Entertainment Highlights: Waheeda Rehman Conferred With Dadasaheb Phalke; Om Puri 73rd Birth Anniversary

Saiju Kurup stands out as a highly gifted actor within the Malayalam cinema. He commenced his journey in the industry with the 2005 film "Mayookham," imprinting an enduring impact on audiences with his exceptional acting prowess. Presently, Saiju is all set for his upcoming Malayalam film, "Abhilasham," where he assumes the role of Abhilash Kumar, the owner of an upscale shop and courier service. Opposite him, the talented actress Tanvi Ram portrays the character Shereen, the protagonist's childhood friend. Excitingly, the film officially commenced production on October 17th in Kottakkal, located in the Malappuram district of Kerala. "Abhilasham" is under the skilled direction of Shamzu Zayba, and a glimpse of the cast's camaraderie at the film's mahurat ceremony can be found on social media.

The forthcoming movie UT69, starring entrepreneur Raj Kundra, who is also the husband of Shilpa Shetty, is scheduled for release on November 3. The film's trailer was unveiled on Wednesday. This film, with Raj in the leading role, is a portrayal of his life. The trailer offers a sneak peek into Raj's time at Mumbai's Arthur Road Jail due to his alleged connection with a p*rnography-related case. Notably, the trailer commences with 'breaking news' regarding Raj's arrest in 2021.

Raj Kundra became emotional while discussing the repercussions of the p*rn case trial on both himself and his family during the trailer launch of his biopic, UT 69. The entrepreneur, who is married to Shilpa Shetty Kundra, was the principal accused in a 2021 case and stayed in jail before getting released on bail. Since his release on bail, Raj has concealed his identity behind a mask. While reflecting on his stint in jail and the subsequent events, Raj became visibly emotional and admitted that it was an extremely distressing period for him. "Family pe mat jao yaar, kya bigaada hai maine?” he said as he cried.

Sidharth Malhotra and Kiara Advani starrer film ‘Shershaah’ won the Special Jury Award at the 69th National Film Awards on Tuesday. Reacting to it, Sidharth in a statement said, "Ever since my childhood, I have grown up listening to stories about the bravery and valour of the Indian Army. It takes a lot to understand the emotion and psyche of a soldier. A few years back, I met Vikram's brother Vishal Batra and was inspired by Vikram Batra's journey and sacrifice. We had the vision of the story being told onscreen to reach the masses. Karan Johar brought this incredibly inspiring tale to life." He added, "My portrayal of late captain Vikram Batra, has been inspiring and satisfying. We are forever grateful to the Batra family for trusting us with their family’s story. I would love to celebrate this award with the entire team of Shershaah for their endless hard work and effort.”

Thalapathy Vijay and Lokesh Kanagaraj's action flick Leo has surpassed Shah Rukh Khan’s Jawan as it garnered the highest number of tickets sold in advance booking this year. According to a report by Sacnilk, Leo has already sold 16 lakh tickets, and it will finish the day by selling up to 20 lakh tickets before the opening day. With this, it has beaten Jawan, which sold 15.75 lakh tickets in advance for its opening day. Leo’s Tamil version has sold 13.75 lakh tickets, whereas the Telugu and Hindi versions stand at 2.10 lakh and 20,000 tickets, respectively.

Filmmaker Hansal Mehta on Wednesday marked the 10th anniversary of his 2013 biographical drama film "Shahid", saying the movie has given him a lot and started his collaboration with actor Rajkumar Rao. The critically acclaimed film is based on the life of lawyer and human rights activist Shahid Azmi, who was assassinated in 2010 in Mumbai. "Shahid" had its world premiere at the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival to great audience response. Sharing the official poster of the film on Instagram, the filmmaker said the film had marked his new innings as a filmmaker. "10 years of #Shahid. Just a lot of gratitude for what it has given to all of us. Shahid Azmi’s unfortunate killing gave me a new life as a filmmaker. This film began my fondest collaboration with @rajkummar_rao," Mehta wrote.

At the 69th National Film Awards ceremony, which was held on Tuesday in Delhi, Telugu actor Allu Arjun was honoured with the Best Actor award for his performance in the 2021 film "Pushpa: The Rise." Alia Bhatt, who won the Best Actress National Award for her role in "Gangubai Kathiawadi," attended the ceremony along with her husband, actor Ranbir Kapoor. A video from the event has gone viral on social media, showing Alia Bhatt and Allu Arjun sharing a warm hug. Ranbir Kapoor is seen extending congratulations to the "Pushpa" star with a handshake to celebrate his significant win.

Kajol on Wednesday took to her Instagram page to share a few photos of her decked in a royal blue saree for the fourth day of navratri. She wore a printed saree with a sleeveless blouse and paired it with a golden choker. The pictures are taken inside a room. Kajol wrote in her caption, "Simplicity may be key, but who can resist a royal hue? Fourth day of Navratri."

Karan Johar’s popular Koffee With Karan Season 8 is all set to premiere on Disney+ Hotstar on October 26. Ahead of its grand launch, Karan took to his Instagram page and dropped a video giving a nseka peka into the sets of the show and its making. Sharing a BTS video of all things unfiltered, Karan captioned it, “For the first time ever, get a glimpse of the world of coffee With Karan before we start brewing!.” The video starts with the design-plan layout, then pans into the place where the iconic couch is positioned and ends with the legendary orange Koffee With Karan mug. The KWK hamper also makes an appearance.

Allu Arjun dropped a few pictures from the 69th National Film Awards, which were held at Vigyan Bhawan on October 17. Allu Arjun won the Best Actor Award for his movie Pushpa: The Rise. Taking to Instagram on Wednesday, he shared a heartfelt note recollecting the evening and congratulating fellow actors. In his note, he also expressed his wish to work with Kriti Sanon. His note read, “It was a life time experience to witness Shri Waheeda Rehman ji win the Dadasaheb phalke award . More than 6 decades of career in films . Truly inspiring . It was a absolute pleasure to see dear @aliaabhatt win this award.” In the first photo, Allu Arjun posed with Waheeda Rehman, while the second photo stood in between Alia and Kriti. The third one, Kriti, and the Pushpa star posed for a selfie.

On Tuesday, India's Supreme Court, with a 3-2 majority, delivered its verdict and refused to provide recognition to same-sex marriages in the country. Now, during an interview with India Today, actress Celina Jaitly said that she is let down by the SC’s verdict. She said, "The marriage ruling (Supreme Court) is definitely a disappointment. Something that I have said in my journey as a LGBT activist for the past 20 years is that the LGBT community is not asking for a different subset of rights. They are only asking for rights that every other citizen of India has. The right to a marriage, a family, is the most important right that a human being can possess. So I sincerely hope that the Parliament will upgrade the special marriages act and make it gender neutral."

Tollywood superstar Prabhas' AI-generated wedding photos with his co-actor Anushka Shetty have been doing the rounds on social media. Amid the rumours, the actor’s aunt, Shyamala Devi, expressed her strong belief that Prabhas will get married soon. She expressed that she can still feel the presence of his uncle and his late husband, Krishna Raju, and added that Prabhas would receive his blessings. "Babu (Prabhas) will definitely get married. Durga Mata will bestow her blessings upon him. He has the blessings of his Peddananna. The media will be invited to the wedding. It will certainly happen," she stated.

Alia Bhatt, who won the best actress award at the 69th National Film Awards, wore her wedding saree to the ceremony. Designed by Sabyasachi, Alia took to her Instagram Stories and revealed why she chose to wear her wedding outfit for a special occasion like this. Sharing that there are several sentiments attached to the outfit, Alia dropped a picture of herself with a note that read, “A special day calls for a special outfit. And sometimes … that outfit is right there (red heart emoji). What’s special once can be special again. And again… 🙂 #rewear #reuse #repeat.” Alia won the Best Actress award for Gangubai Kathiawadi and shared it with Kriti Sanon for Mimi.

Indian cinema’s iconic actress Waheeda Rehman was conferred with the Dadasaheb Phalke award in Delhi at the 69th National Film Awards for her contribution to Indian cinema. The event was held on October 17. After receiving the prestigious award, which is considered the highest national honour for contribution to films, the Guide actress dedicated it to the film industry. The veteran actress said in her acceptance speech, "Honourable Minister Anurag Thakur ji aur saare jury members ka main bahut-bahut shukriyada karti hoon, unhone mukhe award diya. I feel very honoured and very humble. Aaj jis mukaam pe main khadi hai, ye saara meri pyaari industry ki vajah se hain. Mujhe luckily bahut ache top directors, producers, filmmakers, technicians, dialogue writers, music directors aur sangeetkaar, sabka bahut sahara mila, bahut izzat di, bahut pyaar diya." Watch it here.