Have you heard? Industry unwelcoming to outsiders?

Shahid Kapoor

Industry unwelcoming to outsiders?

Turning up on a chat show, Shahid Kapoor, who is the son of veteran actors Pankaj Kapur and Neelima Azeem, spoke of being treated as an outsider when he entered the film industry. "I didn't have the qualities to be a campy person. I was from Delhi and came to Bombay and was not accepted in my class. I was the outsider, and was badly treated for a long time. I came into this industry and realised, ye toh school ke tarah hi hai. Outsiders are not accepted easily here. They have a big issue with how [an outsider] manages to come in. For many years, I dealt with that. You [don't need to] diss other people and try to put them down, or close the doors on them. As a young adult, I didn't have the confidence to fight back. But now, if you try to bully me, I will bully you right back. I will bully the bully, because they deserve it," he said.

Daughter's daddy

Speaking at a recent summit, Anil Kapoor opened up on his decision to work on the show, The Night Manager, an adaptation of a British series of the same name. Revealing that his daughter Sonam Kapoor played a crucial role in his decision to take it up, he said, "[Sonam] reads a lot of books. When I was offered The Night Manager, she told me she had read the book, and it is fantastic. She insisted that I do the show." Kapoor also discussed subjects like staying relevant over the years. "I make sure that I keep on discussing ideas with youngsters. I speak a lot to them. That's what I have done to stay relevant. Also, good filmmakers have come to me and chosen me. So, I have also been lucky."

Songs to stories

Singer-songwriter Palash Sen, who shaped the indie pop sound scape in the 1990s with songs like Maeri and Aana meri gully, has released his musical short film Guzel Kiz. The film stars his son Kinshuk, who has featured in Broadway adaptations of Dilwale Dulhania Le Jaayenge and Monsoon Wedding. The Turkish title translates to ‘a beautiful girl'. The film chronicles the complexities of a narcissist, and harps on the narrative of a heartbreaker, who unknowingly falls in love with a mysterious guide. Talking about the film, Palash shared: "Directing Guzel Kiz has been an incredibly rewarding experience. It allowed me to explore storytelling in a new light, blending elements of the supernatural with profound human emotions while sensitively tackling the internal struggles of today's youth."

Bano bhai ke business partners

For the first time, Salman Khan's paintings will be available for everyone to own. The paintings will be fractionalised into 10,000 fractions, allowing everyone to participate in its ownership. Khan said, "I'm delighted to be associated with this initiative to make my paintings accessible, and I'm pleased to see that through this, my art will be shared with people around the world."

Still going strong

Her first song came out when she was only 10 years of age. Eighty years on, the music legend, Asha Bhosle, says she can belt out 18 numbers at one go even today. That's precisely what Bhosle plans to do at her March 9 concert to celebrate her 90th birthday this year. "If I will live more, I will go almost everywhere in Maharashtra and do shows. The name of my show is Woh Phir Nahin Aati Hai. I will also not come again. You should never regret not seeing [a performer]. People say, ‘we did not see Kishore Kumar and other singers [perform]'. But now you can say, ‘we have seen Asha Bhosle'," the legendary singer said at a press conference yesterday.

Another one bites the dust

Taapsee Pannu, who was last seen in Rajkumar Hirani's Dunki, alongside Shah Rukh Khan, will reportedly tie the knot with her long-time partner Mathias Boe. The couple is set to exchange wedding vows in a grand celebration, which will reportedly be a blend of traditions of Sikhism and Christianity. As per a report, the couple will get married in March this year in an intimate ceremony in Udaipur. While the two rarely spoke about their relationship, they were not secretive about it. Boe, who hails from Denmark, is a badminton player-turned-coach. He made his international debut in 1998. He rose to world number 1 in doubles and currently coaches the Indian team in doubles. The reports have neither been confirmed, nor denied by the actor.

Another leg behind him

Rohit Saraf, who is known for his work in films like Vikram Vedha, and The Sky is Pink, has wrapped up the Hyderabad schedule of the third season of the streaming series, Mismatched. The actor recently took to social media and shared images from the shoot for the series, also starring Prajakta Koli. The actor plays Rishi Singh Shekhawat in the Netflix original.