1. Jaya Bachchan, Riteish Congratulate New Maha CM Uddhav Thackeray
Samajwadi Party MP Jaya Bachchan offered her congratulations to Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray, who was sworn in as the 18th Chief Minister of Maharashtra at an oath-taking ceremony at Shivaji Park in Dadar, Mumbai. “The Thackeray family and we share a deep and old relationship. My heartiest congratulations to him (Uddhav Thackeray) on becoming Chief Minister. I sincerely hope he works towards the betterment of Maharashtra, provides relief to farmers and gives youth employment,” she said in a statement to ANI.
Actor Riteish Deshmukh, son of former Maharashtra CM Vilasrao Deshmukh, also took to Twitter to offer his wishes to Uddhav Thackeray, Aaditya Thackeray, the NCP’s Jayant Patil and Congress leader Balasaheb Thorat.
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2. Celebrating at My Cost: Deverakonda on Fans Supporting Parvathy
Arjun Reddy actor Vijay Deverakonda has been irked by the support that Malayalam actor Parvathy Thiruvothu has been receiving from fans after she criticised the film for glorifying misogyny and toxic masculinity.
“I am very irritated right now. I can't keep it in and I want to take it out. If I will keep it in, it will become a tumour inside me,” he said during a session at the International Film Festival of India. He added, “I dislike that people are celebrating at my cost. That’s my issue. I don’t care what you think of the film, misogyny or the interview.”
3. Relax, When Big B Says He ‘Must Retire’, He Means He’s Off to Bed!
Amitabh Bachchan recently joined Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt in Manali to shoot for Ayan Mukerji’s Brahmastra. The actor took to his blog to write about the “the winter feel, the purity hopefully of the air” of Manali. Describing the destination he wrote, “there is great humility and joy of felicitations en route.. the simplicity of the smaller town reigns supreme.. as does the generous hospitality...”
He concluded with the words, “I must retire.. the head is thinking something else and the fingers another.. its a message,” which some took to mean that he’s considering quitting Bollywood for the quiet life. But we’re quite sure he just meant that he needed to rest after a long day!
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4. ‘Ghost Stories’ Promo Promises to Bring in New Year With a Scream
Karan Johar, Zoya Akhtar, Dibakar Banerjee and Anurag Kashyap shared a promo of their upcoming anthology Ghost Stories, preparing the viewers for a scary ride. The clip starts with the four directors introducing themselves and saying that last year they had a lot of fun with Lust Stories, so they decided to go one step further with Ghost Stories. “We ventured into a space that none of us have ever been before,” Zoya says. It was also announced that the anthology drops on Netflix on 1 January.
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5. KJo & Mithila Palkar Team Up for Short Film on Women’s Safety
Filmmaker Karan Johar and Mithila Palkar have teamed up for a short film that highlights how unsafe women in India feel in public spaces. Titled Girls Got Talent, the film has been presented by NGO Save the Children and Yuvaa, a media organisation aimed at the youth, as part of their #LightUpHerLife campaign.
Mithila plays a young woman returning home late at night. As she walks down a dark lane, she must constantly stay vigilant. Karan provides the voiceover, using film references to convey how women have developed a special “talent” and honed their instincts to be able to detect any possible danger while travelling alone.
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