Have you heard? A place for all

AR Rahman

Music maestro AR Rahman has said that India, being a culturally rich country, presents "a great opportunity to bring everybody together through sounds, words, and thoughts". Discussing the catalysts for advancing regional music in our nation, he emphasised, "The human mind works with empowerment. I feel, if the mind is empowered, everything can be done. One has to manifest while making any song that this is the best song that I am going to make, and everyone is going to love it. Every language is important, and everyone can shine anywhere. One should never underestimate any artiste." The musician was speaking at the launch of his show, Nexa Music 3.

Together on screen

Gulshan Devaiah and Anurag Kashyap are set to star in the upcoming police-villain chase drama titled Bad Cop, a fictional series directed by Aditya Datt. Also starring Harleen Sethi, Saurabh Sachdeva, and Aishwarya Sushmita in pivotal roles, the show features Kashyap as the quirky villain Kazbe, and Devaiah as Karan, a cop. Talking about his role, Kashyap said: "I have created a lot of characters that are gory, quirky, and dark, but, it was difficult for me to be one. Kazbe is someone who doesn't think too much before doing anything; he just does it. He is dreadful, eccentric, nefarious, and a quint-essential villain."

A fan's memento

Singer-songwriter Arjun Kanungo recalled an incident when a female fan took his leftover cake home. At a launch, Kanungo was asked if he was ever serenaded by any of his fans, to which he said, "Well, I didn't have the good fortune of hearing a song from my fans but I feel their love." Narrating an incident, he said, "I was at a restaurant when a female fan came up to me for pictures. When I left the place, I saw that she took the leftover cake, and put it in her pocket," said the singer, known for tracks like Baaki baatein peene baad, Aaya na tu, and Ek dafaa.

No acting aspirations

Shweta Bachchan Nanda has dispelled rumours about her daughter Navya Naveli making her Bollywood debut. The rumours gained momentum after the debut of Navya's brother, Agastya Nanda in The Archies, but Shweta was firm in denying that Navya had plans to enter the film industry. "I think, you are very well acquainted with the work that Navya does, and she has her hands full. I don't think Bollywood is the way to go for her," she said when asked about her industry debut. Navya currently hosts a podcast in her name. Her mother and grandmother, Jaya Bachchan make frequent appearances on it.

Balan just wants to have fun

Social media is no mean feat to master, but Vidya Balan says her trick to shining on the networking platform, Instagram, is to simply have fun. "It has been about two years [since I started using reels]. I was shooting in London for the film, Neeyat, and I had a lot of time [at my disposal]. My manager had been telling me, ‘Why don't we do reels?' I was just having fun. After a reel went viral, I realised that I did what I enjoyed, and people also enjoyed it. So, I started doing it regularly," said the actor, who boasts a following of over 9.4 million on the platform. The actor, who was recently seen in Do Aur Do Pyaar, will be seen in the next edition of Bhool Bhulaiyaa.

Paving the way for women

Actor Sargun Mehta says producer Ekta Kapoor paved the way for more women filmmakers to back content that resonates with them. Mehta has a host of projects lined up as a producer, including the TV show, Badal Pe Paon Hai. "In television, Ekta Kapoor cleared the way for everyone. She left no stone unturned to make sure that we don't have that hassle of being told, ‘How will you do it [produce a show]?' She already did it in such a way that nobody could question [a female producer]. In Punjabi movies, people were not used to the idea of [women] producing projects; not that they mocked me, but they didn't think that I would pull it off the way I did."

Next season up

The third season of the teen drama show, Kota Factory will premiere on Netflix on June 20, the streamer announced yesterday. The series, with Raghav Subbu as the showrunner, is set in Rajasthan's Kota, considered the educational hub. It follows the lives of students in the city, and their efforts to get into Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) by cracking the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE). The new season will trace the students' chaotic entry into adulthood alongside their trusted teacher and mentor, played by Jitendra Kumar, the platform said in a release.