One more Ramayana in the making?

Amid the growing buzz around Nitesh Tiwari’s Ramayana — starring Ranbir Kapoor as Lord Rama, Sai Pallavi as Sita, and Yash as Ravana. Producer-actor Vishnu Manchu has revealed he, too, has a version of the epic in the works. Unlike the traditional retelling, his story centres on Ravana’s life from birth to death. In Nayandeep Rakshit’s podcast, Vishnu said, “I approached Suriya in 2009 to play Ram. My father was to play Ravana and Raghavendra Rao was to direct. The script and dialogues are ready, but the budget didn’t work out. Suriya would still be my Ram, Alia Bhatt as Sita. I’d love to play Hanuman, but Raghavendra sir wanted me as Indrajeet.”

Growing up in a Mumbai chawl

Vicky and Sunny Kaushal; Sham Kaushal

Veteran action director Sham Kaushal, father of actors Vicky and Sunny Kaushal, recently opened up about his family’s difficult past when he was still struggling to get work in the Hindi film industry. Recalling their early years in a 10×10 chawl in Mumbai’s Malad, Sham, in a conversation with Aman Aujla, shared, “We didn’t even have a separate bed. We slept on a chatai and a thin mattress laid on a cement floor.” He spoke about facing humiliation at work and crying openly in front of his sons, Vicky and Sunny, saying, “I never hid anything from them.” He also remembered the family’s struggles post his cancer diagnosis in 2003. “I begged God for 10 more years. It’s been 22,” he concluded with a sigh of relief.