Bollywood Hungama was first to reveal around two weeks back that Akshay Kumar had been approached to play the Hindu king, Suheldev in Ashwin Varde’s upcoming production. The film, an epic, was said to be an adaptation of Amish’s novel, Legend of Suheldev. We have now learnt that Akshay Kumar has refused to come on board.

“Ashwin flew down to Delhi in the first week of December to meet Akshay Kumar and had a detailed talk about his plans to make this film on a humongous scale. However, eventually, the actor felt that the script needed a lot of rework. After having discussions with Ashwin, he decided to take a backseat from the film as he was not on the same page with the stakeholders creatively. Apart from that, even dates were an issue as Akshay is blocked for the next 2 years and Ashwin and co were looking to start the film sometime next year, demanding over 70 days from Akshay. It was almost impossible for Akshay to accommodate the film in his jam-packed schedule,” a source told Bollywood Hungama.

Interestingly, the novel was first offered to Ajay Devgn for an adaptation and after a series of conversations, he even took a backseat due to some unheard reasons. Back then, Ashwin was not even involved in the project and it was supposed to be a part of Ajay’s Unsung Warrior franchise, the second film after Tanhaji. Ashwin and co are now on the lookout for a new actor and they are confident to rope in a big name soon, considering that the novel is loved by the masses of India and stands the potential to set new records at the box-office. “It’s a young character in the novel, and it was reworked keeping the age of senior actors in mind. However, now they will go back to the basics and set the original character sketch again to approach one of the gen-next superstars,” the source further told us.

Akshay Kumar meanwhile has half a dozen films lined up for release in the next two years.

Also Read: Akshay Kumar approached to play King Suheldev in a film based on Amish Tripathi’s book

It was recently revealed that Aamir Khan is no longer a part of Vikram Vedha remake and soon after, it was confirmed that Saif Ali Khan will however continue to be a part of the film. It has now come to our notice that Bollywood superstar, Hrithik Roshan has come on board the adaptation of this Tamil classic crime thriller.

“Hrithik Roshan has been in talks for the film for a couple of months and he has finally agreed on doing the film. In-fact, Hrithik was in talks for the film even before they reached out to Aamir, however, things didn’t materialise back then. But as they say, its life coming full circle now, and the film is back in Hrithik’s kitty,” a source told Bollywood Hungama, adding further that this will be the silver jubilee film of Hrithik’s career.

Before moving on to Vikram Vedha, Hrithik Roshan will complete shooting for his digital debut, Night Manager for Disney+ Hotstar. “He is all excited to play two diametrically different characters – one stylish and other a raw rustic gangster in 2021. This has always been his style of working by jumping from one extreme to the other,” the source added.

Apart from the two projects, Hrithik Roshan also has his superhero franchise, Krrish 4, and Sidharth Anand’s Fighters and War 2 under his kitty. The film will be directed by Pushkar – Gayatri, who helmed the original film too.

Also Read: SCOOP - Not just Salman Khan, Hrithik Roshan might also be a part of Shah Rukh Khan’s Pathan

Actor Kartik Aaryan has achieved a never seen before feat by wrapping his upcoming film Dhamaka in 10 days setting a new precedent! It was only recently that Kartik announced commencing the shoot of his first thriller Dhamaka with a picture of his worried mom given the current pandemic.

Dhamaka went on floors on December 14th at Renaissance in Powai, the thriller witnesses Kartik Aaryan as a journalist for the first time showcasing an intense avatar of the actor. Ensuring the necessary actions, the entire unit of the film was tested for COVID-19 and were  quarantined in the hotel before commencing the shoot.

A source close to the film shared, “Since the unit comprised 300 people, the entire hotel was booked by the production team. Madhvani and Ronnie Screwvala, Amita adhered to the necessary safety protocols, and ensured that no outsiders were allowed into the hotel. In fact, the hotel staff was also instructed to stay put during the period, thus creating a bio-bubble of sorts".

As the film revolves around a terror attack, most scenes of Dhamaka are set indoors. Only a few action sequences were set in outdoors, and were shot in locations close to the hotel.

The director Ram Madhvani had designed a detailed storyboard and ensured the team was prepped to avoid prolonged shoot schedules.

Adding to the details, the source revealed, “Ram Madhvani had planned each scene down to the last detail, including where each actor would stand and what the camera angle would be. It saved the unit a lot of time, enabling them to shoot more than five scenes every day. While the shoot went overtime on a few occasions, they would usually call it a day after eight hours of filming."

While Kartik had allotted 14 days to the film, the actor tried to wrap the shoot even earlier and was happy to manage the same in just 10 days.

Also Read: Kartik Aaryan shares a glimpse from the shooting of Dhamaka, watch video

Arjun Rampal was recently questioned by the Narcotics Control Bureau(NCB) for the second time in connection with a raid at his residence where they found banned tablets. The raid was conducted in November, post which he was interrogated. The actor had also submitted a prescription for the banned tablets.

Reportedly, the drug agency found Arjun Rampal's brother-in-law Agisilaos Demetriades talking to someone by the name Arjun on WhatsApp and assumed it's the actor. During his investigation, Rampal told the agency that one of the tablets is for his dog, prescribed by a vet and the second is used as an SOS for anxiety by his sister, as prescribed by a Delhi-based psychiatrist.

As per reports, Rampal also said that the person 'Arjun' found in Demetriades' Whatsapp chats is not him. Reportedly the NCB conducted a raid after they found the WhatsApp chats.

The NCB had seized two different tablets from Arjun's residence- one was Ultracet (a prescription medicine used to treat moderate to severe pain, containing tramadol and acetaminophen). The second tablet was Clonazepam which is used to treat seizure disorders and panic attacks. Both the tablets are banned under the NDPS Act, unless there is a valid prescription.

ALSO READ: NCB finds that Arjun Rampal arranged for a backdated prescription

Actor Priyanka Chopra Jonas who was shooting for her upcoming Hollywood film Text For You in London is reportedly stranded in the country. The UK Government has imposed a strict lockdown in the country after a new, potentially more infectious strain of COVID-19 was detected in the UK.

After the new strain of virus was detected, which is said to have a high rate of transmissibility, the government put many parts of the country under Tier 4 lockdown. The team of Text For You was supposed to shoot the film till January, but reports state that the production team is trying to arrange for everyone to return to the US at the earliest.

Reportedly, the shoot has been halted and special permissions are being sought to travel back to the US. However, due to strict lockdown rules the procedure may take a while to come through. Reports state that Priyanka Chopra and the team will have to stay in the country for a while.

Text For You is a remake of the German film SMS Fur Dich and stars Priyanka Chopra and Sam Heughan in the lead. Earlier this month, Nick Jonas shot for a cameo in the film. Celine Dion, Russell Tovey and Omid Djalili will also star in the film.

ALSO READ: Priyanka Chopra Jonas enjoys a winter evening getting cozy with Nick Jonas and Diana

Actress Kajol was supposed to make her digital debut with Netflix’s Tribhanga, this year. In July, the streaming giant announced a plethora of line-up that included her project as well. But, it seems like the project has been pushed to January 2021.

According to a daily, Renuka Shahane revealed that the post-production was already completed and submitted to Netflix. They are yet to finalize a date. Since the majority of Netflix’s line-up has premiered released this year, Tribhanga is the only project that will have a 2021 release, though the streaming giant is yet to confirm.

Tribhanga is a dysfunctional family drama that stars Kajol in the lead role. Mithila Palkar, Tanvi Azmi, and Kunaal Roy Kapoor will be seen in pivotal roles in the film. The film is directed and written by veteran actress Renuka Shahane. Ajay Devgn Films is the producer along with Bannijay Asia and Alchemy Productions.

A drama set in Mumbai, Tribhanga weaves a complex tale that goes back and forth through three generations of the same family, from the late 1980s to the modern-day. The heart-warming storyline looks at the importance of family in everyday lives.

ALSO READ: 19 Years of Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham: Kajol shows how 2020 felt like her character Anjali

Ranbir Kapoor has been picking projects with a lot of caution after Jagga Jasoos and has been working on Ayan Mukerji’s Brahmastra for quite some time now. Along with this, he has also got Shamshera with Vaani Kapoor and Luv Ranjan’s untitled rom-com with Shraddha Kapoor. The actor is known for his impeccable acting skills and manages to leave his fans in awe of him with every performance.

As per the latest reports, Ranbir Kapoor is all set to star in Kabir Singh director, Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s next crime drama. This is a genre that Ranbir has hardly explored and is always ready to expand his horizons. While this yet-to-be-titled film is being said to be produced by Bhushan Kumar and Murad Khetani, the movie will go on floors mid-next year. Prior to that, Ranbir will be wrapping up Luv Ranjan’s rom-com.

There were multiple reports about Ranbir Kapoor being a part of Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s next, Baiju Bawra, however, the Brahmastra actor has denied the reports of the same and said that he will not be a part of this project.

Also Read: Alia Bhatt accompanies beau Ranbir Kapoor to support his football team, Mumbai City FC

In the last few months, there have been enough speculations about TV star Parth Samthaan's big Bollywood debut. This happened after the Kausautii Zindagi Kay actor revealed that he had signed a Hindi film in an interview. Many reports claimed that Parth will be romancing Alia Bhatt in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Gangubai Kathiawadi. But we can now tell you that the story is half true.

A source tells us, "Parth is definitely doing a film with Alia but it is not Gangubai Kathiawadi. Shantanu Maheshwari stars in the SLB directorial. But, Parth has signed Resul Pookutty's Piharwa that also stars Alia. The film is based on the life story of martyr Harbhajan Singh and has the India-China war as its backdrop. The movie will have a romantic angle around Alia and Parth's characters and will be set in two Eras."

The shoot of the film was supposed to begin around December but the Covid-19 outbreak stalled all such plans. "Alia will first finish work in Gangubai Kathiawadi, Brahmastra and RRR. She also has to begin Karan Johar's next directorial opposite Ranveer Singh early next year. The movie needs a huge crew because it captures the war too. Resul is currently in touch with Alia and her team to lock the dates but Piharwa will definitely go on floors next year. Meanwhile, Parth will complete his web series and is also in talks to sign another digital show which might get complete before his Bollywood debut hits theatres."

Also Read: All crowd scenes & action scenes in Bhansali’s Alia Bhatt starrer Gangubai Kathiawadi pushed forward

Horror genre fans get ready as Ram Gopal Varma is back again with the genre he excels in. Be it Raat, Bhoot or Vastu Shastra Ram Gopal Varma is known to have given spine chilling horror films. His next Movie is titled 12 ’o’clock and as the poster says Andhar ka Bhoot the film is a psychological horror thriller.

Horror as a genre lends itself fabulously to the theatrical format & the movie must be watched in a cinema hall for the optimal experience. Talking about the film, RGV says, "I always believed that Horror works more on a Psychological level because people get more scared when we stimulate their own imagination. Horror genre always excited me and I tried very new technique in this film to scare the audiences. Also music director M M Keeravani of Baahubali fame has done a horror film background score for the first time”.

Directed by Ram Gopal Varma and produced by Company Production the film stars Mithun Chakraborty, Makrand Deshpandey, Divya Jagdale, Manav Kaul, Ali Azgar, Ashish Vidyarthi, Dalip Tahil, Flora Saini and Debutant Krshna Gautam. The film hit cinemas on January 8, 2021, for an all India release by UFO Cine Media Network.