Have you heard? Fight to finish

Hrithik Roshan and NTR Junior

It appears that YRF's War 2 will end similarly to its first edition, which was released in 2019. This time around, Hrithik Roshan's Kabir Dhaliwal will have a face-off with another able agent, played by NTR Junior. In a recent interaction down south, action choreographer Anl Arasu Arasakumar spoke about the climax fight sequence in the upcoming spy thriller, directed by Ayan Mukerji. War 2, also starring Kiara Advani, moves the production house's spy universe forward in the aftermath of War, Pathaan (2023), and Tiger 3 (2023). Moreover, the Salman Khan-starrer also gave a dekko of how, in the pursuit of eliminating the devils of humanity, Kabir has turned bad. Sources say the one-on-one fight to finish will be the highest point at which War 2 will end. It is believed that the makers will also give a glimpse into their plans ahead for the spy universe in the end credits of the film, which is slated to arrive on Independence Day, 2025.

My success mantra

Sanjeeda Shaikh is still basking in the love she has been receiving for her portrayal of Waheeda in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar. "As an actor, it is important to be appreciated. I am going to work harder. Heeramandi has motivated me to get better, both as a performer and a person," she said on the sidelines of the mid-day's Showbiz Icons Awards 2024, where she was also honoured. Excited for the second season of the Netflix show, which was announced earlier this month, Sanjeeda promised that it would be "bigger and better". The actor, who was last seen in the Hrithik Roshan and Deepika Padukone-starrer Fighter earlier this year, shared that her mantra for success is dreaming big and working hard. She says, "I tell this to everyone who talks about TV and films. For me, everything was 70 mm. When I worked for TV, that was 70 mm. I worked every day for 14 hours, giving my heart and soul to every role. Patience is the key."

When Sara recommended Alia for Atrangi Re!

It is not always that you hear of an actor recommending another colleague for a lead role in a project. Many years ago, Salman Khan suggested Deepak Tijori's name to Sooraj Barjatya for Maine Pyar Kiya (1989). During her appearance on Sit with Hitlist, Sara Ali Khan spoke about how she put forward Alia Bhatt's name for Atrangi Re (2021) to filmmaker Aanand L Rai after the debacle of Love Aaj Kal (2020). Recalling the failure of the film, Sara conceded that it took a toll on her. "When your work hasn't been appreciated, it takes some time to bounce back," she said, adding that, just as failure is a part of one's journey, understanding and analysing what went wrong is also a part of the journey. "The important step is to embrace and forgive yourself, because you can't move forward without that," she pointed out. Talking about calling Rai, Sara recalls, "I called him and said, ‘Atrangi Re is a great script; the character of Rinku is outstanding. Are you sure you don't want to call Alia?'" While she was nervous, Rai said he would deal with her. He said you cannot play a character on backfoot forever. "That helped me pick it up,"
shared Sara.

Getting nostalgic

A meeting with Bobby Deol recently took Twinkle Khanna down memory lane. They forayed into acting with Rajkumar Santoshi's Barsaat (1995). While she has moved on to become an author, an entrepreneur, and a producer, he has emerged as the flavour of the season with his antagonist avatar in Animal (2023). Sharing pictures from the set of their maiden movie and recent meeting on social media, Twinkle wrote, "Kal and Aaj Kal. It is not just Pinky maasi who is a Bobby Deol fan; I am as thrilled to see him doing so well. Nostalgia has a sweet aftertaste, and it was fun catching up and waving out at renditions of who we once used to be." Bobby, who is reportedly in talks with Priyadarshan to play Saif Ali Khan's nemesis in a new film, also has south Indian productions like Suriya's Kanguva and Pavan Kalyan's Hari Hara Veera Mallu lined up.