Have you heard? What Maldives? 

Salman Khan, Vishnu Vardhan and Karan Johar

Earlier this month, mid-day reported that Salman Khan is set to begin prep for his next film, which was slated to go on floors in February (Salman trains like a jawan for Bull, January 1). Now, we hear that director Vishnu Vardhan will start filming the Karan Johar production this summer. Contrary to reports that the Maldives controversy has delayed the schedule, we hear that the makers are fine-tuning the screenplay before they call for ‘action!' "The Maldives issue has nothing to do with the film's schedule. Karan, Vishnu and Salman felt that the writing needed a little tweaking in keeping with the treatment they have in mind for the retelling of the real story. At the same time, the sets for the first schedule are being planned and work on the construction will begin soon," said our source. The re-writing is expected to be completed by the time the sets are ready. Also, by then, Salman and Vishnu will not only get time to complete prior commitments, but the actor will also have extensively trained to portray Brigadier Farukh Bulsara aka Bull, who led the Indian Forces' Operation Cactus to thwart a coup in the Maldives in 1988.

A new date

After having to reschedule the release of Emergency, from its eariler date of November 24, 2023, Kangana Ranaut finally has a new date for her upcoming directorial venture. "Unlock the story behind India's darkest hour. Announcing Emergency on June 14, 2024," the actor-filmmaker, who portrays India's late Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi, shared on social media yesterday. She added, "Witness history come alive as the most feared and fiercest Prime Minister Indira Gandhi thunders into cinemas." This development sees her lock horns with Kartik Aaryan's Chandu Champion, directed by Kabir Khan.

Case settled

The legal wrangle between the producers of Animal has been resolved. Murad Khetani and Bhushan Kumar have opted for an out of court settlement, thus clearing the way for the OTT release of Sandeep Reddy Vanga's directorial venture. Cine1 Studios had sued T-Series for breach of agreement in profit-sharing of the action drama, alleging that T-Series didn't share details about agreements with Netflix India and Sony Pictures Networks India. Bhushan's counsel argued that Cine1 gave up all rights to the movie for R2.6 crores via an August 2022 amendment agreement. After acknowledging the agreement between both the parties on Monday, Justice Sanjeev Narula of the Delhi High Court instructed them to officially document the agreement. The court will review and address the matter today.

Ek aur Gadar

Talk in the trade is that after the mammoth box-office success of Sunny Deol's Gadar 2: The Katha Continues, the studio backing it has green-lit the third edition of the franchise. Director Anil Sharma and his writing team, who had been brainstorming ideas since the film's release last August, are said to have finalised the basic plot for the period action drama. Like its predecessors, Gadar 3 will also be set against the India-Pakistan conflict.

SLB moves on

With Baiju Bawra put on hold due to its high budget and Inshallah on the backburner after Shah Rukh Khan politely declined it, Sanjay Leela Bhansali is moving on to another subject. Rumours are rife that the filmmaker is in talks with Ranbir Kapoor, Alia Bhatt and Vicky Kaushal for a novel romance revolving around two couples. Alia, who was signed on for Baiju Bawra, has reportedly committed to the new project. Ranbir and Vicky are said to have liked the subject and are working on the logistics. The second A-list heroine is likely to be finalised in the coming weeks. Bhansali is looking to take the yet-untitled project on floors this November. By then, Ranbir, Alia and Vicky will have wrapped up their prior commitments and will train their attention on Bhansali's next.

Nora joins action thriller

The makers of Dhruva Sarja-led KD - The Devil are sparing no effort in making it a pan-India offering. After casting Sanjay Dutt and Shilpa Shetty Kundra in principal roles, they have now roped in Nora Fatehi for a pivotal role in the action thriller. Helmed by Prem, the movie is based on true events that rocked Bengaluru in the 1970s. While not much is known about Nora's character, we hear she also has a racy dance number in the movie. The makers, KVN Productions, announced her association with the movie yesterday with a video, saying, "The ethereal beauty Nora Fatehi enters KD's warfield to inflame hearts (sic)." Also featuring Ramesh Aravind and V Ravichandran, KD - The Devil will release in Hindi, Tamil, Kannada, Telugu and Malayalam later this year.