Adieu legend
For the film world, the week was marred by the death of one of the most venerated actors of his time. Vinod Khanna breathed his last on Thursday at the age of 70. The actor was suffering from bladder cancer. While social media went berserk with condolences messages, the best post came from Amitabh Bachchan, who reportedly even left a media event for Sarkar 3, to be with the bereaved family. He wrote about the first time he met Khanna in his blog. “I first saw him entering the Ajanta Arts office in Bandra, of Sunil Dutt, where I was making my way to seek a job .. a most good looking handsome young man .. a body in elegant frame .. a swagger in his walk .. and a gentle smile as he looked towards me .. it was 1969 .. he was working in the Ajanta Arts film, ‘Man ka Meet’ .. I was struggling to get a role, any role, anywhere ..” Media often portrayed the relationship between the two stars as that of rivalries. However, both of them always maintained that they were good friends and that the rivalry was only “media created”.
And while Bachchan got nostalgic, the third of the trio from Manmohan Desai's Amar Akbar Anthony, Rishi Kapoor was furious. Furious that none of the actors from the present generation attended the funeral. “Shameful. Not ONE actor of this generation attended Vinod Khanna's funeral. And that too he has worked with them. Must learn to respect,” he tweeted.
Big show canceled
The team of Baahubali, mindful of the situation and the gravity of the loss, canceled the premiere of the film in Mumbai. A grand premiere was planned, for which a huge set was erected at PVR Icon in Andheri. The team released a message saying, “We are deeply saddened by the loss of our beloved, the legendary Vinod Khanna. The demise has come as a huge shock to all of us. As a mark of respect for our dearly departed, the premiere event of Baahubali: The Conclusion is now cancelled.”
The film, however, on Friday opened to full houses across the country and warm reviews. Anticipating the curiosity that the audience had for the sequel, the first of which ended at a cliffhanger, led cinema halls to open as early as 4am. And, it may sound unbelievable but the shows have been houseful across shows.
While we grieve the death of Khanna in India, we also lost the iconic filmmaker Jonathan Demme earlier on Wednesday, whose films like The Silence of the Lambs and Philadelphia have been revered by many. He was 73.
PC and Deepika make news
Deepika Padukone in Raabta
In other news, Priyanka Chopra, as well as her contemporary Deepika Padukone, were making headlines too. If Priyanka's return to India to promote her Hollywood debut Baywatch kept her in the news, Deepika's cameo in the title song of Raabta has been much appreciated. Sung by Nikhita Gandhi and Arijit Singh, the title song has been composed by Pritam and penned by Amitabh Bhattacharya and Irshad Kamil. Talking about casting Deepika for this song, director Dinesh Vijan, in a statement said, “Deepika is very lucky for me. All our films together have done well. I called her up and said, `There's no compulsion, but will you do the title track for my film?' She said yes right away and flew to Budapest to shoot for it. I share a certain comfort level with her.”
Relief for Lipstick...
The adult certificate awarded to Lipstick Under My Burkha was a relief to a lot of people. Thanking everyone for the support, she got for her film, Alankrita Shrivastava wrote on Facebook, “It has been almost four months since we first applied for certification for Lipstick Under My Burkha. It is wonderful to see light at the end of the tunnel. A heartfelt thank you to everyone who has supported us in this journey. Every post, every message, every like, every time somebody spoke up... gave me hope. This victory is not mine and the crew's alone... We have all won! And I do believe that when Lipstick Under My Burkha hits theaters in India, it will not just be my film that is releasing, but a film that belongs to everyone who stood by it, and rooted for it. And especially for all the amazing women of India, this is your film.”
