Mumbai: Senior film, TV and stage actor Mushtaq Khan passed away of cancer at age 76 in Mumbai Thursday.

The tall strapping comedian brought a spark to the big and small screen, shuffling sideways as he walked, pulling up his trousers and rolling his eyes as he muttered funny one-liners.

Khan had been admitted to Nanavati Hospital since a fortnight.

Birendra Nath Tiwari, president of FWICE (Federation of Western India Cine Employees) told TOI, "He was an artiste of great calibre and a pleasant, affable person. Just six months ago our union helped him recover old dues which a producer owed him. He was undergoing medical treatment at the time."

Khan started his film career with Albert Pinto Ko Gussa Kyon Aata Hai in the mid-70s, then drew attention in Mahesh Bhatt films like Aashiqui, Dil Hai Ki Manta Nahin and Sadak. Khan's comic timing in Hum Hain Rahi Pyar Ke, Jodi No 1, and Welcome, where he played a disabled hockey player, brought the house down.

The serials Wagle Ki Duniya, Chamatkar, Tedhe Medhe Sapne were other highlights. Khan remained circuit active on the OTT circuit as well. He is survived by his wife and two sons.

Mushtaq Khan was born in 1950 in Baihar village, Madhya Pradesh, and lived there until he completed his MA from Balaghat nearby.

He told this reporter in 2019, "I was fond of acting from childhood. I was in class six when I began to perform and sing in school plays. I did some mono acting as well. I cultivated a desire to become a film actor in college where I wrote, acted and directed my own plays."

Khan's father was a garment dealer who was not happy at his son aiming for cinema. However, his elder brother was supportive.

“And then something happened which compelled my father to back my passion. One day a serious fight broke out between a group of students from my college and some policemen. I think a couple of policemen even died of their wounds. The incident blew up and became a talking point. My father felt it was best to send me away from there lest I be drawn into the controversy. I took my chance and came away to Bombay,” he added.

Mushtaq Khan had a friend named Suresh Zargar who guided him to the Bharatiya Jan Natya Manch (later IPTA) to channelise his talent.

"I began to get good work. I did a play called ‘Dronacharya’ by Shankar Shesh which received wide acclaim," he had said.

In 2024, Khan claimed he was abducted on the Delhi-Meerut highway, with kidnappers demanding a ransom of Rs 1 crore. He managed to escape.

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You remember him as Ballu from Welcome (2007), or from films such as Hum Hain Rahi Pyar Ke (1993), Gadar: Ek Prem Katha (2001) and Bala (2019). Veteran actor Mushtaq Khan, a familiar face across Hindi cinema for decades, died in Mumbai on Thursday evening after battling lung cancer. He was 75.

Speaking to us, his business partner Shivam said Khan “had earlier recovered from the disease, but his cancer relapsed eight days ago and he was hospitalised in the terminal stage. He died around 7pm”. The actor was laid to rest at Yari Road Kabristan in Mumbai after Friday’s namaz. He is survived by his wife Salma, and two children, a daughter, Saba, and a son, filmmaker Mohsin Khan.

Tributes poured in from colleagues soon after news of his death. Jaat (2025) co-stars Sunny Deol and Randeep Hooda remembered the actor on social media, while filmmaker Anees Bazmee, who directed him in Welcome (2007), wrote on Instagram, “Shocked and speechless by the passing of Mushtaq Bhai (my balu). A truly remarkable artist and a beautiful soul. May Allah bless his soul and give strength to his family and loved ones.”

Actor Anupam Kher also remembered their years of working together, writing, “Working with Mushtaq Khan Sahab created many beautiful memories. Hearing the news of his passing brought all those days back vividly before my eyes.” Actors Sanjay Mishra and Rakul Preet Singh were among others who offered condolences.

With inputs from Rishabh Suri

Actor-comedian Rajpal Yadav said he met Khan in hospital just hours before his death. Recalling their final meeting, Yadav wrote on Instagram, “This afternoon I went to meet Mushtaq Bhai, talked to him; he saw me, shook my hand and was listening to all our conversations and reacting to them. I still can’t believe that the person I met two hours ago, the person I shook hands with, is no longer among us.”

Yadav had initially shared a video from the hospital meeting but later deleted it and replaced it with a photograph of Khan while paying tribute.

Despite being in hospital dad went away smiling-Mohsin Khan

Even through illness, Mushtaq Khan kept working. His son, filmmaker Mohsin Khan, says his father was shooting until earlier this month. The actor filmed with Rajat Bedi, Chunky Panday and Rajpal Yadav for Tarzan, which marks the debut of Salman Khan’s bodyguard Shera’s son Abir Singh.

“My father was ill for over a year, and we were getting the treatment done. He was responding well to it, but in the last 10 days things got beyond control. He lived a very good life, and despite being in hospital, he went away smiling... He last shot on September 4 at Madh Island,” Mohsin says.

Khan also leaves behind several unreleased projects. “His Telugu film Dada directed by Gopichand Malineni (who also directed Jaat), will be released in December. He has acted in my Hindi-Marathi untitled film with Prathamesh Parab that we intend to release in a few months. He shot for The Vvaan too,” Mohsin says, adding, “My father gave 51 years to this industry in which he acted in over 300 films, OTT series, over 1,000 TV serial episodes.”

Deep Saxena

Celebrity chef Ranveer Brar, who has previously shown his acting skills in Modern Love Mumbai (2022) and The Buckingham Murders (2024), is all set to shoot an international film with a UK-based director.

Planned to roll early next year, the yet-to-be-announced project will see Brar play a biryani chef. “(My character) travels from India to Saudi Arabia where he opens a restaurant in his daughter’s name and then moves to England,” Brar tells us on his visit to hometown Lucknow.

He says the project reflects a larger shift he sees coming in the way food is portrayed on screen.

“Earlier, food (as a category) was limited to recipes. Then it became travel content, reality shows, some short films and social media reels. The food fiction space was vacant and fairly unexplored. But there are so many stories in our culture that revolve around food. In the coming times, I see a lot of stories being made around food. Ab asli food ki kahaniyan kahi jaayengi,” he tells us.

On the short film, he adds, “There is an 18-minute short film Rampher Ki Kulfi with two kulfiwallahs played by Sanjay Mishra and Sharib Hashmi in Old City of Lucknow. It is directed by Lucknow-based Archit D Rasstogi. I came on board as a presenter and it has been screened in various worldwide film festivals. I do feel food and fiction is the next step in content and the audience will also connect to it as we all relate to such stories.”

It was most recently screened at the Mumbai International Film Festival (MIFF 2026) in June and will next travel to International Film Festival of South Asia (IFFSA), Toronto. The film also stars Bhawana Pandey.

Brar recalls that some food-stories based Indian films like Bawarchi (1973), The Lunchbox (2013), Daawat-e-Ishq (2014) and Chef (2017) have been made but they are far and few.

“I am encouraging young writers and makers to come up with content related to food storytelling which I will love to associate and produce. I am already working on this front as we stories all around us – they just need to be tapped in short or long story-telling format,” he says.

Apart from his films, Brar is also gearing up for his next book and a reality show. “My book is on tandoor cooking and it has gone in print. I have also shot a celebrity reality show Yess Chef for YouTube, and we are gearing up for the next season of MasterChef India which will go on floors probably in December,” he ends.

After Kalki 2898 AD (2024) won two National Awards, including Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment and Best Production Design, director Nag Ashwin calls the wins “special”. The recognition marks his second National Award after he was previously honoured for Mahanati. Speaking about the honour, Ashwin says awards were not on his mind while making the film, but he always believed its production design deserved praise.

“Usually during making films, I don’t think of what awards it will get but for Kalki, I always felt that it should get in production design. We were doing some extremely impossible things and I’m very happy that it got that recognition,” says the filmmaker.

Reflecting on the win, Ashwin says the team shared the joy despite being in different places. “We were all in different places but overall I think we all felt an immense gratitude and joy for the recognition,” he says.

The film featured an ensemble cast of Amitabh Bachchan, Prabhas, Deepika Padukone and Kamal Haasan, among others. Ashwin credits the film’s “great actors” for pushing him to be sharper and ensuring that the story and scenes were “up to the mark”.

“Rather than overpower the story, I feel it helped me be sharper on my feet and make sure that the story or the scenes really were up to the mark, to justify the great actors who were playing these roles,” he says.

Recalling the film’s most challenging sequences, Ashwin points to the climax featuring Ashwatthama (Amitabh) battling Bhairava (Prabhas) in Bujji, the three-wheeled AI car, as well as the Mahabharata portions. “It was really a complicated sequence because the action had proper story beats and had to keep improving. And also the Mahabharata sequences,” shares the 40-year-old.

Ashwin also feels the response to films across scales is encouraging. “It’s very exciting as stories now, whether they are small and intimate or larger than life, have somehow seemed to have found their own stable audience and I’m really hoping that this trend continues,” he says.

He adds that Kalki’s success has also inspired filmmakers to explore the genre, although that means he will have to reassess some of the ideas he originally developed years ago. “Kalki has inspired many more to follow this genre... what was original seven years ago while writing it, I’ll have to assess and reimagine sometimes,” he says.

With the film’s box-office success followed by National Award recognition, Ashwin says the focus for its sequel, Kalki 2898 AD – Part 2, will remain on the story rather than expectations. “After the box office success and now the award recognition, what we will strive to do is to still be honest to the story. And make a film that can stand the test of time,” he says.

For Ashwin, that honesty begins with the reason a filmmaker chooses to tell a story in the first place. “I feel the stories that directors want to tell... from inside... not because they need to make their next film or are trying to write something according to the trend. The want to make something should be blind and relentless. I feel only those work, at any point of time,” he concludes.

Last month, reports that comedian-actor Jamie Lever was marrying actor Yashvardhan Ahuja, son of actor Govinda, surfaced online after AI-generated fake wedding videos began circulating.

While Jamie initially found the reports funny, things became uncomfortable when people began believing the videos and contacting her father, actor-comedian Johnny Lever. “Initially, I found it funny. I was like, ‘Oh my God, look at this!’ I was sharing it with my cousins and everybody was laughing,” she recalls.

But what began as something she could laugh about soon took a different turn as the videos continued circulating. “It was shocking. It got really uncomfortable when my dad started getting calls from people abroad saying, ‘Johnny, you fixed your daughter’s wedding but you didn’t tell us. We are highly offended,’” she shares. The calls eventually made the situation difficult to dismiss as just another internet rumour.

“Then my dad was like, now I’m getting out of hand where people are taking offence that you didn’t send an invitation for your daughter’s wedding. Now you need to please publicly clarify that this is not true,” Jamie recalls.

With more AI-generated videos continuing to surface, she felt the situation had gone beyond something she could simply laugh off. “I think the matter was getting a little out of hand because way too many videos started circulating and I was like, now it’s getting a little, like it’s not a laughing matter at all,” she says.

Jamie believes the link-up stemmed from her professional association with Yashvardhan. The two are working together on Sajid Khan’s Hero Ki Horrorine, a horror-comedy.

“We have already announced that Govinda ji’s son Yashvardhan (Ahuja) and I are going to be in a slapstick. And that’s probably why the whole link-up thing started,” she says.

Talking about the film, she adds, “We’ve just gone all out, all crazy, full slapstick. So it’ll be, again, a fun ride that comes out in Jan.”

For the 38-year-old, the episode also reflects the tightrope comedians increasingly have to walk when dealing with audiences who can be quick to react to what they see and hear.

“I think people are becoming overly sensitive. Anything you say, any joke you say, there is an immediate criticism or an immediate opinion about it on social media,” she says, adding, “I play safe when it comes to my comedy so that I don’t offend anyone. This is a full-time responsibility. Comedy is a 24-hour job.”

Jackie Shroff’s Bollywood destiny was apparently written in the stars. During the finale shoot of India’s Best Dancer 5, the actor recalled how his astrologer father predicted that he would find his calling in the film industry, even before he had considered acting as a career.

After completing Grade 11, Shroff was ready to take up a job. But his father had other plans. “My father didn’t speak much. He was focused on his work, and he had some good clients. He predicted my future as well. He told me, ‘Son, you will become an actor.’ And his astrological prediction turned out accurate in my case,” shared Shroff.

Given the dance reality show setting, the actor also recalled his first dance sequence was for the title track of Hero (1983), Apni Taqdeer Toh Hero Hai, informed a source. With no formal dance training, Shroff often found himself caught between conflicting instructions from director Subhash Ghai and late choreographer Saroj Khan.

“The camera was behind me, and there were 12 reflectors shining on my face. I couldn’t keep my eyes open. So Saroj ji would always say, ‘Hey, open your eyes’, while Subhash ji would say, ‘Don’t open them’. So while trying to balance between the two, I would move my head, and then Saroj ji would say, ‘Hey, Dev Saab’s sixth child, don’t move your head.’ Then Subhash ji would say, ‘Move it’,” reminisced the actor.

Shroff admitted that his lack of dance training worked in his favour, as his co-star Meenakshi Seshadri, a trained dancer, carried the song with ease, allowing him to simply play the character.

Movies and shows have a way of turning fictional worlds into real-life destinations. From Rancho-inspired cafés in Leh after 3 Idiots (2009) to fans seeking out Friends’ iconic Central Perk, screen locations often become tourist attractions in their own right.

Now, fans of Netflix’s Musafir Café can step into the world of the show as Vikrant Massey, who plays Chander, has begun work on two real-life Musafir Cafés — one in Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh, and another in Uttarakhand — with his wife, Sheetal Thakur.

A source close to the development said the cafés are being designed along the lines of the one featured in the series. “Work has already begun on it. The idea is to recreate the café seen in the show, along with spaces where artists can stay and work. Around 20 rooms are being designed as residencies for artists,” said the source.

Massey said the idea took shape after the “euphoric response we got for the show”. While fans initially suggested that he open a Musafir Café in the hills, the actor was aware that “as fan service, several Musafir Cafés were already built after Divya Prakash Dubey’s book Musafir Café, [from which the series has been adapted], hit the shelf a decade ago”.

“I was chatting with Divya, Sharanya Rajgopal [show creator], and Vijay Subramaniam [founder of Collective Artistes Network] about how it would be a great idea to recreate the on-screen experience of the show in real life,” explained the actor.

The cafés will offer food, coffee, books, and spaces for visitors to unwind amid nature. Massey hopes they will give people a chance to escape the “hustle and bustle and chaos of the city” and work on projects. He plans to launch the cafés by “summer next year”. 

- Central Perk Coffeehouse in Boston (American sitcom ‘Friends’)

- Twede’s Café in North Bend, Washington (‘Twin Peaks’, 1990)

- Polka Café in Anantnag, Kashmir (Vijay’s ‘Leo’, 2023)

- SH Khan Restaurant on Leh’s Mall Road (‘Dhurandhar’, 2025)

With ‘Hunkkaar: The Roar’, actors Fatima Sana Shaikh, Aneet Padda, and Zoya Hussain have come together to tell the story of a 17-year-old who accuses a self-proclaimed Godman of sexual assault. Even as Hussain is happy that the JioHotstar series examines blind faith and demands consequences for sexual assault, it’s not lost on her that “the endless list” of microaggressions that women face goes unchecked.

Sharing an uncomfortable situation, the actor told mid-day, “You are taking public transport, and the men will stand extremely close to you and brush past your chest or bum. This is an everyday occurrence.”

Hussain added that misogyny is not something that women experience only outside their homes. “When somebody comes home for some work, they will speak to my partner way more respectfully than to me. There are so many microaggressions. It’s part of being a woman in this world,” she rued.

In sharp contrast to her attitude and beliefs is her role in ‘Hunkkaar’ — Hussain plays a disciple of the Godman. The actor said yes to the role as she saw it as a chance to learn about people who have blind faith. “On reading my part, my immediate feeling was why is she saying nothing, why is she obeying. But it explains itself. I have fortunately stuck with strong roles. So, it was interesting to explore this.”

Parvez Kazi with Salman Khan; (right) Parvez Kazi in action. Pics/Instagram, YouTube

When Salman Khan reported for the latest schedule of his next, apparently titled Monster, this week, he had a trusted face in the unit. The superstar’s body double Parvez Kazi, who underwent a heart procedure in early August and was on the road to recovery, has resumed work on Vamshi Paidipally’s directorial venture. Kazi’s return comes at a crucial point — the unit is currently filming a fight sequence set in a train, which is one of the most important action blocks in the movie. 

A source from the set revealed to mid-day that Paidipally has envisioned it as a high-octane sequence that sees Khan’s character take on a group of baddies.

The source said, “It’s a fairly complicated train sequence, with a lot of movement and coordination. Parvez knows exactly how Salman would approach every beat, which is why his presence is so valuable. The scene is currently being shot at a set in Aarey Colony, Goregaon.”

Kazi’s absence throughout August and early September meant that Khan had to step in and perform several set-pieces for Monster, which is billed as an action extravaganza. Now, with Kazi back on duty, the team is hoping to wrap up the portion soon.

The source added, “Parvez’s return has come as a huge relief for the team. He knows Salman’s movements and body language so well that having him around makes the process much quicker. Monster has some of Salman’s most difficult stunts; the actor and Parvez together are a dream team who know exactly how to pull it off.” 

About 50 days of work is said to be left on the film, which stars Nayanthara as the leading lady.

Parvez Kazi has been Salman Khan’s body double for many years, having worked with him on ‘Prem Ratan Dhan Payo’ (2015), ‘Tiger Zinda Hai’ (2017),‘Race 3’ (2018), ‘Bharat’ (2019), and ‘Dabangg 3’ (2019).

On paper, Fatima Sana Shaikh’s character of ACP Jasleen Singh Soin was wafer-thin. Yet, the actor gave her nod to Hunkkaar: The Roar for a simple reason. She knew there was enough scope to flesh her character out, thanks to creators Nitya Mehra and Karan Kapadia.

“This is my first cop role. What profession you play is not important, your character’s motive is. Here, I knew there was a scope of a conversation between the makers and me to flesh out the character,” she began.

The JioHotstar series sees Shaikh’s cop investigate a case where a minor, portrayed by Aneet Padda, accuses a spiritual guru of sexual assault. The actor considers it one of her most creatively enriching experiences as the makers treated her as an equal. But that hasn’t been Shaikh’s experience in every room.

She elaborated, “In the same room, where they say they want you to play a strong part and lead a female-oriented project, they don’t want to hear your voice. So, the irony is that they want you to play a character who has a voice, but they don’t want you to voice your opinion.” 

The patriarchal attitude extends to women artistes too. Shaikh noted that many female artistes distance themselves from feminism. “Feminism is looked at as an abuse by them. It’s shocking that there are actresses who say they aren’t feminists. By being a feminist, I’m not snatching away a man’s rights; I’m just asking for equal rights for myself,” she said, before praising Priyanka Chopra.

“Priyanka Chopra calls herself a feminist and has a huge male fan base. If your intention is clear and you aren’t dumb about it, people will listen to you.”