Entertainment HIGHLIGHTS: Alia Bhatt Opts Out Of Ramayana, Akshay-Raveena To Begin Welcome 3 Shoot In October

While many believed that Kangana Ranaut would win Best Actress award for Thalaivi, Alia Bhatt and Kriti Sanon walked away with the coveted award at the recently announced National Film Awards 2023. Reacting to the same, she said, "Congratulations to all the winners of #nationalawards2023. It is such an art carnival that brings all the artists across the country together.... It's truly magical to know and to get introduced to so much important work that's happening across all languages... All of you who are disappointed that my film Thalaivii didn't win any... please know I am eternally grateful for whatever Krishna give and didn't give me and all of you who really love and appreciate me must appreciate my perspective as well ... Art is subjective and I truly believe that the jury did their best.... I wish everyone the best."

Pallavi Joshi expressed her excitement as she won the Best Actress in a supporting role award for her performance in The Kashmir Files at the 69th National Film Awards. "I am in Chicago right now for the promotion of our new film 'The Vaccine War'. I am very happy about winning this award, of course, every actor will be happy but I am happier that our film won the 69th National Award in the category of Best National Integration because that is very important for us. I dedicate this award to the entire Kashmiri Pundit community and all the prosecuted community in the world who have suffered at the hands of the terrorism," she said in a statement.

Allu Arjun added another feather to his cap as he became the first Telugu actor to win Best Actor Award at the National Film Awards. He took the award for Best Actor for Pushpa: The Rise at the 69th edition of the awards ceremony.

Pankaj Tripathi is on cloud nine after winning the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in Mimi. "This is unfortunately a period of loss and grieving for me. If Babuji was around, he would have been really happy for me. When I first got the National award mention, he was very proud and pleased. This National Award I dedicate to him and his spirit. I’m who I’m today because of him. I’m in loss of words due to this time but I’m happy and grateful to the team. Kriti also has won the Best Actress, so a huge congratulations to her," the actor said in a statement.

Alia Bhatt and Kriti Sanon were announced as the winners in the Best Actress award at the 69th National Film Awards that were announced on August 24, 2023. While Alia won for Gangubai Kathiawadi, Kriti bagged the award for Mimi.

Prakash Raj took a jibe at the netizens, who trolled him for his tweet on Chandrayaan-3. He wrote, "To all #DumbTrolls who have still not got the joke n asking what happened to our malayali #Chaiwaala .. he is very intelligent unlike you .. he has expanded his franchise to Mars n Jupiter .. coming soon on Pluto too .. catch him if you can 😂😂😂 #justasking To all #DumbTrolls who have still not got the joke n asking what happened to our malayali #Chaiwaala .. he is very intelligent unlike you .. he has expanded his franchise to Mars n Jupiter .. coming soon on Pluto too .. catch him if you can, just asking."

Ayushmann Khurrana and Ananya Panday’s comedy movie Dream Girl 2 is releasing tomorrow, August 25. A report by Koimoi.com stated that the film is likely to make somewhere around Rs 9–10 crore on its opening day. The film, in its advance booking, has sold 26,5550 tickets across the three major multiplex chains. Dream Girl 2 is said to become Ayushmann’s biggest opener post-pandemic. Directed by Raaj Shaandilyaa, Dream Girl 2 is the sequel to the 2019 film of the same name. On Thursday, film trade analyst Taran Adarsh took to Twitter and shared a breakdown of the tickets that have already been sold across PVR, INOX, and Cinepolis for Dream Girl 2.

Saif Ali Khan and Amrita Singh's son, Ibrahim Ali Khan, is going to make his grand debut in Bollywood, which is titled Sarzameen. He is being launched by Karan Johar, and the film will be directed by Kayoze Irani, son of Boman Irani. And now, as per a report by the Hindustan Times, Johar has roped in one of his close friends, Kajol, to be a part of the film. Ibrahim will have no female co-star opposite him; however, as per a source, "Kajol plays a crucial role." Talking about Ibrahim Ali Khan, the source said, "He is very warm, childish. He is new to the business and has yet to catch up. He has zero attitude. Unlike some other newcomers, he isn't over-smart (or doesn't carry the star kid tag). Work wise, he was good. And, of course, he reminds everyone of Saif Ali Khan. When he comes to the sets, it feels like Saif from 20 years ago has stepped in. He is so young and just a true carbon copy of his father."

kshay Kumar and Pankaj Tripathi starrer OMG 2 faced troubles with the censor board before its release. The film was released in theatres on August 11, after it was passed with 27 cuts and many other modifications. The film has received immense appreciation for dealing with a taboo topic and is performing well at the box office. In an interview, the film’s director, Amita Rai, revealed that an uncensored version of OMG 2 will be released on OTT soon. He said, "We have decided that we will show the original film (on streaming), a film that the censor never wanted people to see, but… The public has seen the film and given their verdict. If the censor board doesn’t understand it, what do we say?" It should be noted that there is no clarity on when and where the film will release on OTT.

Leonardo DiCaprio was recently spotted with model Vittoria Ceretti in Santa Barbara, sparking dating rumours. According to a report by Page Six, the Titanic star was seen out on an ice-cream date with the Italian model on Tuesday, August 22. Both Leonardo and Vittoria twinned in white casual outfits. As pictures of the two went viral, it showed Leonardo and Vittoria grabbing ice cream and iced coffee to beat the heat off. Leonardo, who is 48, wore a white tee shirt and beige cargo shorts, while Vittoria Ceretti, 25, opted for a long-sleeved shirt and black bike shorts and paired them with a blue handbag. Earlier, the Hollywood actor was seen with supermodel Gigi Hadid.

Veteran Hindi and Marathi film actress Seema Deo, who was best known for her memorable roles in films like Anand, Koshish, and Kora Kagaz, passed away on August 24 in Mumbai due to age-related ailments, her son, filmmaker Abhinay Deo, said. She was 81 and had been suffering from Alzheimer's disease for the past three years. Sharing the news of her demise, her son filmmaker Abhinay Deo told indianexpress.com, "Mom passed away earlier today. She was fine, she was suffering from Alzheimer’s, but otherwise she was fine." Her funeral will take place today in Mumbai. She is survived by two sons, actor Ajinkya Deo and Abhinay Deo, while her husband Ramesh Deo, who was also a veteran of Hindi and Marathi cinema, died in 2022 at the age of 93.

Kartik Aaryan and Kiara Advani's starrer romantic drama Satyaprem Ki Katha has started to stream on Amazon Prime Video for free from August 24. On social media, the makers and the platform shared the news with the fans. The film was initially released on June 29. Directed by Sameer Vidwans and written by Karan Shrikant Sharma, 'Satyaprem Ki Katha' is produced by Sajid Nadiadwala, Shareen Mantri Kedia, and Kishor Arora. It also stars Supriya Pathak Kapur, Gajraj Rao, Siddharth Randheria, Anooradha Patel, Rajpal Yadav, Nirrmite Saawaant, and Shikha Talsania.

After the 2022 film The Legend of Maula Jatt, Mahira Khan and Fawad Khan are reuniting again for Netflix’s first Pakistan-themed original series titled Jo Bachay Hain Sang Samait Lo, according to international outlet Variety. The series is an official adaptation of Farhat Ishtiaq’s bestselling Urdu-language novel of the same name. Which was published in 2013. Besides the two, the other nine Pakistani actors who will be a part of the show are Sanam Saeed, who previously worked with Fawad in the Zindagi gulzar Hai and Barzakh, and Ahad Raza Mir, Hamza Ali Abbasi, Bilal Ashraf, Maya Ali, Iqra Aziz, Hania Aamir, Khushaal Khan, Nadia Jamil, Omair Rana, and Samina Ahmed. Produced by Dubai-based Momina Duraid Films FZ LLC, the show will be filmed in Italy, the UK, and Pakistan.

R. Balki-directed sports drama Ghoomer, starring Abhishek Bachchan and Saiyami Kher, remains stable during the weekdays after releasing in theatres on Friday. The R Balki film collected Rs 33 lakhs on Wednesday, as per early estimates reported by Sacnilk.com. The film stands at a total six-day collection of ₹4.41 crore. Released amid positive reviews, Ghoomer earned Rs 85 lakhs on day 1, August 18, and saw a slight growth on its first Sunday as it recorded an amount of Rs 1.5 crore. The film also stars Shabana Azmi and Angad Bedi in key roles, while Amitabh Bachchan is seen in a cameo role.

It has been reported that Akshay Kumar and Raveena Tandon will reunite in Welcome 3 after 19 years. And now, according to an exclusive report by News18, the former couple are indeed a part of the project, and the shoot will begin in October this year. The outlet also stated that Raveena and director Ahmed Khan began discussing the project as early as 2019 when they were shooting for the dance reality show, Nach Baliye 9. The report also suggests that Akshay and Raveena will be paired opposite each other and have some hilarious scenes together. Welcome To The Jungle will go on floors in October this year, and confirming the same, the source said, "Yes, the shoot is most likely to begin in the first week of October in Mumbai. The latter schedules might take place in other parts, including overseas."

As per a report in Pinkvilla, Alia Bhatt has walked out of Nitesh Tiwari’s Ramayana. The film was to feature Ranbir Kapoor, Alia Bhatt, and KGF star Yash in lead roles. The new update indicates that the shoot will take some time and will not commence in December as previously scheduled. An insider also revealed that Alia Bhatt, who said yes to playing the role of Sita in the film, is no longer a part of it due to date issues. The insider was quoted by the outlet as saying: "It's understandable that a magnum opus like Ramayana requires time and intense pre-production work, as they are going into the smallest details of everything to get it right on screen. Which is why things are progressing at a slower pace. Also, as far as the casting is concerned, Ranbir Kapoor is still committed to playing Lord Ram, while Alia Bhatt - who was approached for the project - is no longer part of it. The actress was in talks for the role of Goddess Sita, but the collaboration didn’t work out because of date issues."