Latest Bollywood News Today Transcript at 11:30 AM on 7 August 2023
In our top story. Filmmaker Karan Johar’s Rocky Aur Rani Kii Kahaani is on a roll. The Ranveer Singh-Alia Bhatt starrer has now collected a total of Rs 90.58 crore over the weekend. Even though the film had a ‘rocky’ start as it was released just a week after Oppenheimer and Barbie, it found its audience eventually. The film gained momentum following its opening day through positive word-of-mouth. The film marks the second collaboration between Ranveer and Alia after their hit 2019 film Gully Boy, directed by Zoya Akhtar. Rocky Aur Rani Kii Kahaani also has veteran stars Dharmendra, Jaya Bachchan and Shabana Azmi, among others, in pivotal roles.
Moving on. Filmmaker Zoya Akhtar took to her Instagram and dropped the solo posters and motion posters of the characters in her upcoming film The Archies. The film marks the Bollywood debut of star kids Suhana Khan, Agastya Nanda and Khushi Kapoor. The film also stars Vedang Raina, Yuvraj Menda, Mihir Ahuja and Dot aka Aditi Saigal. In an earlier chat with Film Companion, Zoya spoke about how the actors prepared for their roles in the film and said, “They had to read the comics obviously because it’s not their generation. They did acting, dance, and singing workshops and they had to learn skating, swimming, and cycling. They went to school and came to set trained for their roles.”
Actor Ileana D’Cruz took to social media over the weekend to announce the birth of her baby boy. Sharing a cute photo of her newborn, she also revealed his name. The text on the picture read – “Introducing Koa Phoenix Dolan. Born August 1, 2023,” In the photo, the baby is seen sleeping peacefully, with his hands placed beside his face. Ileana captioned the post – “No words could explain how happy we are to welcome our darling boy to the world. Hearts beyond full.” Ileana‘s friends and colleagues immediately flooded the comments section with messages and wishes for the little one. Nargis Fakhri wrote, “Omg congrats! God Bless!” Athiya Shetty and Huma Qureshi also dropped hearts in the comments.
Meanwhile, Bipasha Basu and Karan Singh Grover welcomed their baby girl Devi in November last year. Since then, they have been sharing snippets from their parenting journey. Recently, in a chat with Neha Dhupia on Instagram Live, Bipasha shared that Devi was born with two holes in her heart. Bipasha broke down as she shared how her little one had to undergo open heart surgery when she was three months old. She shared – “You feel so sad, burdened, and conflicted because how can you put such a small child in open heart surgery? I knew she had to be okay. It was about getting the operation done at the right time, right place.”
Bollywood actor Kartik Aaryan was on a career-high after Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2. However, when his next film Shehzada flopped, it came as a shock to his fans. In a recent interview, Kartik opened up about the failure of the film and shared what he had learned from this experience. In an interview with BBC Asian Network, Kartik shared – “I think the biggest perspective that I got was that I would not do a remake film. This is the first time that I was doing one. While filming, I didn’t realise it, but I realised later that this was something that people have already seen. I don’t see them going to the theatres to watch the same thing.”
Meanwhile, Sunny Deol and Ameesha Patel are gearing up for the release of their upcoming film Gadar 2. The duo will reprise their roles as Tara Singh and Sakeena in the film, which releases in theatres on August 11. Ahead of the release, Sunny and Ameesha were seen promoting the film as they visited the Attari-Wagah border in Amritsar. Ameesha wore a blue suit that resembled her character in the film, while Sunny wore a yellow kurta and matched it with an olive green turban. Sunny took to his Instagram and shared pictures from their visit. He wrote in the caption, “Was honoured to witness the Retreat ceremony at the Attari Border. Loved the energy & the fervour. Jai Hind.”
Not many actors have received the sort of debut that Vivek Oberoi did in Ram Gopal Varma’s film Company. He swiftly changed gears and starred in the romantic drama Saathiya, earning himself the label of a heartthrob. In a recent interview with Mashable Middle East, he spoke about how he was denied opportunities to prove himself in the earlier days. He shared – “The feeling of being so helpless that you are going to get manipulated out of work, and not even get the opportunity to prove yourself, is very frustrating. But you can’t do anything about it.” When Vivek was asked if he knew who was behind it, he promptly replied, “Of course I do. It’s an open secret.”
Lastly, several friendships in the film industry have gone on to set examples. One such bond was between Tigmanshu Dhulia and the late actor, Irrfan Khan. On Sunday, 6th August, as the world celebrated Friendship’s Day, Tigmanshu remembered Irrfan, calling him his ‘only friend’. In a chat with Hindustan Times, the actor-filmmaker shared – ” I do not have any friends now. Irrfan was the one who knew all my shortcomings and weaknesses. In front of him, I could just be myself. Now, when he has left us, it’s not an age when you make new friends.” Irrfan starred in Dhulia’s directorial debut Haasil, Paan Singh Tomar and Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster Returns.