Have you heard? Zoya Akhtar to launch Suhana Khan?

Zoya Akhtar and Suhana Khan

If the industry grapevine is to be believed, Suhana Khan will be launched by Zoya Akhtar and not by dearest uncle, Karan Johar. On Wednesday, B-Town was buzzing with the news that Shah Rukh Khan's daughter is under consideration for Akhtar's teenage romance. It is said that the filmmaker is working on a desi version of the comic book series, Archie, for a digital platform. She will bring alive Archie, Betty, Veronica, Jughead, Reggie and Moose by casting a bunch of new faces, including star kids.

As soon as the news spread, Suhana was trending on Twitter. King Khan's fans welcomed her in B-Town while a section of netizens brought up the nepotism and favouritism debate. Though there is no word from Akhtar, it is well-known that Suhana is keen on acting. While studying at the Ardingly College in Sussex, she featured in Theodore Gimeno's short film, The Grey Part of Blue (2019).

Engaging in rumours

Last evening, rumours were rife that Katrina Kaif and Vicky Kaushal got ‘engaged' in a private ceremony. Jubilant fans started ‘congratulating' them on social media. As they are eager to see the two together, admirers were happy to assume that the ‘roka' had happened. It is learnt that there was no truth to the buzz as the actors are busy with their work commitments. Now, fans want them to admit that they are in love.

Sun-kissed

Kareena Kapoor Khan shared a glimpse of her tanned look and captioned it, "Beach bum." Bebo, who is holidaying in the Maldives with Saif Ali Khan and kids, Taimur and Jehangir, has parked herself on the beach, watching the tides roll. She is basking in the ‘salt in the air, sand in the hair' moments.

Chinese hand at work?

Kangana Ranaut claims "someone in China is trying to gain access to her Instagram account" and calls it "a big international conspiracy." The actor, who is back in town from Budapest where she was shooting for the spy thriller Dhaakad,cshared, "After calling the Instagram people, I could access it, but as I try to write, I am getting logged out of my account again and again." Ranaut added that her posts about the Taliban in Afghanistan have disappeared. In May, after her Twitter account was suspended for violating the hateful conduct policy of the micro-blogging site, Kangy has been unleashing her fury on Instagram.

There's lots in a name

One of Yami Gautam's fans, Atul Sureka, has named his niece after her. The advocate from Kolkata has been following the actor's journey from her debut film, Vicky Donor (2012). Gautam, who is shooting in Kolkata for Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury's Lost, met her namesake on the set of the film. "So overwhelmed by this gesture," gushed Gautam. Surekha has also tattooed the actor's name on his arm. He appears to be her jabra fan.

Living the dream

Mumbai airport is lately teeming with anxious parents seeing off their kids, who are travelling for higher education abroad. Rohit Bose Roy and Manasi Joshi's daughter Kiara leaves tomorrow night to study liberal arts at Brown University in Rhode Island. The actor couple is unhappy about not being able to accompany her due to the COVID-related travel curbs in the US. "But we are happy that Kiara has made it," says Roy. He was supposed to study business at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor "but I couldn't go because of a snafu in my visa application, so my dream has come true."

Not the right stuff to auction?

It's been a while since Deepika Padukone has been auctioning her red carpet outfits besides stuff from her personal wardrobe to support her organisation, The Live Love Laugh Foundation, which works towards promoting mental health. Now, the actor has been facing backlash on social media for auctioning clothes she wore to funerals. A section of netizens feels it is "not right." Nothing escapes the eagle eyes of netizens, who were quick to notice that she has been selling outfits she wore for the last rites of Housefull (2010) co-star Jiah Khan in 2013 and Priyanka Chopra Jonas' father Ashok Chopra's funeral the same year. These two items of clothing angered some fans, who called it a "cheap act." An admirer wrote, "I am shocked. My favourite Deepika Padukone has auctioned her non-couture clothes from 2013 that she wore to different funeral events. Low blow."

Rekha turns speaking tree

After featuring in the promos of Ghum Hai Kisikey Pyaar Meiin, Rekha is now lending her deep, husky voice to one of the campaigns of Bigg Boss 15, which goes on air next month. The new season of the Salman Khan-hosted reality show will have contestants endure several challenges before they step inside the house. The veteran actor is doing a voice-over for a ‘talking tree' whom Khan calls Vishwasuntree. "It is always gratifying to work with Salman and I feel blessed to share these unique moments with him," says the diva. Khan began his acting career with the Rekha-starrer Biwi Ho Toh Aisi (1988).

Breaking rules

Shagun Pandey has been roped in to essay the titular role in the upcoming show, Meet, which chronicles the journey of a spirited young Haryanvi girl (played by Ashi Singh). "It questions gender roles and breaks archaic stereotypes," says Pandey, who was earlier seen as Atharv in Tujhse Hai Raabta and Uday in Kyun Utthe Dil Chhod Aaye.

Pet love

Nagarjuna - Ek Yoddha actor Mrunal Jain is an animal lover. He is a regular visitor at actor buddy Sneha Namanandi's cafe in Lokhandwala, which allows diners to bring along their dogs and cats. Namanandi, who featured in Ragini MMS (2014), has several of her actor pals drop in for meetings with their pets. "Sanjay Dutt also gave me a shout-out because of his love for animals," says Namanandi.