Chiranjeevi, Mohanlal, Rahman shower wishes as Rajinikanth turns 70

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

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 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