SCOOPS: Alia Bhatt begins Telugu lessons for 'RRR', Salman Khan starrer Dabangg 3's plot revealed

Alia Bhatt is on a roll. The actress, who is clearly the numero uno heroine in Bollywood currently, has as many as five big films lined up next. After Kalank and Brahmastra in 2019, she will have three releases in the coming year — Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Inshallah, SS Rajamouli’s RRR and Karan Johar’s Takht. For the Rajamouli directorial, which also marks Alia’s debut down South, the actress will have a particular look that suits the period the movie is set in (1920-1940s). She has already begun prep for RRR. Says a source, “The actress is taking regular Telugu lessons at her house. With her busy promotional schedule for Kalank, she still manages to pull out an hour to rehearse her lines with her coach and understand the language as much as possible.” The Raazi actress will soon fly to Delhi to start shooting for the epic period drama, which also stars Ajay Devgn, Ram Charan and NT Rama Rao Jr.

Sajid Nadiadwala’s Chhichhore, which had its last shooting schedule in Mumbai, wrapped up yesterday. Director Nitesh Tiwari and team ended it with a song shoot that had all the eight actors led by Sushant Singh Rajput and Shraddha Kapoor in it. The track was filmed over five days. On their last day, the chhichhoras of the movie were given a token of appreciation from the production house’s marketing team. A source from the sets says, “The goodies majorly consisted of souvenirs and customised diaries. They were given certificates for completing the shoot along with a few utility items that included personalised hoodies, bookmarks, sippers and laptop sleeves. Lastly, the most special item was the slam book in which  all the actors had penned down their thoughts about each other. These were not luxury products but mementos which they will keep with them.

The Kapoor khandaan is known for their mad cap histrionics and bonding. Producer Boney Kapoor and late superstar actress Sridevi’s kids Janhvi Kapoor and Khushi Kapoor are almost inseparable. While Janhvi made her foray into Bollywood last year, Khushi is still preparing herself for the big launch. Recently, the Dhadak heroine shot an episode for the second season of Feet Up With the Stars in which she revealed the biggest reason behind her fights with her younger sibling. “Khushi is righteous and even for sharing clothes, she is like ‘You can’t take them without asking me’. Otherwise there is no rivalry but this taking each other’s’ clothes without telling is a big issue. But she is my fashion censor. She has the best sense of fashion from us all.” 

Janhvi also spilled some beans about the fun and active WhatsApp group that consists of all the Kapoor cousins. She shared what actually goes down in that group and how each one of them is a different character in their own right.

Aditya Roy Kapur, who has been away from the spotlight for some time, has three back-to-back releases. The actor was in town to unveil the theatrical promo of his next Kalank, and was spotted sporting a different look. 

He has not only grown his hair long but also tied them towards the back of his head. A source tells us that this is Adi’s look from Malang — the Mohit Suri directorial that he’s signed and is currently shooting for. The OK Jaanu hero has taken a small break from his Goa schedule to wrap up promotions for the Abhishek Varman drama.

Varun Dhawan, who has been promoting Kalank these days, plays Zafar in the film. The actor’s look that sees him sporting kohl-rimmed eyes created a flurry on social media. A fan recreated his image from the poster in the form of a handpainted jacket and gifted it to the actor during the latter’s stay in London. The Judwaa 2 hero, who interacts with his fans frequently, displayed it for the photographers when he participated in a round of media interactions for the Abhishek Varman directorial.

While there are all kinds of roles that Sobhita Dhulipala would like to try out, the actress says that she wants to be as surprised by her choices as anybody else. “I want to throw myself at the deep end and see what happens,” she says. Having said that, the actress admits that there are a couple of genres that she’s curious about. “Since I’m an avid reader and obsessed with literature and history, I think to do a historical/period film will be thrilling for me,” she says. Since Sobhita is a classically-trained dancer as well, she believes there is a certain romance to the times gone by. The former beauty queen was last seen as Tara in the web series Made in Heaven, a layered and flawed character that she enjoyed sinking her teeth in. “I’m not judgemental. If it’s a good part, I’ll play it,” she adds.

Nimrat Kaur, who has been busy shooting for the final season of Homeland in Casablanca, is having quite a blast in the beautiful country. “The people are so sweet and loving. The culture is really close to ours. Language is a bit of a problem, though, as most people here speak in Arabic or French. I have been Google translating my way all the time!” she laughs. There are days when the Airlift actress gets really homesick. “I miss my food, my friends and Mumbai, and I can’t wait to come back,” she adds. Nimrat will return to the bay when she gets a break from the shoot around end-April. “After which I will resume shooting in June. So, I’m eagerly looking forward to coming back for a bit,” she states.

After Hrs was the first to report that unlike the first two installments, Dabangg 3 owes its inspiration to real life. Even though Salman Khan has begun filming as Chulbul Pandey in Maheshwar (the jurisdiction of his grandfather, Abdul Rashid Khan as DIG of the then Indian Imperial Police), the new movie is based on exploits of the former cop from his tenure in North Indian cities like Noida and Ghaziabad.

A source privy to the screenplay reveals that this Prabhudheva directorial sees supercop Chulbul Pandey take on the land mafia. “Some years ago, land-grabbing by the mafia, who had political clout and financial muscle, made headlines. This particular police officer had taken on them, knowing the implications of their political connections,” says our informer, adding, “How this cop dealt with the land mafia is the basis of the story of Dabangg 3.”