Entertainment

Veteran actor Mukesh Khanna has spoken out in support of Shah Rukh Khan after criticism emerged over the actor receiving his first National Film Award. Khan was recently honoured for his performance in Jawan, a milestone many fans and industry members celebrated after his 33-year career in Hindi cinema.

However, the decision has not been without controversy. Actress Urvashi, who won Best Supporting Actress for her role in Ullozhukku, publicly questioned the jury’s criteria and raised concerns about fairness, particularly in regard to South Indian cinema being underrepresented.

In response, Khanna addressed the issue during a conversation with IANS, cautioning against politicising the awards. “To suggest that someone from the South should have won instead is also a political statement,” he said. Drawing parallels, he reminded critics that “A R Rahman received the Oscar for ‘Jai Ho,’ not for the many other beautiful compositions he created before.”

Khanna also emphasised Shah Rukh Khan’s long-standing contribution to the film industry. “He’s been working hard for the past 40 years — so what’s wrong if he finally gets a National Award?” he added.

Following the announcement, Khan shared a personal video message expressing gratitude for the recognition. Reflecting on the award, he said, “A National Award is not just about achievement. It’s a reminder that what I do matters… to be heard — truly heard — is a blessing.”

He further described the honour not as a conclusion, but a motivation to “keep going, keep working hard, keep creating.” Khan called acting “a responsibility to show the truth on screen.”

The Tamil Nadu theatrical rights holder of Telugu actor Vijay Deverakonda-starrer Kingdom has approached the Madras High Court to restrain Naam Tamilar Katchi (NTK) chief coordinator S. Seeman and his followers from interfering with the screening of the movie in cinema halls on the alleged ground that it portrays the Tamil Eelam issue in a derogatory manner.

The writ petitioner SSI Production also sought a direction to the Director General of Police, Greater Chennai Commissioner of Police and Coimbatore Commissioner of Police to provide adequate police protection to the cinema theatres screening the movie that has been released in Tamil, Telugu and Hindi. The petition has been listed for hearing before Justice D. Bharatha Chakravarthy on Wednesday (August 6, 2025).

Filing an affidavit in support of the writ petition, K. Abhilash of SSI Production stated that the trilingual movie Kingdom had been produced with a huge budget of ₹130 crore. It had been produced by Sithara Entertainments and directed by Gowtam Tinnanuri, who had received the national award for his previous film ‘Jersey’ under the best Telugu film category.

Further stating that famous music composer Anirudh Ravichander from Tamil Nadu had scored the music for Kingdom, the deponent said the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) too had issued a certificate on July 30, 2025 for its theatrical release. However, on August 4, Mr. Seeman had raised a complaint about the movie by tweeting on his X handle.

This had led to his followers issuing threats to some of the cinema theatre owners in Chennai and Coimbatore against the screening of the movie. “Some cinema hall owners have already expressed apprehension and reluctance to continue screening the film due to the fear of law and order disturbances…  It has also created fear among the general Public and theatre staff,” the deponent said.

Pointing out the CBFC was the statutory authority to certify whether a film was fit for public exhibition or not, the petitioner said the political parties could not take law into their hands and prevent the exhibition of movies. It would amount to curtailing the fundamental right to speech and expression and the police were duty bound to interfere when such a right gets threatened, it added.

The petitioner also relied upon the Supreme Court verdicts in S. Rangarajan versus P. Jagjivan Ram (1989) and Nachiketa Walhekar versus CBFC (2018) wherein it had been held that once a film had been cleared for public screening by the CBFC, it could not be subjected to extrajudicial censorship or prevented from public screening by private individuals or organisations.

Ozzy Osbourne died of a heart attack on July 22 at the age of 76, according to his death certificate, which was obtained by The New York Times this week. The document lists out-of-hospital cardiac arrest as the immediate cause, along with acute myocardial infarction and underlying conditions including coronary artery disease and Parkinson’s disease with autonomic dysfunction.

The certificate, filed at a register office in the London borough of Hillingdon, was submitted by Osbourne’s daughter, Aimée Osbourne. The Associated Press has requested confirmation from the local registry office but has not yet received a response. Osbourne’s representatives have also not commented publicly on the document.

The former Black Sabbath frontman had long struggled with health issues. He revealed in 2020 that he had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease following complications from a fall. Despite ongoing health concerns, Osbourne continued to make public appearances and perform selectively.

His final show took place in his hometown of Birmingham just weeks before his death. Fans gathered in large numbers to pay tribute to the musician, who closed the concert seated on a black throne. “You have no idea how I feel — thank you from the bottom of my heart,” he said during the performance. “You’re all … special.”

Osbourne, widely known for pioneering heavy metal and later gaining unexpected fame through reality television, was surrounded by family at the time of his death. His family’s official statement asked for privacy and confirmed that he had died peacefully.

Tributes have continued to pour in from fans and fellow musicians, many of whom have cited Osbourne’s impact on rock and metal over the last five decades. Plans for a public memorial have not yet been announced.

Actor Deepika Padukone has set a new record on Instagram with a promotional reel that has become the most-viewed video on the platform, registering over 1.9 billion views. The reel, posted on June 9 as part of a paid partnership with hotel chain Hilton, has surpassed all previous viewership records on Instagram.

The video is part of Hilton’s global campaign titled “It Matters Where You Stay,” in which Padukone serves as a brand ambassador. The reel achieved this milestone in less than two months, overtaking content from other high-profile personalities including Hardik Pandya and Cristiano Ronaldo. Prior to this, the most-watched reels included Pandya’s BGMI partnership video at 1.6 billion views and a promotional video for a smartphone at 1.4 billion.

Despite being a standard brand collaboration, the reel saw unusually high engagement across social media platforms. With over 80 million Instagram followers, Padukone’s online presence remains one of the strongest among Indian public figures.

Fans responded actively in the comments, noting the unexpected reach of the video. Several posts highlighted the significance of the milestone, pointing out that it is rare for any piece of Instagram content to cross the billion-view mark.

Padukone’s social media achievement follows recent recognition from the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, which announced she will receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2026.

In terms of upcoming projects, Padukone was last seen in Singham Again. She is set to appear in AA22xA6, a pan-Indian science fiction film directed by Atlee, and is expected to return in the sequel to Kalki 2898 AD.

The makers of Janaki V Vs State of Kerala, the controversial Malayalam film starring Suresh Gopi and Anupama Parameswaran, have announced the film’s OTT release. The Pravin Narayanan-directed courtroom drama will premiere on ZEE5 on Independence Day, August 15.

ZEE5 unveiled a new trailer of the film to announce the news. “Janaki, a woman silenced by society, rises with unshakable courage to take on the state itself. As the courtroom turns into a battlefield, her truth begins to shake the foundation of law and order,” reads the logline by the streamer. Anupama plays Janaki Vidhyadharan, a sexual assault survivor, while Suresh plays her counsel, David Abel Donovan.

Janaki V Vs State of Kerala, which was released in theatres on July 17, made headlines for several weeks ahead of its release. The film courted controversy after the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) demanded that the makers change the title as well as the name of the titular character of Janaki, apparently because the name also refers to the Hindu goddess Sita.

Later, the revising committee of the CBFC also rejected certification for the film. The decision led to a political uproar in Kerala, with many film bodies organising protests against the censor board. Stating that films bearing similar names had been released earlier, the Kerala High Court sought an explanation from the CBFC and asked whether the changes suggested were a challenge to the freedom of creative expression.

The CBFC later cleared the release of the re-edited version of film, which was re-titled as Janaki V. v/s State of Kerala.

Also starring Divya Pillai, Sruthi Ramachandran, Askar Ali, Madhav Suresh Gopi, and Baiju Sandosh, the film has music scored by Gireesh Narayanan and background score by Ghibran. Renadive is the cinematographer, while Samjith Mohammed is the editor. J Phanindra Kumar produces the film under the Cosmos Entertainments banner.

The Hindu’s review of the film read, “For a courtroom drama, there is hardly any scene that makes an impact. As if to excite the audience lulled by the sluggish drama, there is an unnecessary jump scare sequence, which seems inspired from a B-grade horror movie. Songs further drag down the narrative. With its insensitive take on an important issue, Janaki V Vs State of Kerala becomes a film as pointless as the letter ‘V’, which was added to Janaki’s name to satisfy the whims of the censors.”

La Compagnie Dramatique, a theatre collective from Mumbai is in the city and will present two engaging performances this weekend. The first is a theatrical reading of Ajay Krishnan’s Butter and Mashed Banana, followed by the The Open Couple the next day.

The Open Couple was written in 1983 by Italian playwright Dario Fo and his wife Franca Rame. It is a farce that explores the ideas of equality, hypocrisy and politics in a marriage.

According to Faraz Khan, who is directing this production of The Open Couple, “the writing was beautiful and the satire brilliant,” reasons he felt were more than enough to take up the play, apart from the legacy of Dario Fo who was a revolutionary in his own right.

Even though he was captivated by Dari0’s work, Faraz who saw himself as a “dramatic” actor, was reluctant to take on comic works until he was persuaded by fellow actor Vaishali Bisht’s argument that “theatre requires imagination”.

A scene from The Open Couple by La Compagnie Dramatique
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

“I believe all good writers craft like music and there is a beautiful, poetic sort of rhythm within the dialogues of Dario’s work. I began getting a lot of interesting ideas and soon I knew I wanted to treat certain sections of the play with sound,” says Faraz.

“I realised I didn’t have to think so much; I could trust my instinct and direct the piece,” he adds.

The Open Couple by La Compagnie Dramatique debuted in Hyderabad in 2013 and has been staged around 45 times across the country since then. Following a break in 2017, the troupe revived it again last year.

“It is something we are proud of because we’ve applied a lot of different nuances to it, including commedia dell’arte, which is an Italian comedic art form,” says Faraz.

La Compagnie Dramatique will also be presenting a theatrical reading of Ajay Krishnan’s Butter and Mashed Banana, a play they found at The Drama Library, an online repository of plays by little and not-too-well known writers, which is maintained by The Basha Centre for Performing Arts in Bengaluru.

“It is a marvellous piece of writing and one piece every member of our group felt we could perform when we read the entire script. We have received permission from Ajay for the reading,” says Faraz, adding that audiences will be treated to a cross between “a reading and a staged production.”

Butter and Mashed Banana will be presented on August 8 at Atta Galatta at 7.30pm; The Open Couple will be staged on August 9 at Jagriti Theatre at 3.30pm and 7.30pm. Tickets available on BookMyShow

Myth, Memory, Meaning showcases the works of four contemporary women artists — Ashu Gupta, Rakhee Shenoy, Smruthi Gargi Eswar, and Sukanya Garg. Much like the artists themselves, each of the works on display encapsulates a different style of creative expression.

The media employed by these artists include the use of thread, gold leaf and paper as well as acrylic to design works that bid viewers to look deeper into each piece.

While it may seem unusual, Delhi-based artist Sukanya Garg says the inspiration for her work with gold leaf, stemmed from herself. “I’ve had an auto immune condition for quite a while now and once when I was sick, I started drawing cells. I suppose it was a subconscious action — I would draw a circle with a dot much like a symbolic cell. Initially, the act of repetition was a distraction and calmed me; later, I began to create other works building on this style.”

This was almost a decade ago and over the years of exploring alternative practices to ease her condition, Sukanya came across Kambo, a folk healing method practised by a few communities in the Amazon that include cauterisation to specific points of the body in an attempt to purge it of toxins.

Her present work on display at Artisera are reminiscent of this method — crafted on paper and using gold pens and gold leaf, a medium she began using around three years ago. The exhibition show cases around 19 pieces by Sukanya, a former economist with no exposure to the art field prior to her illness.

Bengaluru-based Smriti Gargi Eswar is well known for her series titled Sister Misfortune on goddesses, and though the works on display at Myth, Memory, Meaning also revolve around mythology, the artist says they are a part of her new series The Centre is Everywhere.

The Journey by Smriti Gargi Eswar on display at Myth, Memory, Meaning
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

“These are based on the concept of how geometrical shapes essentially converge to a centre,” says Smriti. “In Cosmology, there is no centre to the universe — everything is central to itself. Similarly in mythology, there is no central God but many heroes, many points of reference. It is not monotheistic, and I wanted to bring to light hidden mythologies from the Indian epics.”

Though she has worked with various media in the past, especially graphic art, Smriti has used acrylic on canvas to juxtapose fabled creatures and places exist with geometric shapes and lines.

Myth, Memory, Meaning will be on view at Artisera till August 16. Entry free on all days; on Sundays by appointment.

Excel Entertainment on Tuesday (August 5) unveiled the teaser of its upcoming military action film, 120 Bahadur, headlined by actor and producer Farhan Akhtar. Directed by Razneesh Ghai, the film is set to release in theatres on November 21.

The teaser shows glimpses of an intense story set against the backdrop of the 1962 Indo-China war. The film recounts the legendary Battle of Rezang La, in which soldiers of Charlie Company, 13 Kumaon Regiment, displayed unparalleled courage, heroism, and sacrifice as they took on 3000 Chinese soldiers. Farhan plays Param Vir Chakra recipient Major Shaitan Singh, who spearheaded the mission.

“My father once said this uniform demands not just courage but also sacrifice. Today, that moment has come. I am ready to fight till the last bullet, the last step, and the last drop of my blood – but I will not retreat. We will not fall back,” says Major Shaitan Singh, as we are shown glimpses of the intense battle.

With Raashii Khanna playing the female lead, the film also stars Sparsh Walia, Ajinkya Ramesh Deo, Eijaz Khan, Vivan Bhathena, Ankit Siwach, Ashutosh Shukla, Atul Singh, Brijesh Karanwal, Devendra Ahirwar, Dhanveer Singh, Digvijay Pratap, and Sahib Verma.

Amit Trivedi is the music composer. The film has cinematography by Tetsuo Nagata and editing by Rameshwar S Bhagat.

120 Bahadur is written by Rajiv G Menon, with Sumit Arora penning the dialogues. The film is backed by Ritesh Sidhwani and Farhan Akhtar’s Excel Entertainment, in collaboration with Amit Chandrra’s Trigger Happy Studios.