INDIA NEWS
Dec 16-31, 2020 - Vol 1, Issue 12
Bollywood takes the OTT route to return to limelight
Sidharth Shukla accused of drunk driving, claims he was attacked with knife Mumbai, Dec 13 (IANS): A video that has gone viral on social media shows TV star Sidharth Shukla can be seen engaged in a heated argument with a man on the road on the night after his birthday. While the man accuses the “Bigg Boss 13” winner of drunk driving, Sidharth, in turn, claims that he has been threatened by goons armed with knives. In the video, a man, who is filming the actor seated in the driver’s seat of his car, can be heard saying: “This is Sidharth Shukla. He is drunk driving.” The person also accuses the actor of hitting someone with his car: “Aapne bewajah gareeb ko mara na sir? Abhi baat kyon palat rahe ho? Abhi baat mat palto (You hit a
Clockwise from top left-Chandrachur Singh and Sushmita Sen, Lara Dutta, Karisma Kapoor, Bobby Deol and Abhishek Bachhan New Delhi, Dec 13 (IANS): The last few months have seen several comebacks in the Hindi screen. Notably, all these have happened in the OTT space.
role of a fraud godman in the crime drama has been lauded by all. The web series has already had two seasons.
Here is a list of Bollywood actors who returned to the limelight thanks to sundry digital platforms this year:
The Bollywood star of the nineties made her digital debut with the web series “Mentalhood”, which explored the multitasking nature of mothers. This was her first project that had her in a starring role after the 2012 film “Dangerous Ishhq”, which flopped on release.
Sushmita Sen Sushmita’s is undoubtedly the most exciting Bollywood comeback this year. The former beauty queen had been a part of Bollywood hits such as “Biwi No.1”, “Aankhen” and “Main Hoon Na”, and her last Hindi outing was the 2010 film “No Problem”. In between, she did a Bengali film, “Nirbaak”. When she returned with a title role in the digital series “Aarya” earlier this year, she grabbed eyeballs again. She played Aarya Sareen, a happily married woman whose life takes a drastic turn when her husband is killed. Abhishek Bachchan His last release on the big screen was “Manmarziyaan” in 2018. In 2020, he explored the streaming arena for a return, and it seems to be working. After making his web debut with the series “Breathe: Into The Shadows”, he looked impressive in Anurag Basu’s film “Ludo”. His upcoming OTT release is the film “The Big Bull”, based on the life of Harshad Mehta. This month, he also appeared in the sports docu-series “Sons Of Soils: Jaipur Pink Panthers”. The series is about his kabaddi team, Jaipur Pink Panthers. Bobby Deol This year, the actor celebrated 25 years of his Bollywood debut film “Barsaat”, which had released in 1995. But his Bollywood career has more misses than hits. The actor got a second shot at acting, thanks to the digital domain. After starring as Dean Vijay Singh in the digital film “Class Of ‘83”, he was seen in the successful series “Aashram” by Prakash Jha. His
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Karisma Kapoor
Chandrachur Singh Bollywood buffs of the nineties and early 2000s will remember him for films such as “Maachis”, “Daag: The Fire”, “Josh” and “Kya Kehna”. After a glorious start, his film career somehow faded away. He was last seen in an unheard-of film called “Yadvi: The Dignified Princess” in 2017. OTT brought him back to the public eye, when he returned in “Aarya” as Sushmita’s on-screen husband Tej Sareen. Lara Dutta Lara starred in many successful Bollywood films such as “No Entry”, “Bhagam Bhag”, ‘Partner” and “Don 2”. She was last seen in the film “Welcome To New York” in 2018. Two years later, she revived her career with the action comedy web series “Hundred” that presented her as a cop. Aftab Shivdasani He has been part of Bollywood since childhood. Many would recall him as the naughty kid in the Anil Kapoor-Sridevi starrer “Mr. India” back in the eighties. Although he didn’t make much of an impact with “Mast”, his debut film as an adult, he managed to get noticed in hit multistarrers as “Hungama” and “Masti”. He went on to feature in more multistarrers, and then in 2020 Aftab finally made his digital debut with the show “Poison 2”. Going by the response to the revenge thriller, he definitely made the right choice.
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poor person unnecessarily, isn’t it sir? Why are you changing the topic? Don’t change the topic now).” To this, Sidharth takes out his right hand from the car’s window and replies: “Usne mujhe chaku dikhaya (he threatened me with a knife).” The actor has reportedly complained to the police, who have nabbed the accused. Meanwhile, Sidharth celebrated his 40th birthday on December 12. The actor took to his verified Twitter account to crack a joke on his age. “To @TheRashamiDesai #ParasChabbra @MahiraSharma_ #VishalAdityaSingh ..... and who so ever it may concern .... I am now officially 40 saal ka ... but still
not a Buddha ..(joke plz take it like one),” Sidharth tweeted. In another tweet, the actor thanked his friends, fans and well-wishers. “Hey guys thank you so much for making my birthday so memorable and special...really appreciate the effort and love... you guys mean the world to me ... you’ll make this the best birthday ever..... love you all,” he wrote.
Chiranjeevi, Mohanlal, Rahman shower wishes as Rajinikanth turns 70 Chennai, Dec 12 (IANS): Superstar Rajinikanth turned 70 on December 12, and film industry colleagues including Chiranjeevi, AR Rahman, Mohanlal and Mahesh Babu showered him with birthday wishes. Many colleagues as well as fans also honoured him with a common display picture highlighting his popular onscreens avatars. Here’s what celebrities tweeted: Chiranjeevi: “Dearest Friend @ rajinikanth Happy 70th Birthday & Wish you a wonderful life ahead. Wish you All Success in ur endeavor in politics. U have won millions of hearts through Ur unique style & I trust U will also tread Ur unique path in serving those millions! Stay Blessed! Lots of love!” AR Rahman: “Extremely privileged to release superstar @ Rajinikanth’s 70th Birthday CDP on behalf of his fans. Wishing you a great birthday and good health! #HBDSuperstarRajinikanth.” Mahesh Babu: “Happy birthday, @ rajinikanth sir! May you continue to inspire millions and redefine style in cinema. Wishing you
good health, happiness and peace always!” Mohanlal: “Happy Birthday Dear @rajinikanth #HappyBirthdayRajinikanth.” Dulquer Salmaan: “An inspiration and a personification of humility and generosity! Extremely honored to release our beloved superstar @ Rajinikanth’s 70th birthday CDP #HBDSuperstarRajinikanth.” Keerthy Suresh: “So excited and honoured to share the CDP of the living legend, @ rajinikanth sir. Wishing you an advance Happy Birthday. #HBDSuperstarRajinikanth.” Shatrughan Sinha: “Warm & loving birthday wishes for a very dear old friend @rajinikanth... ‘birds of a feather flock together’. It was a great gesture on his part to have called me his Guru, in my most popular and talked about biography ‘Anything but Khamosh’. I’m very touched, but on a lighter note, I will say if I am his Guru, then he has become the real ‘Guru Ghantal’. God Bless! The most popular superstar especially down South in particular and in Indian cinema
in general has now taken the bold and beautiful decision to enter politics, better late than never. Hope, wish and pray that he lives up to the expectations of the people with his earnest sincerity, fairness and strong will. Lots of love to his wife, the real backbone, Latha and his family. Heartiest Congrats to him. Long live Rajinikanth! Regards to his fans, followers & supporters.” Ramya Krishnan: “Happy birthday to my ever favorite #Padayappa @rajinikanth from your one and only #nilambari #HBDRajiniKanth.” Suniel Shetty: “He has surely been the biggest inspiration for me and many others. Happiest Birthday to Rajini Sir!”
Releasing ‘Durgamati’ on OTT is a boon, says Bhumi Pednekar Mumbai, Dec 11 (IANS): Actress Bhumi Pednekar is back on screen with the horror flick, Durgamati: The Myth. The film had an OTT release, and Bhumi considers the move a boon amid the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. “It’s a boon. Honestly, we are living in such difficult times. Otherwise, we used to meet you (the media) on an everyday basis. As an actor, our job is to entertain people and in such a period, if my film is releasing in 200 countries and if it is able to entertain people in their homes, then there is nothing greater than that. So, I am thankful. I don’t think we would have got a better collaborator than Amazon Prime
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Video to release our film,” Bhumi told IANS. In Durgamati, Bhumi plays IAS officer Chanchal Chauhan, who is framed by a corrupt person of authority. The plot is woven with an element of horror, as Chanchal is possessed from time to time by the spirit of Durgamati. Asked if she has ever turned into Durga in real life, she said: “There are a lot of instances when I turn into Durga but there is one thing that p*sses off every woman and that is casual sexism.” Asked about female actresses being presented as the lead in Hindi films lately, she said: “I am thankful to God that such
kinds of films are being made. It is happening because of evolved people like Vikram (Malhotra) sir and Akshay (Kumar) sir who have produced this film. Earlier, too, many actresses have been a part of really good female-oriented films and actresses of my generation are carrying forward their legacy.”
Bollywood actress Bhumi Pednekar
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