Entertainment Highlights: Sunny Deol's Gadar 2 Mints 40 Cr, Sara Ali Khan Turns 28

The father of TV actress Ankita Lokhande, Shrikant Lokhande, passed away in Mumbai. Although the exact cause of his passing remains undisclosed, the reports indicated that the actress' father had been experiencing health issues for the past two months.

Shah Rukh Khan starrer Jawan is among the most-anticipated films of 2023. After Zinda Banda, the makers are set to unveiled the film's second song Chaleya on Monday. Taking to Twitter, SRK announced the same and wrote, "The Love of Jawan. Romantic. Gentle Sweet. #Chaleya out on Monday! Anirudh you are magical. Farah as always love u. Arijit u make me sound like love, yet again. Shilpa u sound divine & Kumaar your poetry ‘bahut changi hai’"

Sharing on Instagram on Saturday, Kangana Ranaut posted a video capturing the crowd gathered outside a theater screening Sunny Deol and Ameesha Patel's Gadar 2. Commending the film, which hit screens on Friday, Kangana expressed how it had revitalized enthusiasm and patriotism in people's hearts. She opined that the film could have effortlessly garnered a staggering Rs 65-70 crore on its debut day if it hadn't coincided with the release of another major film, Akshay Kumar's OMG 2.

Sunny Deol makes a powerful comeback, reprising his role as Tara Singh in "Gadar 2," a sequel arriving 22 years after the debut of the initial film, "Gadar: Ek Prem Katha." In a recent conversation with IMDB, Sunny was prompted to offer advice for the emerging generation of actors. The 65-year-old emphasized that they should prioritize acting over mere dancing and bodybuilding. Sunny said, “Stop bodybuilding and dancing. Concentrate on acting. You have the talent, take it ahead because that's what we need. We are not bodybuilders."

Renowned Telugu actor Prabhas is gearing up to enthrall viewers with his upcoming action-packed thriller, "Salaar Part 1: Ceasefire," a film that has garnered substantial excitement within the fan base. The initial song from the movie is scheduled for launch on India's Independence Day, August 15th, while the trailer is anticipated to be unveiled in the final week of August.

Nushrratt Bharuccha took to Instagram on Friday and announced the new release date of her upcoming movie, Akelli. Sharing a poster for the film, she wrote, "New Release Date Alert. AKELLI has a new release date, 25th August!! The tale of her survival echoes louder than the chaos around her." The film revolves around an Indian girl who is stranded alone in war-torn Iraq and how she struggles for survival. Earlier, the film was slated to release on August 18, but it will now clash with Ayushmann Khurrana's comedy drama Dream Girl 2.

Singer-songwriter Nick Jonas and Priyanka Chopra got married in 2018. Sharing a memory from his wedding in an interview with the People, he recalled the varmala tradition from his wedding ceremonies and called it a 'surprisingly difficult and funny game’. Talking about the Hindu wedding ceremony, Nick Jonas said, "There's this one moment in Indian weddings where the bride and groom are lifted on the shoulders of their family members and there's sort of a game that's played where this garland is put on each other. They try to be the first to put the garland on the other. And it's surprisingly difficult, especially when you have someone as competitive as me and Pri. But whoever is the one to put it on first, that side of the family is the more dominant. So it's really for the family members to feel pride and that's just a funny game. But it's really heartwarming and a great way for the families to all connect."

Pankaj Tripathi, in a recent interview, recalled that he held his breath for so long during the multiple takes that he fainted while shooting for his death scene in Agneepath. In this particular scene, Hrithik Roshan stabs Pankaj. Speaking to Mashable India, Panjak recounted the film’s last scene and said, "In that scene, since he had to stab me 3-4 times. I held my breath reaction ke chakkar me (in an attempt to react). I didn’t know how a person felt when he is stabbed. So, if you watch that scene closely, you will see my eyes are completely red. One can only one's imagination. I remember in the second or third take, I fainted for a few seconds. I fell." He also revealed that he held his breath for too long and shared, "While the camera was rolling, I had a blackout and I fell because I must have held my breath for too long. People gathered around me quickly, and splashed water on my face. I came to my senses to see so many people are surrounding me."

Karan Johar’s comeback movie, Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani, starring Alia Bhatt and Ranveer Singh, has resonated well with fans. The film continues to impress audiences even in its third week. Meanwhile, the film has grossed a milestone of 250 crore at the global box office. Sharing the details on social media, Karan wrote, "Prem rules the world & the box office." The romantic family drama Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani also stars veteran actors like Dharmendra, Jaya Bachchan, and Shabana Azmi. The film was released on July 28.

Shah Rukh Khan production company Red Chillies Entertainment has lodged an FIR alleging some clips from the actors’ upcoming movie Jawan were stolen and leaked online. According to the Free Press Journal, an FIR was filed at the Santacruz police station in Mumbai on August 10 under the Information Technology Act, alleging it violates copyright. Five Twitter accounts have been sent legal notices that were identified to have leaked the video clips, and only one Twitter account has acknowledged the notice. The court was informed, "It is the plaintiff’s (Red Chillies) case that these leaked video clips are nothing but clear violation of copyright/intellectual property rights of the plaintiff which are causing damage and loss to the plaintiff. The leaked video clips together give away the look of the actors in the said film, as well as the music, both of which are typically disclosed at strategic points in time as part of the carefully-curated marketing strategy of a film."

Akshay Kumar starrer OMG 2, which was released on Friday, August 11, also stars actor Pankaj Tripathi as Lord Shiva's devotee. In an interview with Indian Express, the actor revealed that he initially rejected the satirical comedy-drama due to a scarcity of time. He said, "When I heard OMG 2 for the first time, I didn’t have time for three-four months, so I had told them that I don’t have time for the next five months. The person who was lining it up for me then asked me to do a meeting (with the makers) and listen to the story once again and then decide. After the meeting, I told them I don’t have the time and asked them to give me a couple of days to somehow remove some time for it. That way, on the third day, I had managed to clear my schedule for 55 days for OMG 2. I realised that it is an important film and I have to do it. It matches my sensibilities. I think till now, mostly, I have been able to choose the right scripts, so I feel mera dimaag sahi kaam kar raha hai (my brain is working right)."

Akshay Kumar, Yami Gautam, and Pankaj Tripathi starrer OMG 2 lagged much behind Gadar 2. The film opened to decent numbers and earned only Rs 9.50 crore. It became the eighth-highest-opener of 2023 and is the sequel to the 2011 superhit film of the same name. Directed by Amit Rai, OMG 2 highlights one of the most taboo topics, sex education. With good word of mouth, OMG 2 is expected to witness an upward trend during the weekend.

Sunny Deol’s Gadar 2 is showing an impressive performance at the box office, as on its opening day, the film earned Rs 40 crore. It had an overall 60.81 percent Hindi occupancy on Friday. The film is a sequel to the 2001 hit film Gadar: Ek Prem Katha. The romantic-action drama was set during the partition of India. It also stars Ameesha Patel, Utkarsh Sharma, and Simrat Kaur in key roles. Gadar 2 became the second biggest opener of 2023 after Shah Ruh Khan’s Pathaan, which minted 57 crore.

As Gadar 2 is released in theatres on August 11, Bollywood celebs are cheering for Sunny Deol. On Instagram, Salman Khan praised and penned a note of appreciation for the star. Giving a shout-out to the film on Friday, Salman shared a poster of Gadar 2 and wrote, "Dhai kilo ka haath equals chalis cr ki opening (Two and a half kilo hand equals to ₹40 crore opening). Sunny paaji (brother) is killing it. Congrats to the entire team of Gadar 2. @iamsunnydeol @ameeshapatel9 @anilsharma_dir @iutkarsharma @zeestudiosofficial #TeamGadar."