Shaad Ali made his debut in 2002 by directing Saathiya, a remake of Tamil filmAlaipayuthey directed by Mani Ratnam. The film became a massive hit and Ali's reputation as a director soared. Thirteen years later, Ali will helm yet another remake, this time, Ratnam's O Kadhal Kanmani, which released earlier this year. We also hear that Ali has signed Aditya Roy Kapur and Sonakshi Sinha to play the lead roles in the film. The film revolves around today's modern, live-in couples.
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Rajkummar Rao is getting plenty of critical acclaim because of his outstanding work in films like CityLights and Queen. Rao had earlier worked in Talaash and we hear that his Talaash co-star Aamir Khan is very impressed with the actor's body of work. We also hear that he wants to cast him in Dangal, in which Khan is playing a wrestler. He has offered Rao an important role and the actor is currently working out dates as he has a packed shoot schedule.
PS: We hear that with Dangal scheduled to start rolling in September, the makers are not wasting any time and are working on the music of the film, which will be composed by AR Rahman. The maverick composer is currently in town working with Khan on the essence of the film's music.
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After the massive success of OMG-Oh My God! Akshay Kumar's production house Grazing Goat Pictures has decided to helm a sequel to the film. The writers have been trying to write a new story but then, PK released, after which Viacom18 Motion Pictures, which were co-producers of OMG, made Dharam Sankat Mein on similar lines. Now the makers realise that making a film based on religion makes no sense as it may not have anything new to offer. We hear that director Umesh Shukla and his writers have worked on a new concept which is not about God but a comic take on social issues. Akshay Kumar will play the leading man and the film will start rolling early next year.
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When Sonakshi Sinha hit the big time, there was talk that the Sinha family would re-launch their production house, Shotgun Movies, and that they had signed director Umesh Shukla (OMG-Oh My God fame) for their first film. But after narrating many drafts, it turns out the film will not roll at all. After that, the Sinhas started talking to other directors but a source close to the production house says, "Right now, Sonakshi can't concentrate on scripts as she is busy with her acting career. So they have decided not to look at production right now."
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Vikramaditya Motwane's Lootera didn't do well at the box office in spite of having actors like Ranveer Singh and Sonakshi Sinha. Next, the director was to make a film based on a superhero, first with Imran Khan and then with Sidharth Malhotra. But he had to scrap the film after Ungli as it was on the same lines. Then we heard he had drafted an action-packed thriller. Now we hear that Motwane has drafted his final script and is planning to cast lesser-known actors in this film. They have decided to keep it on a tight budget and start rolling this year end.
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After getting a lot of flak from the audience for Bombay Velvet, Anurag Kashyap has decided to stick to working with his kind of actors (no big stars, we mean). He has signed Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Ayushmann Khurrana for his next film, which he will complete in just 20 days. Yes, it is one of the most low-budget films his banner Phantom Production has ever produced. The film starts rolling next month and everyone associated with the film has been told to keep it hush-hush.
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Sooraj Barjatya is known for his family-oriented films but we hear the filmmaker has reinvented himself with his next Prem Ratan Dhan Payo, which will show the audience a new approach by Barjatya. Not just that, this Eid, we saw Salman Khan in a totally new avatar in Bajrangi Bhaijaan and the festival became even more special because of the film. And this Diwali, we will see a new Khan in Barjatya's next. Which means Diwali will be more dhamakedaar, this year.
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Sujoy Ghosh will finally start rolling his next film, Kerala. The film features Amitabh Bachchan and Nawazuddin Siddiqui in the lead. It's a thriller and the film starts rolling in November. The unit will shoot for two months at a stretch in various parts of Kerala, where Ghosh will capture the scenic beauty of the state as never seen before in Hindi films. The Mumbai schedule starts in January next year. We also hear that the director has asked his star cast to exclusively work in his film so that they can concentrate on their respective characters.
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When a few great minds come together, they tend to achieve big things. So a few great minds, as they like to think they are, decided to give cinema a new face with different' kinds of films. Not all their films turned into box-office successes but they are very active on social media. Recently, they co-produced a film where they took care of the marketing and promotions only but started ignoring the man who invested the money in the film. So much so that they decided to helm a premiere of the film right where the film was based.
But, as they say, bad deeds are always paid back. This time, they took charge of the premiere where they invited guests from all over the world. Everyone reached the venue and waited for the film to start. The media too was invited to cover the premiere as small towns don't witness grand film events. After waiting for hours, it turned out that the marketing team hadn't carried the proper print with them and the film couldn't be screened. Hmm.
Now this is a cute tale! Recently, this much-in-demand director who got lucky and is all set to direct a BIG actor, met with the person who handles the BIG actor's work. Everything went well and the director expressed a desire to speak with this BIG actor, who was in the US.
The BIG actor's person told the director that he could call him whenever he felt like it. The director asked for the BIG actor's number in the US, to which the BIG actor's person was stunned and told the director, "He uses the same number wherever he goes."
The meeting ended and the director left with his team. On their way back, one of his associates told the director, "Sir, we're working with one of the biggest actors in our country. Do you think he would use a local number the way we do when we travel abroad?" Well, they all ended up laughing!!!
http://www.boxofficeindia.co.in/category/news/trade-gup/