Entertainment Highlights: Nayanthara In Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Baiju Bawra, Rekha's 69th Birthday

Akshay Kumar recently opened up on the extended duration of the process involved in renouncing his Canadian citizenship and regaining his Indian citizenship. During an interview with Times Now, the actor refuted claims of being forced to give up his Canadian citizenship and also mentioned that he hadn’t visited Canada in almost ten years. He said, “Even when I was holding a Canadian passport, I was paying all my taxes here. I was the highest taxpayer. I didn’t know people would be so bothered. I applied for citizenship, but it took over a year and a half because of the pandemic. Amazingly, I received it on Independence Day.”

Shah Rukh Khan starrer has left no stone unturned to create records one after the other. Right from its release, the film has only created wonders. Now, adding yet another feather to its spree of creating records, Jawan has become a film that has witnessed a phenomenal 3.50 Cr. footfalls which is the highest for an Indian movie in 2023. Jawan has ruled the houseful boards of the cinema halls ever since its release. The audience in abundance has rushed to the theaters to witness this action entertainer. Not just once but a huge chunk of people have watched the film several times. This has today made the film witness the 3.50 Cr. Footfalls, the highest for an Indian movie in 2023. This indeed shows that Jawan is an unstoppable force not just at the box office but also in the hearts of the audience. 'Jawan' is a Red Chillies Entertainment presentation directed by Atlee, produced by Gauri Khan, and co-produced by Gaurav Verma. The film was released worldwide in theaters on September 7th, 2023, in Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu.

The teaser of Jio Studios and Aamir Khan Productions ‘Laapataa Ladies’ directed by Kiran Rao gave a glimpse into the hilarious world that the film is about to bring to the audience. While the teaser received an abundance of love from the audience, the film has already been garnering love and appreciation way beyond the boundaries. The comedy-drama was screened at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) and received a standing ovation from the audience. The screening of ‘Laapataa Ladies’ at TIFF came as a perfect moment of rejoicing for the director Kiran Rao who was present at the prestigious film festival. While the film was screened, the audience gave a huge round of applause to the director which was followed by a standing ovation. This signifies that if the comedy-drama has successfully impressed the audience at a film festival, it would definitely be a treat to watch it on its release on 5th January 2024. Presented by Jio Studios, 'Laapataa Ladies' is directed by Kiran Rao and produced by Aamir Khan and Jyoti Deshpande. The film has been made under the banner of Aamir Khan Productions and Kindling Productions, with the script based on an award-winning story by Biplab Goswami. The screenplay & dialogue are written by Sneha Desai, while the additional dialogues have been jotted down by Divyanidhi Sharma.

Ace filmmaker SS Rajamouli turned 50 today, October 10. On this special occasion, many celebrities took to social media to wish the filmmaker. Bollywood actor Ajay Devgn, who shares a close bond with Rajamouli, too shared a heartfelt note for the director along with pictures from the sets of their movie RRR. On his X account, Ajay wrote, "Happy Birthday, Rajamouli Sir! Keep creating masterpieces that touch hearts worldwide (star emoticon)."

Kajol on Tuesday, October 10, dropped a lovely laughing picture to mark Mental Health Day. She posted a beautiful black-and-white photograph of herself with a powerful note. On her official Instagram handle, Kajol shared a pic where she is seen sitting on the floor and laughing. She captioned her post, “Laugh, live, love & make others laugh too.. Do your bit of kindness in a day because you never know which soul is watching you, just waiting for some evidence of the goodness of humanity and human beings.. You may just save someone’s sanity by showing them that kindness and compassion exist. #mentalhealthday.”

On the occasion of World Mental Health Day, actor Aamir Khan and his daughter Ira Khan talked on Tuesday about the benefits of taking therapy and shared a video promoting it. The father-daughter duo also revealed that they've been benefiting from therapy over the years. The video of the two talking about the same was shared on Instagram, wherein the actor explained how seeking therapy is as normal as seeking help from a doctor. English translation of what Ira said: “Similarly, if we ever need help with our mental or emotional health, we should seek help, with the same ease and lack of hesitation, from someone who's trained and is a professional.” Aamir was seen saying, “My daughter Ira and me have been reaping the benefits of therapy for years. If you also feel like you're going through mental or emotional issues, you can seek a trained professional's help. There's no shame in that. All the best.”

On Tuesday, October 10, the makers of Tiger 3 dropped a new single poster of Katrina Kaif’s character Zoya from the film. Sharing the poster, Katrina wrote, “Fighting fire with fire, that’s Zoya…..#Tiger3Trailer arriving on 16th October.” Katrina is seen in an intense look wearing a leather suit with black boots and a ponytail. She held a gun in one hand, a rope in the other, and gave the look of a prepared fighter. The YRF-backed film also stars Salman Khan and Emraan Hashmi in lead roles and is slated to release on November 10.

Reacting strongly to the Israel-Hamas War, actor Akshay Kumar condemned the ongoing situation and shared his views. In a conversation with Times Now, Kumar said, "Any kind of terrorism is wrong. It is very sad what happens. I hope everything stops and becomes normal; that's all I can pray for." When asked that many people are not condemning the war-like situation in the Middle East, the actor responded, saying, "I said that any sort of terrorism is wrong. Killing is not the answer, the answer is maybe amicably talking about it. I condemn any kind of killing of children or women."

As per reports, Nayanthara, who is known as the Lady Superstar of South Cinema, is in talks for her second Bollywood film and is said to be playing a pivotal role in Baiju Bawra. A report by the Times Of India suggests that Nayanthara is being considered for an important role in filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s musical period drama Baiju Bawra. Ranveer Singh and Alia Bhatt play the leads in the film. The report stated that the makers are busy working on the terms and conditions, and Nayanthara is yet to sign the contract. Reportedly, in March, Nayanthara and her husband, director Vignesh Shivan, met Bhansali to discuss the possibilities of a collaboration.

Actor Akshay Kumar clarified on his recent Vimal pan masala ad after it went viral, claiming he has returned as the brand ambassador of Vimal, exactly a year after he faced heavy backlash for endorsing tobacco. In a tweet, he stated that the ad is from 2021. Sharing his clarification, the actor took to his X account and shared an article about a new portal and wrote, “‘Returns’ as ambassador? Here’s some fact check for you. if by chance you are interested in things other than fake news. These ads were shot on 13th October, 2021. I have not had anything to do with the brand ever since I publicly announced the discontinuation of the endorsement. They can legally run the already shot ads till the end of next month. Chill and do some real news.” Although the tweet is now unavailable.