MUMBAI: Here we bring you all the new and fresh happenings from the world of Bollywood.

When Sushant Singh Rajput met Sourav Ganguly

Actor Sushant Singh Rajput says he was elated to meet former Indian cricketer Sourav Ganguly.

Sushant on Wednesday took to Twitter to share a photograph of the meeting.

"I couldn't hold my excitement at all and get one expression right clicking pictures with dada, so excuse me for that. What a man, one of the greatest ever," Sushant posted.

In the photograph, the Kedarnath star was seen beaming with joy while posing with Ganguly, who is seen in traditional attire.

I bow to you SRK: Ali Fazal

Actor Ali Fazal has praised superstar Shah Rukh Khan for his "tough role" in Aanand L. Rai directorial Zero.

In the film, SRK plays a vertically challenged man Bauua Singh. It also features Katrina Kaif and Anushka Sharma.

"Bauua Singh, I can't quite put in words what I saw today! I bow to you King Khan -- Shah Rukh Khan. Agreed it was a very tough and fantastical journey you and Aanand L. Rai sir treaded upon. This was your dream and I got a peak inside your head," Ali posted.

Zero got a mixed reaction at the box office with some critics calling the narrative weak and some tagging the film as the best coming from King Khan.

Pooja Hegde's Christmas surprise for sister

Taking a break from her work, actress Pooja Hegde surprised her sister in the US on Christmas.

"I was shooting for my next project but luckily got a couple of days off, so I decided to surprise my sister who I had not met for the longest time," Pooja said in a statement.

"It was a very impromptu plan. We had a great time together," she added.

On the work front, Pooja will next be seen in Housefull 4.

Anupam Kher excited about 'The Accidental Prime Minister' trailer launch

Actor Anupam Kher is excited to bring the trailer of his upcoming film The Accidental Prime Minister to his fans and admirers.

The actor, who will be seen playing the role of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in the film, on Wednesday announced that the trailer of the film will be out on Thursday.

"Friends!! The wait is over!!! You will be happy to know that the Trailer of The Accidental Prime Minister is coming to all of you, tomorrow," Anupam posted on Twitter.

The film is based on a book by Sanjaya Baru, a former media advisor to Manmohan Singh. Akshaye Khanna features as Baru and Divya Seth Shah plays Manmohan Singh's wife Gursharan Kaur in the movie.

It is directed by debutant Vijay Ratnakar Gutte along with Hansal Mehta as the creative producer.

Farhad Samji talks about his 11-year-old association with Rohit Shetty

Screenwriter-director Farhad Samji says that due to his 11-year-old association with filmmaker Rohit Shetty, he feels that the kind of chemistry he shares with the Singham director would be difficult to have with others.

Farhad had teamed up with Rohit for films like Golmaal 3, Bol Bachchan and Chennai Express. The two joined forces again, this time for the forthcoming film Simmba.

"We have done 11 films together so we are more than a family. We know each other's strengths and weaknesses. I have worked with other directors also, but with Rohit Shetty, it's very clear. He knows what I want to convey. I also know what he wants from me. That kind of a chemistry...I guess I'll hardly have it with others," Farhad told a publication.

"Whenever a writer writes, he imagines how the scene would be. Whenever I write and narrate to him, he listens to it and visually when it comes on the screen...I feel that it's 10 times better because his treatment is fantastic.

"Rohit knows that irrespective of the scale of the film or the sequences involved in it or how many cars we blow up... the audience wants good content, story, emotions and characters."

Farhad has written dialogues for Simmba and when the trailer came out, actor Ranveer Singh's "Tell me something I don't know" dialogue from the film inspired memes on social media.

"Social media creates tremendous amount of awareness. For long, we have believed that 'All publicity is good publicity'. So when a film is about to come out and there are comments on social media...sometimes, you wonder 'How can they comment like this?' But some people do react in such a way.

"Even if you see a hit film...like if we watch Sholay or Lagaan, they are all masterpieces, but every person has a different view. If you will ask 10 people, at least two will still not like them. I get attracted more to the critical social media views. People give positive reviews also," he said.

As of now, he is excited to see how the people will react to the film.

"It is not a light comedy. There is a proper message given in a commercial way," he said.

Simmba will show how a corrupt police officer eventually stands up against the rapist.

KJo got emotional with Alia's 'Kalank' performance

Filmmaker Karan Johar feels actress Alia Bhatt has done a wonderful job in multi-starrer period drama Kalank, and says he got emotional after seeing her performance.

"I saw something that Alia had done in Kalank and I was just so moved by the work she had done," Karan said in a statement.

"I won't disclose what it is (but) she has done something in the film. You know when I see Alia I get that feeling like I'm seeing my daughter perform. And because I have that emotion for her I just started crying in the end for some weird reason. I'm going through something internally which I'm not aware of and I just got very teary. And I rang her up and said her I got very emotional, well done," he added.

Karan opened up about Alia's performance in Kalank when he became part of No Filter Neha -- season three for an episode.

Conceptualised by Karan and his late father Yash Johar almost 15 years ago, Kalank is an epic drama set in the 1940s.

Being helmed by Abhishek Varman, the period drama also features actors like Madhuri Dixit Nene, Sanjay Dutt, Varun Dhawan, Aditya Roy Kapoor and Sonakshi Sinha.

Anil Kapoor wants his daughter Sonam as a female lead in his directorial debut

Evergreen actor Anil Kapoor, who turned 63 on Monday, says if he will ever become a director then, he wants to direct his daughter actress Sonam Kapoor as a female lead in his directorial debut film.

Anil Kapoor was interacting with media when he unveiled first look of his forthcoming film Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga along with his co-actors Sonam Kapoor, Juhi Chawla, Rajkummar Rao and producer Vidhu Vinod Chopra on Monday in Mumbai.

Father-daughter duo Anil Kapoor and Sonam Kapoor are going to share screen space together for the first time in 'Ek Ladki...' where they are playing role of father and daughter.

When asked about his experience working with his daughter for the first time, he said, "It has been wonderful...She always surprises me as an actor. When I see her on the set and when I see her onscreen, every time I feel that she has completely different kind of presence on both sides. I think that's a sign of true artiste.

In the year 2018, Anil Kapoor featured in Race 3 and Fanney Khan. He also produced a web-series called Selection Day in collaboration with Netflix and he even dubbed for Netflix film Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle for the character of Baloo.

"I think this year has been beautiful and I feel year 2019 will be even better," he said.

Sonam Kapoor has featured in many female centric films in her film career like Neerja, Aisha, Khoobsurat and Veere Di Wedding. "I never made a conscious decision that I want to do films which are in that space. If I like the script and if my role in the film is good then, I will certainly like to do it."

Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga is a romantic comedy film directed by Shelly Chopra Dhar. It stars Anil Kapoor, Juhi Chawla, Sonam Kapoor and Rajkummar Rao in the lead roles.

It is slated for release on 1 February.

I was quite non-judgmental: Saqib Saleem on playing contract killer

Bollywood actor Saqib Saleem, who is playing a contract killer in the web show Rangbaaz, says during the shooting of the show, he was quite non-judgmental about every action of the character.

"I was quite non-judgmental about Shukla. I slowly went through the story, the psyche of the character…I learnt the accent because the character is from Gorakhpur. I internalized the character in a manner, where I realized that one does not have to scream to portray anger," Saqib told a leading publication here.

For the show, the 30-year-old went through an extensive process to get into the character.

He said, "Our director Bhav also guided me to understand how I can channelize my emotion through my eyes rather than playing it loud as it is expected generally when a character of a contract killer is narrated."

Set in Uttar Pradesh, the story revolves around Shiv Prakash Shukla, a contract killer who entered into the world of crime at a very young age and by the age of 25, he became one of the most wanted criminals of the nation. Shukla died in 1998.

So, was he nervous to take the show on his shoulder?

"I wasn't worried about taking the responsibility of the show. As I am playing the central character, I was a little unsure if I can manage to pull out the character, that is based on the true event, real-life people. This was quite away from my comfort zone. Since the beginning, I never played an out and out spine-chilling killer like this."

In fact, according to the actor, that was one of the reasons he got excited to be part of the story.

"It was challenging, I was really looking forward to a challenge so that I can put myself in an uncomfortable zone and grow from there," Saqib added.

Rangbaaz featuring Tigmansgu Dhulia, Aahana Kumra, Ravi Kishan and Ranvir Shorey is streaming on ZEE5.

Didn't write a story for Anil, but he was perfect choice: Vidu Vinod Chopra

After working with actor Anil Kapoor in hit films like 1942: A Love Story and Parinda, filmmaker Vidu Vinod Chopra, who has worked with him again in the upcoming movie Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga, seems to be in awe of him as he finds Anil as the perfect choice for the film.

But for Vidu, the script matters more than the cast. He first works on the script and then hunts for actors for the particular roles in his films.

During the teaser launch of Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga here on Monday, Vidu, who is producing the film, said, "I did not write a story for Anil Kapoor, but he was a perfect choice that is why I cast him. When I wrote 1942: A Love Story or Parinda for that matter, I wrote the story first and then cast Anil because he was the right choice for the character that he played."

"My intention was not to write a story that revolves around the star Anil Kapoor. So, all the so-called stars must realise that the script comes first and then the star.

"Today, I am talking to you people with confidence because we have worked on the story and then cast a fine actor like Anil, who with his acting skill took the story to the next level," added the National Award-winning director.

Directed by Shelly Chopra Dhar, Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga also features actors RajKummar Rao, Sonam Kapoor and Juhi Chawla in pivotal roles.

Has good script overpowered the star-power?

Chopra said, "Look, there is no fight between the script and the star, the fact is, it works when it is a perfect marriage of the two. It is never, one or the other. It is the togetherness of story and star."

The film is scheduled to release on 1 February 2019.

 (SOURCE: IANS)