The 51st International Film Festival of India (IFFI) is currently underway. The festival paid a tribute to late actor Irrfan Khan by screening his film Paan Singh Tomar at the festival. Irrfan Khan’s wife Sutapa Sikdar and elder son Babil Khan were honoured post the screening of the film. Sutapa also gave a moving speech at the festival remembering the late actor.

Talking to the audience present at the screening, Sutapa said, “There have been many tributes, but this is special because it is nostalgic and very very special memories since we were students. I remember us going to the IFFI in New Delhi. At that time it was in Delhi. After the show we would have cutting chai and talk and drown in cinema and that was the beginning. I remember Irrfan having dreams in his eyes.”

“It’s a special moment because it is an honour and privilege to be appreciated and be given a tribute by the same institute, same IFFI. I am happy to be here. It was a brave decision. It is the first time I have come out of home. But I had to. One also needs closure to walk ahead and IFFI is a closure for me. It is like being there for what we had done 30 years ago as students. I am happy that people are here which is an exceptional situation in time. It feels nice that we are here to celebrate a person and IFFI couldn’t have chosen a better film(Paan Singh Tomar). Because this film talks about race, an athlete. To quote a dialogue from the film by Irrfan, ‘Ek race hota hai na, usko poora karna padta hai, chahe haar ho ya chahe jeet. Woh door ek finish line hota hai usse chhoona padta hai.’ Irrfan ‘s finish line came too soon but he played well. We are proud of you,” she added.

As an endeavour to support and empower Indian female talent in cinema, Ekta Kapoor, Joint Managing Director & Creative Director, Balaji Telefilms Ltd., Balaji Motion Pictures and Alt Balaji, Guneet Monga, Founder & CEO, Sikhya Entertainment and Tahira Kashyap Khurrana, Writer & Film-maker have come together to lay the foundation of Indian Women Rising, a cinema collective.

In India, a lot has been discussed about representation of women on screen. While this situation is far from ideal, the focus on women behind the camera has been even more limited.

Speaking about the origin of this cinema collective, Guneet Monga shares, “Less than 5% of the total directors in India are female. It’s time we change these stats and double down on each other. I strongly believe that India is a gold mine of talent and with this collective we wish to shine the spotlight on many amazing women that can benefit from our humble support. The intent is to use our collective resources to amplify independent women creators.”

Tahira Kashyap Khurrana adds, “There is a limited amount of work represented about women and the scope reduces further when it’s by the women. We, as a cinema collective, are trying to address this in the scope of films. Since there is representation of limited material when it concerns women and their stories, we easily get stereotyped. Either we have revolutionaries on one end of the spectrum or tragedy stricken damsels on the other extreme end. I mean we can be all of that but there is so much more to us. Our bandwidth is broader than the general assumption which perhaps will surface if we have more women working not just in front of the camera but behind as well. This collective intends to disrupt the boxed notions about women.”

Ekta Kapoor shares, “When Guneet and Tahira told me about the idea of launching this collective, it was an instant yes from me. It is always exciting to collaborate with likeminded individuals. I have always believed that women create wonders when given the right opportunity and the support. Through IWR, our vision is to do that and empower independent women filmmakers and creators and give them a platform to showcase their talent. We are hopeful that our collective will encourage more female directors to come forward with their work and lead the way in our industry.”

The collective aim at discovering Indian female talent in cinema and amplify their work with marketing, sales and distribution push irrespective of geographical locations. Any filmmaker in or outside of India can apply at the collective. In its first phase, the collective will actively seek finished films only-whether a short, a documentary or a feature film.

Akshay Kumar is all set to be seen in a never-seen-before avatar in Bachchan Pandey. Breaking stereotypes, Akshay was also seen playing the role of a transgender in Laxmii. The star cast is currently shooting in Jaisalmer and a few stills have been shared by the celebs. Starring Kriti Sanon opposite him, Akshay Kumar will be reuniting with his Housefull 4 costar once again.

Directed by Farhad Samji and produced by Sajid Nadiadwala’s Nadiadwala Grandson Entertainment, Bachchan Pandey will show Akshay Kumar in an entirely new light. The actor has now announced the release date of this film as January 26, 2022. With movies like Bell Bottom and Raksha Bandhan coming up soon, Bachchan Pandey has been one of the most-looked-forward-to films.

Sporting a rugged look with a cataract eye for the first time in his career, Akshay Kumar is all set to woo his fans once again.

Neetu Kapoor and late actor Rishi Kapoor tied the knot 41 years ago on this day. The senior actress who is clearly missing her husband today took to Instagram to share a video compilation of some of their fondest memories together.

From their movies together to their off screen camaraderie to attending filmy functions together, the video gives us a small glimpse of their bond. There were also pictures from their wedding days.

Sharing the video, Neetu wrote, “Justttt (heartbroken) Would have been 41 years today.”

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A post shared by neetu Kapoor. Fightingfyt (@neetu54)

Rishi and Neetu tied the knot on January 22, 1980. Before their wedding they appeared in movies like Kabhi Kabhie, Khel Khel Mein, Amar Akbar Anthoy, among others.

Rishi Kapoor passed away in April 2020 after battling cancer for two years.

As the wedding procession heads towards Varun Dhawan’s wedding in Alibaug the guest list gets curiouser by the hour. It now comes to light that Pahlaj Nihalani and Govinda are not the only two old and dear associates of David to be left out the guest list. Even Boney Kapoor, whose children are close friends of Varun, is not invited.

A source informs, “Boney’s son Arjun Kapoor is invited. Boney is not. No one from Anil Kapoor’s family is invited either. On the other hand dress designer Manish Malhotra who is related to Varun’s mother is invited, and so are Karan Johar and Shashank Khaitan. No member from the Bachchan family is invited for the wedding.”

A leading producer who has known the Dhawan closely for years, “This wedding is an encore of the Abhishek-Aishwarya wedding. It’s going to leave a lot of David’s friends permanently pissed off.”