Have you heard? From one clash to another 

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On the occasion of Allu Arjun's birthday last Monday, the makers of Pushpa 2: The Rule unveiled the teaser, reaffirming the release of Sukumar's directorial venture on August 15 this year. Now, rumours are rife that the makers of Singham Again, who were also eyeing the Independence Day window, are contemplating a Diwali release. Even though Rohit Shetty is shooting as per schedule, sources claim that the filmmaker and lead actor Ajay Devgn aren't exactly rushing to meet the deadline. Their priority is that final product does justice to the vision and the stellar cast comprising Kareena Kapoor Khan, Akshay Kumar, Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone Tiger Shroff and Arjun Kapoor. "Rohit and Ajay have a 100 per cent success rate with festival releases. Sooryavanshi [2021] too did huge box-office numbers despite the post-pandemic restrictions in cinemas," points an industry insider. In that case, the makers of Kartik Aaryan's Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 might have to look for an alternate date. Though they had announced their release plans first, let's see if they are willing to battle Rohit's supercop army for the box-office pie.

Pari's perfect pitching

During a recent interaction on IMDb's On The Scene, Imtiaz Ali shared how Parineeti Chopra prepared for her role in Amar Singh Chamkila. She plays Amarjot Kaur, the wife of Amar Singh Chamkila, essayed by Diljit Dosanjh in the biographical drama. Pointing out that the late Punjabi singer-musician's compositions were always high-pitched, the filmmaker said that Amarjot's parts in the duet sometimes demanded an even higher pitch. "Parineeti faced a similar challenge, as she had to sing high [notes]all the time. That is difficult, so, she practised rigorously," said Imtiaz. He added, "We also enlisted the help of a singing-diction teacher named Kittu from Ludhiana, Chamkila's hometown, who trained Parineeti and Diljit. We knew they would be singing live, so we ensured they were well-prepared."

Locking the dates

Over the weekend, the release dates of Janhvi Kapoor's upcoming films got locked. For starters, Mr and Mrs Mahi, co-starring Rajkummar Rao, initially scheduled for April 19, will now be arriving on May 31, after the date was vacated by Varun Dhawan's Baby John. Producer Karan Johar shared the news on social media and said they will share the first look on April 15. Janhvi's second offering this year will be Ulajh, in which she plays an Indian Foreign Services (IFS) officer. The makers of the political thriller are planning to bring it to cinemas on July 5. Directed by Sudhanshu Saria, the film also stars Gulshan Devaiah and Roshan Mathew.

Holiday with family

For quite sometime, rumours have been rife about Ibrahim Ali Khan and Palak Tiwari being a couple. While neither has confirmed or denied the buzz, they have been photographed many times over the months. Recently, Ibrahim went holidaying with sister Sara Ali Khan and mother Amrita Singh. If one goes by the paparazzi pictures from the airport, it appears that Palak had accompanied them too. Sources claim that the Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan actor exited the airport a few minutes before the Khan siblings stepped out with their mom. Wonder why the rumoured lovebirds are so afraid of being papped together at the airport.

Arms and the men

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Half-brothers Shahid Kapoor and Ishaan Khatter share a great bond and are known to spend time together as often as they can. One common interest is motorcycles, with the duo taking off with their buddies to Europe for their annual biking trips. Some of their other shared interests are dancing and gymming. Sasha and Ishaan made the most of their Sunday morning with a weight-training session together. Sharing pictures from the gym, the two actors wrote on social media, "Brothers in arms." Nice!

In recovery mode

Sayaji Shinde was recently hospitalised following complaints of severe chest pain. He underwent an emergency angioplasty as the doctors reportedly found 99 per cent blockage in one of the three blood vessels during the tests. His health is stable now and he is expected to be discharged soon. Sharing the health update, Shinde said, "I'm very well... Nothing to worry now. I will be there for your entertainment soon. Thank you!"

Sequel in the works

The mega-success of Rajinikanth's Jailer (2023) was followed by rumours of a sequel. Now, chatter in Chennai is that director Nelson Dilipkumar has cracked the first draft of the movie. Reportedly, the veteran superstar has given his nod to the concept and the director is now working on the final screenplay for the return of the protagonist, Tiger aka Muthuvel Pandian. Interestingly, they have two titles in mind - one is the predictable Jailer 2, while the other is Hukum, in keeping with how the superstar's character was addressed in the first film. Nelson will begin pre-production this June as he plans to commence production by this year-end. By then, Rajinikanth will have wrapped up his next, Thalaivar 171 with director Lokesh Kanagaraj. They recently shot the promo, which they will unveil later this month, along with the movie's title.