Aditya Yadav (BOMBAY TIMES; February 23, 2019)

Janhvi Kapoor is in Lucknow and is busy shooting the biopic Kargil Girl, based on Indian Air Force fighter pilot Gunjan Saxena. In the film, Janhvi is portraying the character of Gunjan, who is the first female combat pilot of the IAF and was awarded the Shaurya Chakra for her bravery during the 1999 Kargil war.

Recently, Janhvi canned a few scenes of the film along with National Award winning actor Pankaj Tripathi in Lucknow.

The scene was of Janhvi sitting in the car while Tripathi, who plays Anup Saxena, Gunjan’s father in the film, is driving the car. Several fans of the Dhadak actress and Stree actor were spotted shouting out their names and waving at them. Later, after the scene was canned, as Janhvi headed to her vanity, a huge crowd gathered around her for selfies with her.

The film, which is being directed by Sharan Sharma, will be shot extensively in Lucknow at various places including a college. The film also stars Ayesha Raza and Angad Bedi. The shooting which began last week is expected to wrap up around the first week of March, post which the actors will return to Mumbai.

Rachit Gupta (BOMBAY TIMES; October 15, 2018)

Filmmaker Luv Ranjan, who’s made the successful Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety (SKTKS) and Pyaar Ka Punchnama (PKP) movies, was accused of sexual harassment by an anonymous actress. Since then, the director has denied all allegations and had issued a statement where he also apologised. Actress Nushrat Bharucha, who has worked with Ranjan in SKTKS, PKP and many other movies, too issued a statement recently, supporting the director and vouching for his integrity.

In her open letter, Nushrat stated that the #MeToo movement was a significant one, but she also criticised false accusations. She narrated her first meeting with Ranjan and his team, where she was informed of her role in PKP and that she would be required to wear a bikini and have kissing scenes, too. She recalled that both Ranjan and his team were thoroughly professional. Her statement further read, “The one main reason I have worked with Luv Ranjan and his team over and over again, is that I feel safe, I feel protected, respected and cared for. They have, in fact, always given me the courage to take action against any such wrongdoings. Every girl in his unit, right from an actor to an AD to a costume stylist to a set designer to a line producer to our hair and make-up staff, has been given that same backing, that same power to come forward and report anything inappropriate and no matter who the man in question was, be assured that he would be reprimanded/fired from his unit. And as a matter of fact, in every such case, has been. Now, it was up to us to use this power responsibly and I am sure every girl in his unit would have her own story to tell.”

Nushrat also narrated incidents when Ranjan was prompt to act on sexual harassment complaints on the sets of the films that they worked on together. She revealed, “I also remember a day during the filming of Akaash Vani when we packed up and I was walking out of my make-up room, I saw a female crew member crying silently in the corner. We heard her story and implored her to go and report it to Sir right away, knowing he would take action against whoever it was. And he did. He fired the man at once and made sure extra caution was taken to ensure no one tried anything like that again on set. Ayesha Raza Mishra ji talked about an incident on the set of SKTKS, where a female crew member had been a victim of inappropriate behaviour by a male actor. Luv Sir took a stand and fired the actor from the film, recast and reshot those scenes.”

Nushrat’s co-star from the PKP films, Sonnalli Seygall had also come out in support of Ranjan recently. In her statement, Nushrat called Ranjan a man she trusts. She also added, “These are his beliefs and these have been his actions. He has been a shield for us all and protected and guided us whenever we’ve felt uncomfortable with anything or anyone.” Nushrat’s full statement can be read on her social media handles, too.

Priya Gupta (BOMBAY TIMES; June 25, 2014)

We know that Amitabh Bachchan's upcoming fictional show on television Yudh will see him play a real estate baron. We have learnt that in the show he has two wives, the first, acclaimed actor Sarika and the second, theatre artiste Ayesha Raza. What makes it interesting is that the name of his construction company in the serial is Shanti Constructions. You would recall that Yash Chopra's Trishul had Amitabh Bachchan name his company Shanti Constructions after his mother Shanti, whom his father, played by Sanjeev Kumar, had left to get married to another woman. While the comparison between Trishul and Yudh is inevitable, it will be interesting to see if there are any other similarities in the two stories. Well, we can't wait to see Big B acting on our small screens. 

Asira Tarannum (MID-DAY; June 16, 2014)

Earlier this month, hitlist had reported that the producers of Amitabh Bachchan’s show, Yudh, had issued a gag order to its cast and crew in order to keep details about the show under wraps. But it seems that despite strict instructions to remain tightlipped about the show, some artistes spoke to the media. When Endemol got word about this, the production house apparently told the casting director to fire those artistes.

But fortunately for these names, series director Anurag Kashyap has stepped in and apparently requested them to reconsider their decision.

Says a source, “ Zakir Hussain and Ayesha Raza broke the rules mentioned in the contract; apparently, they gave quotes to a journalist. Endemol wanted to replace them due to this violation but Anurag called the production house and requested them to not let these actors go.”

Anurag was not available for comment, ditto for actor Zakir Hussain and actress Ayesha Raza, who is also a part of Zoya Akhtar’s film, Dil Dhadakne Do.

But a friend of Zakir Hussain says, “He is still in an NDA ( non disclosure agreement) with Endemol, so he can’t say talk about anything related to the show.” The production head of Endemol also remained unavailable for comment.