I don’t choose movies on basis of medium

For Rajkummar Rao, the first month of 2023 has been a mix of something old and something new. While he has shot for his maiden music video Achha sila diya, the actor is gearing up to return to the all-familiar world of Stree 2. Mounting the sequel to a successful film like Stree (2018) is not easy. Rao is aware of the fact, as he says, “We are in the writing process, and will take the film on floors soon. The team is being careful with the writing, considering it is a huge responsibility.”

Rao’s run at the movies in 2022 mirrored that of Bollywood, which

Shah Rukh Khan dials Assam CM, seeks support for ‘Pathaan’ release

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Sunday said that Shah Rukh Khan called him up late Saturday night. The actor expressed concern over his upcoming film ‘Pathaan’ poster being burnt by some members of Bajrang Dal in Guwahati. Sarma wrote on Twitter, “Bollywood actor Shri @iamsrk called me and we talked today morning at 2 am. He expressed concern about an incident in Guwahati during screening of his film.

They couldn’t do justice to the subject: Rajkumar Santoshi

Rajkumar Santoshi’s Gandhi-Godse: Ek Yudh will open in cinemas this week, marking the director’s return after nine years. The long gap was not intentional. In 2016, he had announced Battle of Saragarhi, which was to depict the 1897 battle that saw 21 Sikh soldiers of the British-Indian army fight the 10,000-strong troop of Afghani tribesmen. “Randeep Hooda, who was cast as Ishwar Singh, lived like a sardar for two-and-a-half years. We had shot for 20 days, when Akshay Kumar and Karan Johar announced Kesari, based on the same subject. After that, our financial set-up, satellite and OTT talks came to a halt. I had to stop work on my film as I had no [financial] support to see it through,” laments the director. “We’re from the same fraternity. Yet, no one bothered to ask me if I was making the film. [They could’ve made] a courtesy call.” witnessed only a handful of big-screen hits. The actor’s two theatrical offerings — Badhaai Do, and HIT: The First Case — failed to set the cash registers ringing, whereas his OTT offering Monica O My Darling received a thunderous response. As the divide between the big-screen euphoria and the intimate experience of the digital platforms grows wider, Rao emphasises that the story matters, not the medium. “I don’t choose movies on the basis of medium. Nor do [I determine] which film I should do for the big screen, and which for OTT. We should stop categorising films like that. For me, the fun lies in the process of making a movie. I am sure if we made Newton [2017] today, so many people would say it is an OTT film. But it did so well at the theatres.”

“I’m only doing stories that I believe in. I am pushing myself as an actor. As long as the economics of your film is right, there is nothing to worry about. All we know is to make a film with utmost sincerity and within the right budget. If it’s a good story, it will find its place.”