Have you heard? Anushka, Varun to reunite

Anushka Sharma and Varun Dhawan

Over five years since Sui Dhaaga: Made in India, Anushka Sharma is said to team up with Varun Dhawan again. This time around, for director Kalees's Hindi adaptation of Atlee's Tamil hit, Theri (2016). Varun steps into Thalapathy Vijay's shoes to play a cop on a mission to save his daughter from the baddies. Jahnvi Kapoor was initially offered to play the role essayed by Samantha in the original. Apparently, she didn't have the dates requested by the makers, who then turned to Anushka. She liked the narration and immediately gave her nod. The second leading lady, for the part originally essayed by Amy Jackson, will also be finalised in the coming weeks. The Hindi redux, said to be rewritten with additional characters and plot twists, is slated to go on floors this August.

Ranveer locks his slate

Even as he is gearing up for the release of Karan Johar's Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani (RARKPK), Ranveer Singh has reportedly finalised his next slate of films. After a hat-trick of hits in Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela, Bajirao Mastani and Padmaavat, auteur Sanjay Leela Bhansali and he are reuniting for the former's new magnum opus, Baiju Bawra. The musical period romance also sees the actor team up with his Gully Boy and RARKPK co-star, Alia Bhatt. Apparently, Ranveer and SLB had been talking about collaborating on the subject for a long time. However, it was only recently that the deal was sealed. The filmmaker is putting together an eclectic cast for the movie. He is contemplating commencing shoot early next year. By then, he will also have a studio on board. Ranveer is also said to have shot a promo for Farhan Akhtar's Don 3, which will be unveiled in due time. They will begin the action thriller next summer. In the interim, the actor will shoot for his portions in Rohit Shetty's next cop universe offering, Singham Again, led by Ajay Devgn.

Razdans, Bhatts bereaved

Last afternoon, Soni Razdan broke the news of her father, Narendranath Razdan's demise, on social media. He had been hospitalised recently for a lung infection. Alia Bhatt paid an emotional tribute to him with a video from his 92nd birthday celebrations last year. Alongside, she shared a note for her grandpa, saying, "My heart is full of sorrow, but also full of joy because all my grandpa did is give us joy. For that, I feel blessed and grateful to have been brought up by all the light he had to give!"

Lose some, win some for Sid

Earlier this year, Siddharth Anand opted out of a mega-budgeted action thriller with Prabhas. The director was supposed to take home a fee of over R50 crore for the southern production venture. But all is not lost for him. News is that buoyed by the unprecedented success of Pathaan, starring Shah Rukh Khan, YRF is paying him Rs 40 crore for his next, Tiger vs Pathaan. Apparently, that's the highest Aditya Chopra has paid any director. It is said to speak volumes about his faith in Siddharth as he helms YRF's most ambitious venture starring SRK and Salman Khan.

Upping the action ante

Fighter's action director Parvez Shaikh recently said that audiences should brace for explosive action in the Hrithik Roshan and Deepika Padukone-led aerial action thriller. Shedding light on director Siddharth Anand's brief, he said, "This kind of action may never have been seen in India because the action happens in the air, with the fighter planes, and also on land where terrorists are being attacked."

Memorable art

When Bengaluru-based artist Prasad Bhat reached out to Gulshan Devaiah to pay a tribute to him by making caricatures of his characters, the actor decided to commission the same to him. "If I really like something, I'm willing to pay for it. I'm grateful that artists offer to make me something for free. But it's their livelihood too," says Gulshan. He adds, "In this age of machine learning and AI, the least I can do is support artists by paying them their rates. Each of Prasad's caricatures has wonderful memories attached to it."