Maniesh Paul. Hema Malini and Prasoon Joshi will be awarded the Indian Personality of the Year gong. The film gala will honour the late Dilip Kumar, Surekha Sikri, Kannada actor Puneet Rajkumar, and filmmakers Buddhadeb Dasgupta and Sumitra Bhave. IFFI will feature 148 films from 73 countries in the international section.

In uncharted terrain

Sanjay Gupta has winged his way to Goa to begin work on his new project, which is a departure from anything he has done so far. The filmmaker, known for masala action-thrillers, is "anxious, nervous and excited".Gupta intends to direct at least two films next year, besides producing multiple projects under his White Feather Films banner. The plan is to make up for the time lost to the pandemic since March 2020. Last month, Gupta announced his production, Visfot, helmed by Kookie Gulati and starring Riteish Deshmukh and Fardeen Khan.

A snowy celebration

Kundali Bhagya actor Dheeraj Dhoopar and Vinny Arora celebrated their fifth wedding anniversary in Kashmir. The couple was in Ladakh earlier and were keen to visit Srinagar, Gulmarg and Pahalgam. It was an unforgettable moment to celebrate amid snowfall. The two, who met on the set of Maat Pita Ke Charno Mai Swarg, tied the knot on November 16, 2016.

Renewing vows

Puja Banerjee and Kunal Verma had a court marriage in March 2020, just before the lockdown. The pandemic stopped their plans on a Bengali wedding, and then their son Krishiv was born. On Tuesday, they renewed their vows in a traditional ceremony in Goa. Krishiv was also part of the celebrations. Banerjee termed it a "pati patni and beta" moment.

View PHOTOS: Newly-wed couple Rajkummar Rao and Patralekhaa arrive in Mumbai