Have you heard? R Madhavan to romance Fatima Sana Shaikh

Pics/Yogen Shah

Dussehra fire-starters

Rohit Shetty and his team are getting ready to showcase Singham Again in cinemas this Diwali. But before that, the filmmaker and his star cast are set to unleash the fireworks on Dussehra. The trailer shows that the action drama draws parallels with the mythological epic, Ramayana, which was reported in mid-day (Singham and his sena go to Lanka, Sept 26). In keeping with the movie's narrative, the Lav Kush Ramlila Committee has invited the Singham Again director and his cast to join in the Vijayadashmi celebrations. So, come Saturday, Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ranveer Singh, Arjun Kapoor and Tiger Shroff will accompany Rohit to Lal Quila Maidan, said to be the world's largest Ramlila ground for the Raavan-dahan (burning of the effigy of the demon king) festivities. Akshay Kumar and Jackie Shroff, who are filming Housefull 5 aboard a cruise liner in Europe, will be conspicuous by their absence. It remains to be seen whether Deepika Padukone, who plays Lady Singham in the film, will join her co-actors for the keenly-awaited promotional outing.

A quirky romcom next

R Madhavan, who played the antagonist opposite Ajay Devgn in Shaitaan earlier this year, will next be seen as the father of the latter's love interest in De De Pyaar De 2. He has reportedly signed on a new romantic comedy to be helmed by Vivek Soni, who previously directed Meenakshi Sundareshwar (2021). Fatima Sana Shaikh will be Maddy's leading lady in the quirky love story about an older man and a younger woman. The yet-untitled film, scripted by Radhika Anand and Jehan Handa, is slated to go on floors later this month.

Work for a cause

Deepika Padukone recently shared a dekko of the 2024 edition of the lecture series for her Live Love Laugh Foundation on social media. While the guest Arianna Huffington, founder and CEO of Thrive Global, spoke on redefining success and inner transformation, the actor emphasised on the persistent cultural challenges. Deepika said, "Things have started to change now. But there's still this notion that if someone needs downtime or time for themselves, the person is not motivated or not driven. Instead, we look for someone who's willing to burn the midnight oil, and that person is praised for being hard-working, committed, and dedicated. From being an athlete, I know you need your rest and recovery."

On a hat-trick

Armaan Malik has been nominated for the MTV Europe Music Awards (EMA) in the Best India Act category. The singer-songwriter previously won the gong in 2020 for his debut English single, Control, and again in 2022 for his English single, You. This time around, he has been nominated for the track, Always, featuring the renowned British singer-songwriter, Calum Scott. Armaan said, "Having won this honour twice before, this third nomination feels especially meaningful. As an Indian artist, representing my country on such a prestigious global stage is both humbling and surreal."

Deal chahta hai!

A couple of months ago, rumours were rife that Karan Johar was planning to sell a stake in Dharma Productions. While business houses based in Mumbai and other metro cities were apparently interested, a music label was said to be in the forefront. Now, according to reports by exchange4media, Saregama's stake is said to value KJo's company at R600 crore. Subsequently, the music label might acquire a bigger stake in Dharma in the future. Insiders attribute the music company's interest in the production house to its rich legacy over the years and recent foray into digital content and talent management.

To new associations

The debacle of Yudhra hasn't affected Siddhant Chaturvedi. He has bagged Vikas Bahl's next directorial venture. The filmmaker, who delivered a hit in the horror thriller, Shaitaan, earlier this year, is making a family entertainer now. Wamiqa Gabbi has been onboarded to play Siddhant's love interest in the yet-untitled movie. Set in Goa, the narrative revolves around an old house that is transformed into a public place. Interestingly, Vikas has got Jaya Bachchan to play Wamiqa's on-screen mother. This marks his first collaboration with the veteran actor, after working with her husband and cinema legend, Amitabh Bachchan in Goodbye (2022) and Ganapath: Part 1 (2023). The film will go on floors in the first half of 2025. Meanwhile, Wamiqa will wrap up Rakht Bramhand with director duo Raj-DK, and Sid will complete Dhadak 2 and a musical romance with Mrunal Thakur.

Legal wrangle

The Bombay High Court yesterday heard Shilpa Shetty Kundra and Raj Kundra's petition against the Enforcement Directorate's (ED) eviction notices. Last month, the ED had issued notices to the actor and her businessman husband to vacate their Juhu home and the farmhouse near Pune in connection with a money laundering case. The couple challenged the same in the HC, calling it arbitrary, illegal and uncalled for. In response to the division bench of Justices Revati Mohite Dere and Prithviraj Chavan's question on the urgency to issue an eviction notice, the ED told the court that they will not act on the notices till the petitioners file their appeal against the attachment order and the same is decided by the tribunal.