Have you heard? In seventh heaven

Karan Johar with kids

As his twins Yash and Roohi, whom he described as his "brightest sunshines," turned seven, filmmaker Karan Johar penned a heart-warming note for his children. "Happiest birthday to the brightest sunshines of my life! My life is forever changed, for the best with you two coming into it with your goofy and adorable laughs, unadulterated sass towards ma and of course, an abundance of love to give to the world! Never change. Grow up, but never change (sic)." He went on to thank his mother, whom he called the strength of his family. "And thank you to my mom, who is forever the strength of our family, and being a mother figure to Yash and Roohi. Love you forever, mom."

15 years to Abhay's Dev D

Abhay Deol took to Instagram to reminisce about working on Dev D, which released 15 years ago. He said, "It has been 15 years since the release of Dev D. I still remember pitching the idea of a contemporary, musical version of Devdas to Anurag [Kashyap, director], at the Juhu Marriott. The shock and excitement on his face are etched in my memory." Talking about how the final moments of his version of Dev D materialised, he said, "My ending was different from what he made, though. I had [suggested that] Dev get shot by the cops outside Paro's house, because, by the end of the film he [had become] a drug dealer. But the happy ending gave my character redemption, and it clearly worked." Meanwhile, the actor is currently gearing up for the release of his next, Bun Tikki.

Next work

Actor Emraan Hashmi, who was last seen as a menacing antagonist in Tiger 3, has been signed by the makers of Goodachari 2 to play the parallel lead, alongside Adivi Sesh in the upcoming spy action thriller. Hashmi, it is speculated, will not be seen in a negative role.

Chasing dreams

Boman Irani spoke of his journey during his recent visit to Oxford, and shared noteworthy moments from his childhood experiences. "I was dyslexic and used to lisp. Each time I spoke, everybody used to laugh. I would be afraid that people would make fun of me. It took me many years to understand that you can't afford to be afraid. One day in school, there was a concert and my mother saw me smiling and singing away. That's when she realised that I like to be on stage in front of an audience and she encouraged me to go to the speech therapist, and see cinema. My education happened through cinema. She saw it in my eyes that I loved that world," he recalled while encouraging students to chase their dreams with focus.

No regrets

Actor Ankita Lokhande, who emerged as the third runner-up on Bigg Boss 17, says controversially or not, she has no regrets about staying true to herself on the popular reality series. The show, that concluded on January 28, was won by Munawar Faruqui. Lokhande invited mixed reactions for her stint, which involved a fair share of arguments with husband Vicky Jain. "I've been there with all my heart. Whatever emotions I felt, they all came out. I would say I've shown my true self on the show, I'm not hiding anything. I was what I was. I have no regrets," she said.

Dad to a baby boy

Vikrant Massey is on cloud nine as he and Sheetal Thakur welcomed a baby boy today. Massey, who has been receiving praise for his performance in 12th Fail, shared the posts on Instagram and announced the baby's birth. The note read, "We are bursting with joy and love to announce the arrival of our son. Love, Sheetal and Vikrant."

Yeah... nope

Actor Poonam Pandey is not being considered as the brand ambassador for the government's national campaign to spread awareness about cervical cancer, Union health ministry officials said. The clarification came after rumours of Pandey being considered for the job hit headlines. Earlier this month, Pandey spread false news of her death due to cervical cancer in a bid to "spread awareness" on the issue. Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, in her interim budget speech, said the government will encourage vaccination of girls to prevent cervical cancer.

Project for mom

Actor-author Soha Ali Khan says she would love to write a book on the life and times of her mother, veteran actor Sharmila Tagore, even though she has doubts about being the "right person" for the job. Khan is co-producing a biopic on legal luminary Ram Jethmalani with her actor-husband Kunal Kemmu. "I would love to [work on her biography]. It's so close to home though. People will be like, ‘Would they be able to share the grey aspects of this personality because you are their child?' So, I can write a story about her but I don't know if it would do justice to all the facets of her personality."