Have you heard? Stop the music, or face the music

AR Rahman

Stop the music, or face the music

The Pune Police stopped a mega-concert of Oscar-winning music composer AR Rahman midway, to the dismay of the audience. The show was held at a sprawling open-air venue at Rajbahadur Mills. At 10 pm, a senior police officer took to the stage and waved a torch in the dark, ordering the organisers to immediately halt the show. The show had exceeded the permissible time limit. They were seen interrupting Rahman's performance and communicating with him on stage. Rahman complied and quietly departed without making a scene.

Addressing controversy

Adah Sharma, who is gearing up for the release of The Kerala Story, has defended it against criticism, and allegations of it being a propaganda film. "I'm glad we can spread awareness with this film. Our film is about girls getting drugged, brainwashed, raped, forcefully impregnated and then raped again by multiple people sometimes. The child they deliver is taken away, and they are made suicide bombers. For the few who are saying it is propaganda, I guess, once they watch the film with all the facts, they will say otherwise (sic)," she said. Sharma plays a Hindu nurse, who, the makers claim, is among the 32,000 women who went missing from Kerala.

Kaun khareedega?

While Shah Rukh Khan's son Aryan had been receiving appreciation for his new clothing brand, it appears that the love was short-lived. Visitors to his online store have had a thing or two to say about his pricing strategy, given that a jacket autographed by Shah Rukh has been priced at a whopping Rs 2 lakh, while T-shirts are priced between Rs 25,000 to Rs 47,000. Evidently, users did what they're good at - roasting. "Price dekh ke mere ko chakkar aa raha hain," wrote one, while another wrote, "Agar yeh common man ke liye nahi, toh trend kaun kara hai?" Another user had a piece of advice for the badshah. "You miserably failed to address your expensive son about pricing strategies before launching a product. Agreed that's a luxury brand, but you don't [want] your fans to sell their kidneys."

Fans' love, it's so wonderful!

Yo Yo Honey Singh may have been battling health issues, but says his "fans motivated me to return and work". "I worked on my looks and fitness. They are the ones who motivated me to become the old Honey Singh again, which is why I put in so much effort toward fitness. Honey Singh 3.0 is a blend of the new school and old school. I hope that everyone loves this version and supports and promotes it," he said in an interview.

It's a wrap

Jahnvi Kapoor and Rajkummar Rao have concluded shooting their upcoming cricket drama, Mr & Mrs Mahi. The production house took to its Instagram handle to share the news. The film will now go into post-production. This is the second time that Rao and Kapoor will be seen sharing screen space together. Mr & Mrs Mahi is helmed by Sharan Sharma, who made his directorial debut with Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl, which also featured Kapoor in the lead.

Wise words

On her recent visit to Haridwar, Kangana Ranaut shared that marriage is between two hearts, and that if two individuals have bonded, then their sexual preference should not matter. After the Supreme Court heard pleas for legal sanction for same-sex marriages in India, Ranaut was questioned about it. "Marriage is a matter of the heart. When hearts have met, what can we say about people's preferences?" Apurva Asrani expressed his gratitude to her. "A person ‘cancelled' by the ‘liberal' media has no right to an opinion right? Even if her statement is humane, brave and timely all at once? Kangana Ranaut speaks for marriage equality. From one Queen to another, thank you."

Woh kaun hai, jo 7 ke bajeh, 7.30 baje aaya

Karan Johar perhaps had a rusty start to the week. Kicking off Monday morning with a social media post that simply read: ‘Punctuality', he went on a tirade against individuals who run late. "The wonderful thing about punctuality is that it doesn't require a natural talent," he started off, rather politely, before stating, "Landing up 15 minutes late without a murmur of an apology or an overcompensating happy visage reeks of entitlement and defensiveness. Messaging ‘on my way' doesn't get you off the hook either. ‘On my way'. So? You are meant to be. You ain't doing me any favours honey," he wrote, gradually losing his temper as he typed on. "The worst one is when they don't show up and don't even send a message with a grovelling apology! This last sect of time offenders must [be] struck off your list forever," he concluded. Phew! Never be late when meeting KJo.

Also Read: Dulquer Salmaan's 'Sita Ramam' bags Dadasaheb Phalke Award for Best Film Jury

This banter

Filmmaker SS Rajamouli has responded to businessman Anand Mahindra's request to do a film based on the Indus Valley Civilisation. Mahindra took to Twitter and shared a post on the ancient cities of the civilisation, including Harappa, Mohenjo Daro, Dholavira, Lothal, and Kalibangan, among others. Mahindra tweeted, "These are amazing illustrations that bring history alive and spark our imagination. Shoutout to @ssrajamouli to consider a film project based on that era that will create global awareness of that ancient civilisation." Reacting to that, Rajamouli replied: "Yes sir. While shooting for Magadheera in Dholavira, I saw a tree so ancient that it turned into a fossil. Thought of a film on the rise and fall of Indus Valley civilization, narrated by that tree! Visited Pakistan a few years later. Tried so hard to visit Mohenjodaro. Sadly, was denied permission (sic)." Who knew curiosity could be piqued via a tweet?