SCOOPS: Amy Jackson to have a Greek wedding in 2020, Rajkummar Rao and Fatima Sana Shaikh gatecrash a baaraat

Amy Jackson announced her engagement to long-time boyfriend George Panayiotou on January 1, 2019, on social media. The couple, however, isn’t in a hurry to walk down the aisle. “Amy and George want to tie the knot in early-2020. It will be a Greek wedding,” says a source. 

The 2.0 actress and her fiancé have already kicked off the preparations for a destination wedding. “After considering several locations, they decided on Greece because she wanted a beach-side venue for her special day. They are looking at villas near Mykonos Island and will tie the knot as per Christian rituals. Amy fell in love with the beautiful locale when she visited it last year with her husband-to-be,” the source adds. The shaadi will be attended by a few close friends and family members. It remains to be seen if Amy will host a reception for her friends and colleagues in Bollywood and the Southern film industry. “She plans to settle in the UK after getting married,” the source tells us.

— Nayandeep Rakshit

Ayushmann Khurrana and Bhumi Pednekar are set to star in their third film together — Amar Kaushik’s next directorial, Bala. The film that deals with how people are judged on the basis of their physical appearance will have AK playing a man undergoing premature balding whereas the actress will be dealing with her dusky skin tone. The movie will go on the floors around April this year and is expected to release in the later half of 2019. “Ayushmann is currently filming for Dream Girl. Once he wraps up work on that, he and Bhumi will kick-start Bala, somewhere in Uttar Pradesh. Like Stree, Amar’s next is also set in a small town.”

There were reports of Alia Bhatt being in talks for the female lead in Dostana 2, but filmmaker Karan Johar, has denied it. He took to social media to clarify this. “For the record.....NO ONE has been officially approached for DOSTANA 2!!!! Some thoughts and ideas are underway but nothing official has moved (sic),” he wrote. Dostana (2008) was directed by Tarun Mansukhani and revolved around two guys (Abhishek Bachchan and John Abraham) who pretend to be gay to share an apartment with a girl (Priyanka Chopra).

Yami Gautam, who’s basking in the success of Uri: The Surgical Strike has been invited to be the keynote speaker at India’s largest youth festival, Under 25 Summit, which takes place annually in Bengaluru. To be held next month, it will have youth icons from different fields and mentors participate and enlighten the youngsters with their stories and give them tips for making alternate creative career choices. An elated Yami says, “I look forward to meeting these young minds. It’s a wonderful thought to inspire the young ones to tread on a path that is creatively infused. Today, India is expediting a wave of new age professions taking over and it’s good to know that such a platform like Under 25 exists to inspire them and be a great resource where they can seek information, hear like-minded people and learn things to decide or further their passions. I’m sure it would be a fun session to spend time with these guys at the summit.”

Aditya Roy Kapur has shied away from the spotlight and the social media bandwagon for quite some time. Several of his industry colleagues tried convincing him to get online, but to no avail. However, a couple of weeks ago, Varun Dhawan shared on the net a funny video from the sets of Kalank, where Aditya is joking about joining social media. And, finally, it looks like the OK Jaanu actor has decided to be a little more social. He has opened his account on a photo-sharing site, which got verified yesterday.

About two years since its release, Southern whiz diirector SS Rajamouli’s Baahubali 2: The Conclusion (2017) remains the highest grosser of Indian cinema. Not surprising then, his next, RRR, starring NTR Junior and Ram Charan Teja seems to have become the bone of contention amongst three satellite networks.

Industry sources claim that the visionary filmmaker’s next is being offered a huge price for the satellite rights. The figure, we hear, is much higher than that for Shankar’s 2.0 (2018) starring Rajinikanth and Akshay Kumar. 

Rajamouli, who kick-started the shoot of RRR last November with a 10-day spell, recently began the second schedule. The NTR Jr and Ram Charan starrer, said to be a reincarnation drama with a good dose of thrills, is reportedly being made in four languages.

Nana Patekar’s mother Nirmala Patekar passed away on Tuesday morning. She was 99 and lived with the actor in his house. Unfortunately, the actor himself was out when his mother breathed her last. He was heartbroken as he shared a close bond with her.

Later in the evening, Nana performed the last rites at Oshiwara crematorium, where he was joined by his son Malhar, their relatives and friends.

January 29 saw another actor lose his mother. Saurabh Shukla was shooting for his next project when he was informed that his mother Jogmaya Shukla had passed away. It was his co-actor Vineet Kumar (Mukkabaaz) who shared online how the veteran actor reacted on learning of his mother’s demise. “We were planning something after shoot & the news came that @saurabhshukla _s bhai lost his mother. I was most of the time with him & noticed that he never said no to anybody who was asking for photo & it was endless..(sic)” he tweeted, adding, “Sochiye, aap hote toh kya karte? Actors life is not easy. #RIP (sic). ”

Cine And Television Artistes Association (CINTAA) is organising its first ever festival, ActFest, which is only for the actors. This is in association with the 48 Hour Film Project. Touted as a high-profile event, it will feature industry stalwarts, international delegates and over a thousand aspiring actors and artistes. Workshops and a lecture series, covering aspects like voice culture, grooming, fashion, body language and stress management will also be conducted. A Hall Of Fame awards for actors will also be a part of the fest. Amit Behl, Senior, Joint Secretary, CINTAA says, “It is an endeavour to celebrate the actors, their art, journey, highs and lows, and let the world know of our zeal and commitment.”  

We have learnt that Vicky Kaushal, who is flying high with the success of Uri: The Surgical Strike, and Sara Ali Khan, who made her film debut last year with Kedarnath, followed by Simmba will be a part of panel discussions at the event to be held on February 15 and 16 in Mumbai. Sushant Singh, general secretary CINTAA, says, “We are happy and grateful to Sara and Vicky, two talented performers from today’s generation, who will grace the ActFest with their presence. It means a lot to all of us in the field of performing arts, their support is also a big morale booster to the association.”

— Chaya Unnikrishnan

Rajkummar Rao and Fatima Sana Shaikh recently wrapped up a schedule for their Anurag Basu directorial in Bhopal. Apparently, the filmmaker didn’t want to have any lavishly-mounted sets, but shoot in the real locations of the Madhya Pradesh capital. One day, between their shots, Fatima heard of a baaraat procession approaching the street where they were filming. 

We hear that on the spur of the moment, the Dangal girl got the Stree actor to join her for a jig along with the procession. “Since they had some time before their next shot, Fatima and Raj decided to have some impromptu fun by shaking a leg with the baaraatis. It was only after nearly 15 minutes when someone recognised them and asked for selfies that the two actors excused themselves and returned to the shoot.”