MUMBAI: TellyChakkar is back with B-town updates. So, all the fans of Bollywood, take a look at what your favourite celeb is up to.

Masala films holy grail of mainstream Hindi films: Ranveer Singh

Actor Ranveer Singh feels masala movies are the holy grail of mainstream Hindi films, and is happy to step into the zone with Rohit Shetty's Simmba.

In Simmba, Ranveer will be seen playing flamboyant policeman Sangram Bhalerao. It also stars Sara Ali Khan and Sonu Sood.

"Simmba is a full blown masala film. It's an entertainer. I believe masala films are the holy grail of mainstream Hindi films. In terms of genre, it is the king of all genres," Ranveer told a leading publication.

"I am very lucky and I am very blessed that I am under the guidance of the king of the genre. Rohit Shetty is the gold standard in the masala film genre. I am making a foray into this genre in his film so it could not get any better. It's highly entertaining," he added.

Produced by Karan Johar and Reliance Entertainment, Simmba is scheduled to hit the screens on 28 December.  

Ranveer says there are "exciting action sequences and great songs" in the film.

"And a very substantial story that's driving the narrative of the film. There is intense drama. There are comedic bits. Just what you expect that a mainstream Hindi audience loves is that all these flavours come into one film and that is one man who crafts it so beautifully, Rohit Shetty. So, we are hoping to set a new benchmark for this genre."

The actor made his debut in 2010 with the film Band Baaja Baaraat as a raw Delhi boy.

He has proved his mettle in the various roles in films like Ladies vs Ricky Bahl, Lootera, Goliyon Ki Rasleela Ram-Leela, Gunday, Dil Dhadakne Do, Bajirao Mastani and added more power to his star status with Padmaavat.

Men need to stop being threatened by change: Varun Dhawan

There are calls to make gender parity a reality in the entertainment industry and Varun Dhawan feels men have an important role to play in this discourse. The actor says men should stop feeling threatened and work towards creating a better work environment for all.

"Men can be a big part of the dialogue and they should be a part of the change. I think men need to stop being threatened by this change. They should be more accepting about it," Varun told a leading publication in an interview here.

"I think it is only going to be beneficial if there is equality, because, first and foremost, more talent will shine through... Let people come through (on the basis of) talent. Let us not discriminate just because of gender. Talent should be the one that speaks the loudest and we have immense talent in our industry," added the actor, who stood up for his October co-star Banita Sandhu during the promotion of the movie.

Varun, son of director David Dhawan, entered Bollywood as an actor with Student of the Year in 2012. He worked as an assistant director to Karan Johar on the 2010 drama My Name Is Khan.

He might have walked into Bollywood as a student, but Varun has graduated after showcasing his calibre with each of his projects.

From playing the role of a small town boy from Jhansi in Badrinath Ki Dulhania, to getting the act right in dance film ABCD 2 to the dark and gritty Badlapur to the subtle October to fun films likes Dilwale, Dishoom, Main Tera Hero and Judwaa 2 -- he has aced his performance in each of the projects.

He is back on the big screen -- this time as tailor named Mauji in Sui Dhaaga - Made in India.

The Yash Raj Films production highlights the untapped potential of India's talented craftsmen and skilled workers at the grass-root level and the challenges and issues faced by them. Helmed by Sharat Katariya, the film, also starring Anushka Sharma, will open on Friday.

"It is a film I am damn proud about. It is a film I am very excited about. Now... a lot of people have seen it. Our family members have seen it. In fact, some enemies have seen the film."

And by enemies, he means his sibling.

"Our siblings are our biggest critics. If the sibling likes the film, it is a very big deal," said Varun, who has a brother.

Since he has worked behind the camera, Varun says knowing the technicalities of filmmaking is always helpful.

"But knowing technicalities in a film like Sui Dhaaga - Made in India was not that helpful. Because this is almost about being free and being very raw. You kind of unlearn a lot of things. It is a raw and fun film.

"We were pretty much doing the things we wanted to do. As actors, we were given a lot of freedom," added Varun, who has been signed on to promote and endorse the Skill India Mission, and got associated with Indian textile major and fabric manufacturers Raymond along with Anushka.

The actor says the fear of failure is attached to every project, but he is confident about his latest movie.

"I want a lot of people to go and watch my film and then I want to go grocery shopping with them," he said.

Consider Delhi like my home, says Big B as fans cheer

A huge crowd of fans -- from every nook and corner of the city and NCR -- waited for hours to catch a glimpse of megastar Amitabh Bachchan, who took to a stage at a south Delhi market on Friday with wife Jaya and daughter Shweta Bachchan.

The Bachchan family, minus Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, was here for the launch of a Kalyan Jewellers showroom at the South Extension market.

A stage was set up facing the main road, where people came out in large numbers to watch Bollywood's "Shahenshah" and hear him say some words. Whether it was Noida, Gurugram or even Saharanpur, people travelled from various places to make the most of the chance.

Overwhelmed by the turnout of fans, Big B told the crowd, "I thank everyone for coming here. You all have come out in great numbers. I consider Delhi like my home, and you all are family members to me."

His words drew a loud cheer and applause from the audience members, some of whom waited for long, braving the heat. The buzz about the event had been made via newspaper ads and radio announcements.

The 75-year-old cine icon, who has a Delhi residence called "Sopaan", wore a black pathani suit with a navy blue bandhgala, while Jaya looked elegant in a traditional Kasavu sari. Their daughter Shweta aced the fashion game in a bright yellow sari teamed with traditional polki jewellery.

Dia Mirza's special moment with Alec Baldwin

Actor-environmentalist Dia Mirza says meeting Hollywood actor Alec Baldwin was a special moment.

Dia hosted United Nations (UN)'s "Champions of the Earth" award with Baldwin.

"I have had the honour to host for the second year in a row Champions of the Earth Awards, a truly motivating and inspiring platform that brings together some of the finest human beings on the planet," Dia said in a statement.

"To be able to host this year's awards with Alec Baldwin made the experience all the more special," added the UN Environment's Goodwill Ambassador for India.

The awards were presented on 26 September in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi also got the award. He dedicated it to the countrymen and the country's tradition of coexisting with nature.

Patralekha is my best friend: Rajkummar Rao

Actor Rajkummar Rao considers his girlfriend and actress Patralekha as his best friend, and says they don't discuss "marriage or babies".

"Patralekha is my best friend -- we discuss cinema, we discuss acting or travelling. We're not discussing marriage or babies because we like the way we are," Rajkummar said in a statement.

"When my mom first met Patralekha, she said that she's going to be the last girl I'm meeting," he added.

Rajkummar spoke about his relationship with his City Lights co-star when he appeared on talk show Feet Up with the Stars, presented by Voot Originals and hosted by celebrity stylist Anaita Shroff Adajania.

"I'm a hardcore romantic. My first crush was in Class 3 that apparently went on till Class 8 until she left the school," he added.

During an appearance on TLC's "Midnight Misadventures with Mallika Dua", Rajkummar said he is a fun-loving person.

"Mostly audiences have seen me portraying serious roles in most of my movies and that's why everyone thinks that I am like my characters too in real life. But in reality I am a fun loving person when I am around my bunch of people - friends and family," he said.

Radhika Apte hopes for safer work culture

Actress Radhika Apte says there is a need to create a culture without sexual abuse of anybody.

"I think we need to create culture without sexual abuse for anybody then we will have a work culture," Radhika told a leading publication over an email.

As an actor, she has to deal with hectic schedules and travel a lot. Radhika says she tries to drink a lot of water and get proper sleep.

"I don't do much for skin. Just drink water, try to get proper sleep, exercise, sweat it out, keep it moisturised, and most importantly clean. That's basically what I do."

For hair?

The actress, who launched a botanical hair tonic True Roots that delays hair greying, said, "I didn't do much before this. This is like the only product I have started to keep in my bag very lately. It delays hair greying by working directly on the roots...It's in a spray format, easy-to-use and non-sticky."

She says it suited her needs.

"I do have a lot of greys and I do have a need to cover them and I hadn't found such a natural solution and an easy solution to prevent my greys and also go to the root cause, rather than superficially hiding them," she said.

Shahid is my teacher, mentor: Ishaan Khatter

Actor Ishaan Khatter, who is close to his brother and actor Shahid Kapoor, says he discusses his professional choices with him.

"In the past I have shared with my brother and mother about the work that I am going to do. I think if you are close to somebody, you tend to share something that is so important to you and films are a very important part of my life," Ishaan said in a statement to a leading publication.

"And because he is part of the same industry, it is much easier for him to understand. He doesn't demand that I share everything with him or my mother. But I like to share things with my mother and brother," he added.

Ishaan made his film debut with Iranian filmmaker Majid Majidi's Beyond The Clouds, but Dhadak marked Ishaan's entry in Bollywood. An adaptation of Marathi hit Sairat, Dhadak marked the much-awaited Bollywood foray of Janhvi Kapoor. It will find its way on the Indian small screen on Sunday on Zee Cinema.

On his love for dance, he said, "Actually my mother was the first dancer in our family and she is the most accomplished of us all as a dancer. I don't think I was even conscious that my brother was a dancer when I started dancing, I was very young."

"I definitely share dance with him. We are very passionate about dance and he is the more experienced dancer. He has been a mentor and he has taught me dance a lot of different techniques. So he definitely is my teacher and mentor," he added.

If not and actor, what would you be?

"I would either be a dancer or do something else related to cinema in the creative department or I would just be an explorer," he said.

'Uri' teaser grips with story about surgical strikes

"This India will not stay silent...This is new India". A gripping teaser of Uri -- a film on the Indian Army's surgical strikes on terrorist camps in Pakistan -- was launched on Friday, marking the second anniversary since the incident took place.

The Indian Army conducted surgical strikes (on the intervening night of September 28-29, 2016), eleven days after terrorists from Pakistan attacked a military base in Uri in Jammu and Kashmir leaving 19 Indian soldiers dead.

Uri, presented by RSVP and directed by Aditya Dhar with Vicky Kaushal in the lead role, brings the story alive on-screen. It also features Yami Gautam.

Vicky says the movie is a "brave story" of "Indian soldiers who avenged those who were martyred in the Uri attacks".

The actor, who plays an Indian soldier in the movie and sports a beefed up and intense avatar, tweeted: "A defining moment in India's military history. A moment that paved a path to a new, stronger India. Here's presenting, Uri teaser."

The teaser begins with "18 September, 2016" splashed across a black screen, noting the date when terrorists hit Uri.

A scene depicting an aerial shot of blasts in a dense forest area follows the statement.

"19 Indian Army men were killed at Uri Base Camp, Kashmir."

As scenes of distraught family members of the slain soldiers play on, the voiceover indicates that Indian history is testament to the fact that India has never attacked a country first.

"The deadliest attack in two decades," another statement reads as the teaser builds up the curiosity.

The voiceover takes the audience through "1947, 65, 71, 99", reminding the audience of the major conflict years between India and Pakistan.

"Yahi mauka hai unke dil main darr bithane ka. Ye Hindustan chup nahi baithega. Ye naya Hindustan hai. Ye Hindustan ghar mein ghusega bhi aur maarega bhi (This is a chance to create fear in their heart. This India will not stay silent. This is the new India. This India will also enter their territory and kill)," says the voiceover, even as scenes of gunshots and blasts play out.

The movie will release on 11 January 2019.

Shahid and Mira's first date after the birth of Zain Kapoor  

Mira recently delivered a beautiful baby boy and took him home to all the love. This is the second child of this power couple, Shahid Kapoor and Mira Rajput. Now Mira and Shahid have two children to handle at home, Misha and Zain. Yesterday, Mira and Shahid took a break from being 24*7  hands on parents. They actually went for the screening of Shahid's movie Batti Gul Meter Chalu and we loved that they looked absolutely gorgeous together.

Arjun Kapoor's Dadi finds him a bride

After watching the Namaste England trailer, Arjun Kapoor's grandmother has found a perfect bride for her grandson and it’s none other than his Namaste England co-star Parineeti Chopra. Arjun's grandmom has liked his on-screen chemistry with Parineeti so much, she thinks that they should get hitched in real life, too.

Priyanka Chopra will be seen in four different looks in her upcoming film

Priyanka Chopra recently got engaged to American pop singer Nick Jonas. Finally, after almost a span of three years, the actress will make her comeback in Bollywood with The sky is Pink. She will be seen opposite multi-talented Farhan Akhtar. According to the reports, Priyanka will be seen sporting four different looks as it will cover around 30 years of her life. Not much has been revealed about the look. A crew member told a leading publication that Priyanka is going all out and shooting round the clock for the movie in Mumbai.

Tanushree Dutta upset with Farah Khan

Tanushree Dutta recently spoke about her sexual harassment that she had faced because of Nana Patekar when she was shooting for a movie. Recently, Farah Khan shared a photo on her Instagram profile with the cast of Housefull 4 which had Nana also in it. Tanushree said that she is upset, and Faraah being a woman is continuing to shoot with someone like Nana.

Salman Khan reaches Abu Dhabi to kick-start the next schedule of Bharat

Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif starrer Bharat is one of the highly-anticipated films of Bollywood, thanks to its huge star cast. Director of the film Ali Abbas Zafar is actively sharing all the updates about the film to raise our excitement. This time producer of the film and Salman's brother-in-law decided to take the responsibility of sharing the film's update. Atul posted a video on his Twitter handle, where we see Salman's back and his designer Ashley Rebello at the Abu Dhabi airport.

#Bharat in #AbuDhabi @bharat_thefilm @beingsalmankhan @ashley_rebello pic.twitter.com/GnbepGNDRL

— Atul Agnihotri (@atulreellife) September 29, 2018