Jaideep Ahlawat is thrilled with the rave reviews his film Jaane Jaan has been receiving, where he shared screen space with Kareena Kapoor Khan and Vijay Varma. Now the film along with the actor’s other film Three of Us have been chosen to both open and close the Himalayan Film Festival 2023. This prestigious festival commenced on September 29 and will continue until October 3, 2023, and it offers a captivating cinematic experience against the breathtaking Himalayan mountain scenery.
Jaideep expressed his excitement about the festival, saying, “I’m truly thrilled and excited to be a part of the Himalayan Film Festival. It’s a fantastic platform to showcase diverse cinematic experiences. It feels amazing and rewarding that both the opening and the closing films of the festival are mine. Both Jaane Jaan and Three of Us featured here hold a special place in my heart.”
Jaideep Ahlawat’s stellar performance in Jaane Jaan garnered immense praise and attention. The film features him in a never-seen-before role of a socially awkward and depressed mathematician, along with Kareena Kapoor Khan playing his neighbor and Vijay Varma as a police officer. The film is inspired by the famous Japanese thriller novel Devotion of Suspect X and is directed by Sujoy Ghosh. Set against the mystic valleys of Kalimpong, the film released on Netflix on September 21.
Besides this film, Jaideep also received widespread adoration for his exceptional performance in Three of Us. The film features Shefali Shah in the lead role and explores a plethora of emotions, from love, loss, healing, awareness and liberation.
Apart from these projects, Jaideep Ahlawat has popular web shows like Paatal Lok 2, The Broken News 2 and more lined up for release.
Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Nick Jonas are one of the most beloved couples on social media with the couple often seen sharing photos and videos, giving glimpses of their life to their fans and followers. Now, as a treat to them, Nick took to social media to share his September dump which not only featured his brothers Joe and Kevin Jonas, his wife, but also his daughter Malti Marie Chopra Jonas and the infant is seen making an adorable special appearance.
Nick Jonas took to social media to share a series of photos including a monochrome photo of the Jonas brothers, them posing with Hollywood star Adam Sandler, Priyanka Chopra sharing an intense conversation with Allison Hsu, Nick and Simu Liu, among others. Amid the photo dump, a photo featured Malti Marie Chopra Jonas standing against the backdrop of what looked like a barn in a farm and observing intently the animals around her.
While Nick captioned it saying, “September”, the photos received a lot of love from fans across the world. Many of them couldn’t stop gushing about the charming photo of Malti as they dropped their sweetest comments on the post. Nick and Pri are amazing, but the true and most valuable masterpiece they made is called Malti Marie! What a wonderful little girl!” said one of the fans whereas another one added, “Hands of her hips! So cute”. “Your kid is a mood”, “Malti is about to run your house. she’s so cute”, were a few other comments which were posted on the platform.
On the work front, Priyanka Chopra Jonas is expected to be dabbling between multiple Hollywood projects including the second season of Citadel. On the other hand, fans in India are eagerly waiting to see her kick start Jee Le Zaraa with Katrina Kaif and Alia Bhatt.
Rang De Basanti actor Siddharth, who is busy with his intriguing South ventures, witnessed a massive problem, when he was promoting his upcoming film Chiththa in Bengaluru. His event was interrupted by certain party workers claiming issue over the ongoing battle over Cauvery River between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu and asked the actor to cancel the event. With not much choice, Siddharth had to walk out of the event midway. Addressing the concern, Siddharth opened up to his fans about mishap during a social media interaction with them.
As per Indian Express report, Siddharth revealed about the incident during an Instagram Live session, wherein he said, “Yesterday, in Bengaluru there was an incident. The backstory of it is that this is the first time, as a producer, I screened my film to many ahead of the movie’s theatrical release. It was shown to the media in Chennai and Kochi. There was a plan for such a show in Bengaluru as well. I had plans to show the film to about 2,000 students ahead of the release. No one has done it so far. There was also a plan to screen the film for Kannada stars that night. But everything was cancelled by us as a mark of respect to the bandh. We incurred a huge loss, but beyond that, it was disappointing that we couldn’t share a good film with people there.”
He went on to add, “The press was supposed to watch the film after the interaction, but you all saw what happened there. It happened in front of many cameras. I don’t want to talk about it. When the film is getting a good response, I don’t want to talk about anything to distract the attention. There’s no relation between my film and the issue. I believe my social responsibility will show up in the films I make spending my money.”
Chiththa is expected to follow the journey of a paternal uncle and his niece as the former sets out on a search mission when she disappears. Directed by S.U. Arun Kumar, the film is expected to release in multiple languages including Telugu and Kannada.
From a shape-shifting lead to a fantasy time travel, to even a morally gray character, the month of October 2023 has a delightful treat of K-dramas to choose from! Park Eun Bin returns to the small screen after the success of Extraordinary Attorney Woo. Bae Suzy is also back once again. There is a considerable rise in K-dramas adapted from webtoons and we also see a slight nostalgia with Strong Girl Nam Soon. Let’s take a look at the upcoming K-dramas releasing in October 2023.
1. STRONG GIRL NAM SOON
Nod if you miss BongBong and MinMin! Back in 2017, Strong Woman Do Bong Soon gave us a treasure trove of cuteness, silliness and butterflies in the stomach romance. Now, in 2023 there is a new story in the same vein to delight us! Strong Girl Nam Soon is a spinoff based on Strong Woman Do Bong Soon. The show follows Kang Nam Soon, a distant relative of Do Bong Soon who has the same powers of strength as Bong Soon. As a kid, she had gone missing in Mongolia and grew up there. Now an adult, she comes to South Korea to find her family. She meets her mother and maternal grandmother who also possesses those powers. The trio get embroiled in a drug case. They cross paths with Detective Kang Hee Shik who is assigned the case. Amidst the drug case investigation, signs of romance bloom between Nam Soon and Hee Shik. Strong Girl Nam Soon is slated to release on October 17, 2023.
2. A GOOD DAY TO BE A DOG
Park Gyu Young, whom we last saw in Celebrity, is back in a new avatar. This time she appears in a sweet rom-com A Good Day to be a Dog. The drama follows the story of Kang Hae Na, a high school teacher who has a miserable love life due to an ancestral curse. The curse is that she would turn into a dog whenever she kisses someone. The effect of the curse lasts for six hours and can be only reversed when she kisses the person in her dog form. Unfortunately, on one drunken night, she kisses Jin Seo Won (ASTRO’s Cha Eun Woo) who has a fear of dogs. This k-drama is an adaptation of a webtoon. A Good Day to be a Dog will be released on October 11, 2023.
3. EVILIVE
If you wanted madness, morally grey characters and a simply nail-biting story then Evilive is the one good choice from the dramas releasing this month. Starring Shin Ha Kyun and Kim Young Kwang in lead roles, Evilive is a thriller story about a lawyer named Han Dong Soo who visits prisons and picks a case to fight. Shin Jae Ha is his younger half-brother. He works at a second-hand computer shop and also helps Dong Soo with getting new clients. Something changes in Dong Soo after he takes the case of Seo Do Young, the second most important member of a crime organization. Beneath the masks of calm and collected outlooks, lies something much more dangerous and sinister. Evilive will be released on October 14, 2023.
4. CASTAWAY DIVA
Comebacks after a year, two or even three years are known, but what about a comeback after 15 long years? Castaway Diva tells the story of Seo Mok Ha (played by Park Eun Bin) who aspires to be a K-pop idol. On a fateful day, when she is heading to Seoul to start her career she ends up on a deserted island. Considered dead initially, she is found alive and surviving on the same island. This drama tells the story of Seok Ha’s return to the singing scene and her attempts to restart her career. Castaway Diva is slated to release on October 28, 2023.
5. DOONA!
Be honest, who all missed Bae Suzy on screen? After the success of Startup in 2020 and a short stint in 2022 as Anna in Anna, Bae Suzy has finally made a comeback to the K-drama scene this year. She will be seen as a former K-pop idol Lee Doo Na in Doona! In the drama, Doo Na chooses to retire from her idol career and live a quiet life in the suburbs. She soon meets Won Joon (played by Yang Se Jong) who is surprised to find that he is a neighbor to a former K-pop idol. This K-drama is an adaptation of a webtoon of the same name. Doona! is slated to air on October 20 on Netflix.
6. THE MATCHMAKER
Rowoon seems to be on a roll on the acting front. Currently seen in Destined With You opposite Jo Bo Ah, he already has another title in the works. A fictional historical tale set during the Joseon dynasty, The Matchmaker follows Shim Jung Woo (played by SF9’s Rowoon), a genius scholar. His life gets turned upside down when his lover, the princess, dies. He is unable to enlist in the government and soon crosses paths with Jung Soon Deok (played by Cho Yi Hyun). Soon Deok is a widow who secretly operates as a matchmaker and peddler named Yeo Joo. Jung Woo and Soon Deok join hands to match young couples. The Matchmaker is slated to release on October 30, 2023. No teaser has been released for the drama yet.
7. MOON IN THE DAY
Were you thinking there needs to be one more historical K-drama in the list? Well, Moon in the Day is just the addition then. Starring Kim Young Dae in a dual role, first as a vengeful spirit of a nobleman named Do Ha from the Silla dynasty and second as a top star Han Joon Oh with an inferiority complex. Do Ha possesses Joon Oh’s body after the latter gets injured in an accident. Kang Yong Hwa, a firefighter saved Do Ha and later becomes his bodyguard. Twist is, Do Ha was killed by his wife Han Ri Ta and Yong Hwa is the spitting image of Do Ha’s killer wife. Moon in the Day is adapted from a webtoon and is slated for release on October 25, 2023.
8. PERFECT MARRIAGE REVENGE
It won’t be a Sung Hoon drama without a lot of DRAMA in it. Perfect Marriage Revenge is a revenge fantasy time travel and romance drama starring Jung Yoo Min in the lead as Han Ye Joo. She finds out that her sister Yoo Ra and her husband have fallen in love. Shortly after, she dies in a car accident but somehow wakes up in the past. Having woken up in the past, she decides to court the man whom Yoo Ra wishes to marry. She ends up in a contractual marriage with Seo Do Kook. Do Kook agrees to Ye Joo’s terms but soon finds himself hoping for a real shot at romance.
BONUS: BALLERINA
Netflix’s latest offering in K-content is not limited to just K-dramas this month. We also see the release of a K-movie titled Ballerina. The movie tells the story of a scorned former bodyguard who decides to avenge a ballerina’s murder. The movie stars Jeon Jeong Seo in the lead with Kim Ji Hoon and Park Yu Rim in pivotal roles. Ballerina is slated to release globally on Netflix on October 6, 2023.
Earlier this week, the industry was left stunned as the makers of Salaar decided to release the Prabhas-starrer on December 22 and thereby clash with Shah Rukh Khan’s highly awaited film, Dunki. The action flick was initially scheduled to release on September 28. Now that it got pushed to the Christmas week, it has had an effect on the other releases of the month as well.
Bollywood Hungama has learned that Yodha, which is scheduled to release on December 15, will move to another date. A source told Bollywood Hungama, “Yodha is produced by Karan Johar’s Dharma Productions. Karan realized that it’ll be difficult for Yodha to retain screens in the second week once Dunki and Salaar arrive in cinemas. Moreover, it’ll become challenging even for Dunki and Salaar’s distributors since theatres would not want to lose out on Yodha, especially if it does well.”
The source continued, “Karan Johar has a long association with Shah Rukh Khan, which is well known. Also, he’s close to Prabhas as well since KJo presented Baahubali series in Hindi. Hence, out of respect for Shah Rukh Khan and Prabhas, he has decided to bring Yodha on some other date.”
It is not yet clear if Yodha will be postponed to 2024 or whether Karan will prepone it to December 8 or some other date in November. A clearer picture is expected to emerge in a few days.
Yodha stars Sidharth Malhotra, Disha Patani and Raashii Khanna. It is directed by Sagar Ambre and Pushkar Ojha. Incidentally, it was earlier supposed to release on September 15. It was pushed to December 15 again due to Shah Rukh Khan since the superstar’s Jawan took the September 7 slot.
An industry insider commented, “There are murmurs that Dunki might release on Thursday, December 21. If the film is released a day before in the international markets, then ideally it would be released earlier in India as well. In such a scenario, Yodha would have got just 6 days to score before the clash of the biggies.”
Yodha is not the only film that was going to be released on December 15. The Katrina Kaif-Vijay Sethupathi starrer Merry Christmas, too, has booked the December 15 date. It now remains to be seen if the makers of the Sriram Raghavan-directorial also change their date or if they decide to come a week before Dunki and Salaar, as planned.
Nitesh Tiwari, who is receiving love for Tumse Na Ho Payega, recently opened up about how his last release Bawaal was received by the audience. The Varun Dhawan, Janhvi Kapoor starrer which caused much ‘bawaal’ in real life, was criticized for belittling a major incident Holocaust, and faced major backlash, especially internationally. Talking about it to Hindustan Times, Nitesh maintained that many of them were fussing unnecessarily on his comments about the film.
Opening about the negative reaction he received from certain quarters, Nitesh Tiwari said, “People were overtly nitpicking what I would say. Predominately the kind of feedback I got was very very positive. People who consumed it, had it the way it should have been consumed, rather than overly nitpicking.” However, in the same breath, he also asserted that he has accepted their negative opinion about the film, as he added, “But, having said that, no offence, people can nitpick also. I respect their opinion because that is exactly what it is when you put out a work in a public forum. You have to be ready for all kinds of reactions. It’s great learning also, from all of that. I take it all in the right spirit. I try to learn as to how can I improve things going forward.”
Bawaal brought together Janhvi Kapoor and Varun Dhawan for the first time in a unique love story where a troubled married couple sets out to explore the world and learn a lot about love, marriage and the intricacies of these relationships as they draw parallels between their relationship and war. The movie had a digital release on Amazon Prime Video on July 21, 2023.
As for his next project, Nitesh Tiwari recently worked on Tumse Na Ho Payega which is based on the book How I Braved Anu Aunty and Co-Founded a Million Dollar Company by Varun Agarwal. The film, directed by Abhishek Sinha, features Ishwak Singh, Mahima Makwana, Gaurav Pandey, Gurpreet Saini, among others and released on September 29 on Disney+ Hotstar.
Sonakshi Sinha’s passion for travel is no secret, evident from her vibrant Instagram feed. The actress recently found herself in the Maldives. During her sojourn in this paradise, she shared a captivating video offering a glimpse of her beachside adventure.
The video commenced with a breathtaking drone shot capturing the tropical coastline, setting the scene for the Maldivian beauty. Moments later, we witness Sonakshi herself, gracefully pedalling a bicycle through the picturesque landscapes. Dressed in a charming blue and white checkered midi dress, her radiant smile is hard to miss. As she explored the island, Sonakshi generously treated her followers to a virtual tour of her enchanting stay. In her caption, she aptly described those four days. Sharing the post, she wrote in caption, “Those four days were everything i ever want… sun, sand, sea and happiness.” To accentuate her sentiments, she sprinkled her post with a series of expressive emojis. Adding to the ambiance, the soulful melody of ‘Dil Nu’ by AP Dhillion plays in the background, enhancing the immersive experience of Sonakshi’s Maldivian adventure.
On the work front, Sonakshi Sinha was last seen in the Prime Video web series Dahaad alongside Vijay Varma. She will next star in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Heeramandi on Netflix. Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Heeramandi, set to premiere on Netflix, promises to be a captivating narrative set against the backdrop of pre-independent India. The film boasts an impressive ensemble cast, including names like Manisha Koirala, Aditi Rao Hydari, Richa Chadha, Sharmin Segal, and Sanjeeda Shaikh apart from Sonakshi Sinha. Heeramandi will delve into the untold stories of Lahore’s courtesans, weaving a tapestry of their lives in a bygone era.
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