Superstar Salman Khan on Sunday turned a year older but the actor decided to go low-key for his 55th birthday celebrations considering the “terrible year” 2020 has been due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Khan, who is spending his birthday with his family and close friends at his Panvel farmhouse, interacted with a select media and cut a cake in the early hours of Sunday.

“There are no celebrations this year, it’s just me and my family here and no one else. I wasn’t in a mood to celebrate my birthday as this has been a terrible year for everyone and a lot of people from the industry have passed away. So, it doesn’t call for celebration,” Khan told the reporters.

The Bollywood star urged his fans to follow COVID-19 protocols in order to remain safe amid the pandemic.

“I just hope everyone is happy, healthy and safe and are wearing masks. Keep washing your hands and maintain social distancing so that everybody remains safe,” he said.

The “Bharat” star said he wishes 2021 turns out be a great year for everybody.

Hindi film personalities, including Khan’s father, veteran screenwriter Salim Khan, sister Alvira Agnihotri, actors Sunil Grover, Sooraj Pancholi, Zaheer Iqbal, Nikitin Dheer, Kratika Sengar and casting director Mukesh Chhabra, attended the intimate birthday gathering.

On Saturday, Khan had appealed to his fans to not throng outside his house in suburban Bandra on the occasion of his birthday due to the pandemic and also informed he is not at home.

The love and affection of my fans over the years has been overwhelming on my birthdays but this year it is my humble request not to crowd outside my house keeping the COVID pandemic and social distancing norms in mind, Khan said in the notice displayed outside his building.

On the work front, the actor has begun shooting for his upcoming film, “Antim- The Final Truth”, in which he is said to be playing a Sikh cop.

The film also starring his brother-in-law, actor Aayush Sharma, is reportedly a remake of the 2018 hit Marathi crime drama “Mulshi Pattern”.

While the original was helmed by Marathi actor-filmmaker Pravin Tarde, the remake will be directed by actor-filmmaker Mahesh Manjrekar

Khan is also hosting the latest season of the reality show “Bigg Boss”.

He will next be seen on the big screen in “Radhe – Your Most Wanted Bhai”, directed by Prabhudheva. The film’s shoot was completed in October.

Also starring Disha Patani and Randeep Hooda, “Radhe” was earlier slated to hit the theatres on May 22 but got delayed due to the pandemic.

Actor Elisabeth Moss will portray former US Congresswoman Katie Hill in an upcoming movie from Blumhouse TV.

According to Variety, the movie is an official adaptation of Hill’s memoir “She Will Rise: Becoming a Warrior in the Battle for True Equality”.

Blumhouse TV optioned the book, which was released in August, and will produce alongside Michael Seitzman and his banner Maniac Productions, and Moss’s production company Love & Squalor Pictures.

Michael Seitzman, who wrote the feature film “North Country”, will pen the screenplay for the project.

The book follows Hill as a young woman with no prior political experience whose charm and common sense won over the people in her district and thrust her into the halls of power in Washington.

“While her brash confidence won her powerful allies and infuriated her enemies, it was privately concealing a cycle of domestic abuse she was trapped in at home, infamously culminating in the release of intimate photos and the revelation of her own admitted personal mistakes that would eventually result in her stunning fall from grace,” the official logline read.

Moss said she is honoured to play Hill in the movie and help in telling her story to the world.

“Her strength and work to amplify women’s voices is incredibly inspiring to me and her experiences could not be more important for us to magnify right now. As always, Jason and the Blumhouse team are such incredible partners and Lindsey and I are thrilled to make something powerful with them and Michael,” she added.

Hill will serve as an executive producer on the movie alongside Moss, Lindsey McManus and Jeremy Gold.PTI

Actor-filmmaker Ben Affleck is set to direct a movie that will explore the making of Roman Polanski’s crime classic “Chinatown”.

The film, set up at Paramount, is based on author Sam Wasson’s book “The Big Goodbye: Chinatown and the Last Years of Hollywood”, which was published in February this year, reported Variety.

The non-fiction book tells the behind-the-scenes story of the 1974 film, starring Jack Nicholson and Faye Dunaway.

“Chinatown” followed a private detective (Nicholson) who is hired by a woman (Dunaway) to expose her cheating husband, only the investigation throws the PI into a proverbial web of deceit.

Cinema aficionados still remember the movie for its twist ending, which had quite the impact on audiences at the time.

Affleck, 47, will also produce the movie along with Saturday Night Live creator Lorne Michaels.

The actor will next star in psychological thriller “Deep Water” and Ridley Scott’s “The Last Duel”.PTI

Hollywood star Leonardo DiCaprio’s production banner Appian Way has inked a first-look film and TV deal with Apple, under which the company will develop new TV series and films for the technology giant.

Appian Way, ran by DiCaprio and Jennifer Davisson, previously had a three-year film deal with Paramount Pictures and, prior to that, was working in collaboration with Warner Bros.

The banner already has two projects set up at Apple TV Plus the feature Killers of the Flower Moon directed by Martin Scorsese and starring DiCaprio and Robert DeNiro, as well as thriller series Shining Girls , featuring Elisabeth Moss.

Under the company, the Oscar-winning actor and Davisson have also produced films like The Aviator, Shutter Island, The Ides of March, Runner Runner, The Wolf of Wall Street, Robin Hood and Richard Jewell .PTI

Game of Thrones star Sophie Turner and her husband, musician Joe Jonas, have become parents to their first child together.

According to TMZ, Turner gave birth to the baby girl last Wednesday at a hospital in Los Angeles.

Sophie Turner and Joe Jonas are delighted to announce the birth of their baby, a representative of the couple said in a statement.

They have named their daughter Willa.

Jonas, 30, and Turner, 24 got married in Las Vegas in May 2019, having a second bigger ceremony in France later in the year. News of Turner’s pregnancy broke in February.

Maidaan , featuring actor Ajay Devgn in the lead, will now hit the theatres on August 13 next year .

Based on the golden years of Indian football, “Maidaan”, was initially scheduled to release on November 27, but earlier this year the makers pushed the film to December 11.

Devgn took to Twitter on Saturday to announce the new release date of the movie.

“2021 Independence week. An untold story that will make every Indian proud. 13th August mark the date. #Maidaan2021 (sic),” he wrote alongside the poster of the film.

Owing to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the shoot of the film has got affected and it is likely to begin post monsoon.

In “Maidaan”, the 51-year-old actor will portray the role of Syed Abdul Rahim, who served as a coach and manager of Indian football team from 1950 until his death in 1963.

The movie is directed by Amit Ravinder Nath Sharma of “Badhaai Ho!” fame, Saiwyn Quadros has written the screenplay, while Ritesh Shah has penned the dialogues.

Also starring Priyamani, Gajraj Rao and Bengali actor Rudranil Ghosh,”Maidaan” is presented by Zee Studios and Boney Kapoor.

Kapoor who is also serving as the producer along with Akash Chawla and Arunava Joy Sengupta.

Devgn recently announced his film “Bhuj: The Pride of India” is headed for a direct release on streaming platform Disney+ Hotstar as theatres remain closed due to the pandemic.

Actor Vaani Kapoor will play the female lead opposite Akshay Kumar in the high-end espionage thriller “Bellbottom”, producer Jackky Bhagnani announced on Thursday.

The project marks Vaani’s first onscreen pairing with Akshay.

Bhagnani said the “War” star has a “meaty” role in the much-anticipated movie.

“Vaani is an intelligent and an effective actor and I have loved all her performances. The female lead in ‘Bellbottom’ has to be in sync with Akshay Sir’s screen persona.

“The role is meaty and I am confident that Vaani will ace this one,” Bhagnani said in a statement.

Vaani said she is excited to share the screen space with Akshay.

“I am thrilled to partner with Pooja Entertainment who have already made me feel at home at this initial stage of our film. Hoping that this excitement will translate beautifully on screen,” the 31-year-old actor said.

Directed by Ranjit M Tewari, the story is set in the 1980s and is about one of India’s forgotten heroes.

It is written by Aseem Arrora and Parveez Shaikh, and will go on floors later this year.

“Vaani’s character in the film is extremely intriguing. She has a certain flair and we’re all very excited to have her on board,” Tewari said.

Pooja Entertainment presents in association with Emmay Entertainment, “Bellbottom” is produced by Vashu Bhagnani, Jackky Bhagnani, Deepshikha Deshmukh, Monisha Advani, Madhu Bhojwani and Nikhil Advani.

“Bellbottom” is scheduled to release on April 2, 2021.PTI

Superstar Shah Rukh Khan on Sunday expressed gratitude to his fans for “allowing” his passion to become his long-standing profession, as he clocked 28 years in Bollywood this month.

Shah Rukh, who arguably made the most successful transition from TV to the big screen, made foray into Bollywood with director Raj Kanwar’s “Deewana” on June 26, 1992, after his playing lead roles in popular TV shows “Fauji” (1988) and “Circus” (1989).

The 54-year-old actor said more than his professionalism, it is his passion to entertain which will keep him going for many more years in the industry.

“Don’t know when my passion became my purpose and then turned into my profession. Thank you all for so many years of allowing me to entertain you. More than my professionalism I believe my passionalism will see me through many more years of service to all of you,” Shah Rukh tweeted alongside a latest picture of him.

In a subsequent tweet, the actor thanked his wife, producer-interior designer Gauri for clicking the photograph and wrote “28 years and counting…”

The actor’s initial years in films saw him play a mix of negative characters in movies like “Baazigar”, “Darr” and “Anjaam” and as a small-town simpleton with big dreams in “Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman” and “Kabhi Haa Kabhi Naa”.

It was, however, his turn in Aditya Chopra’s love story “Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge” (1995), which catapulted him to stardom and gave Hindi cinema one of its biggest romantic heroes.

From 1995 to mid 2000, Shah Rukh starred in titles like “Dil To Paagal Hai”, “Yes Boss”, “Kuch Kuch Hota Hai”, “Mohabbatein”, “Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham”, “Devdas”, “Kal Ho Na Ho”, “Main Hoon Na”, “Veer Zaara”, all of which were huge box office hits and earned the actor the tag of Bollywood’s ‘King Khan’.

He also featured in acclaimed films like “Swades”, “Chak De! India”, and “My Name is Khan”, in which he played a common man on a mission as opposed to his romantic hero staple.

The actor’s dream run came to a halt beginning 2011, with his sci-fi superhero project “Ra.One”.

Though the decade saw him deliver huge hits with comedies “Chennai Express” and “Happy New Year” between 2013 and 2014, his other attempts, including “Raees”, where he played a gangster, “Fan”, which had him playing a double role and “Zero”, featuring him as a vertically challenged man, fetched him acclaim but not box office glory.

Shah Rukh, who also owns production banner Red Chillies Entertainment, recently launched their collaborations with streamer Netflix India – espionage thriller series “Bard of Blood”, starring Emraan Hashmi, and “Betaal”, a zombie horror series, featuring Viineet Kumar and Ahana Kumra.

The actor is now reportedly gearing up for filmmaker Rajkumar Hirani’s next, two years since his last screen outing with “Zero” in 2018.PTI

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