Manjari Fadnnis posted a disturbing video on her Instagram on Monday night where the visibly devastated actor recounted how a dog from her housing society named Mikey was brutally killed and dumped at the beach by miscreants.

Fadnnis, known for her work in the 2008 film Jaane Tu... Ya Jaane Na, tells us that Mikey went missing from her society in Madh Island last month. “I thought he might be hanging around somewhere but after a few days passed, we got worried and started searching for him,” she shares, adding that after over a week, a neighbour told her that Mikey had been brutally hit and was dumped in a half-dead stage on the beach, but his body hasn’t been found yet.

The actor informs that her society members, along with an NGO, are contemplating legal action against the culprits. “How can someone do this?” she questions with a lump in her throat.

Mikey had come into Fadnnis’ life about five years back, and became an important part of it: “He used to stay near my staircase. I got very close to him over time. I would play with him, take care of him, give him baths, and get his tail trimmed.”

In her video, Fadnnis shared that the informant confessed that Mikey was sleeping quietly in the building’s basement area when he was hit on his head, dragged on the staircase and hit some more till he started bleeding from his mouth. “In a half-dead stage, they put him inside a goni (sack) and threw him off into this khadi (creek),” she added.

Actors Bhumi Satish Pednekar, Ridhima Pandit, Upasana Singh, Sonal Chauhan and others came in support of Fadnnis on social media, demanding strict action against the culprits.

Rahul Roy isn’t having the narrative written for him. After a wave of viral reels and chatter questioning his finances, the Aashiqui (1990) star took to Instagram to set the record straight, pushing back against claims that he’s struggling or has been left on his own.

“I’m safe and I’m well taken care by my sister and brother-in-law. I live at my sister’s place. We have a lovely house in Madh… I’m deeply loved by her, which makes me the luckiest brother in the world,” he wrote.

“I have clothes, I have shoes, I have food, I have car, I’m not a abandoned person on road… the way fake videos are coming out is not true,” Roy added that his lifestyle choices – whether it’s keeping things simple or skipping a bodyguard – are his own.

“I always think work is work… I waited for good work enough for long but it doesn’t come, I cannot sit and waste myself. I did those reels with simplicity not with clever thoughts (sic),” he said.

In March, actor and producer Sohum Shah indicated that he was going bigger with Tumbbad 2 as he announced the addition of Nawazuddin Siddiqui to the cast. What if we now told you that the stakes have risen with the addition of a superstar? mid-day has heard whispers that Alia Bhatt is set to make a special appearance in the folk horror film, which is currently on floors in Mumbai. 

Sources have told us that Bhatt’s appearance, despite its short length, marks a pivotal point in the story. A source revealed, “The makers needed someone who brings gravitas and intrigue in a short screen time. Alia fit that space.”

Director Adesh Prasad’s sequel will further explore the cursed mythology surrounding the deity of Hastar, and the consequences of awakening forces that were never meant to be worshipped.

From what we’ve heard, the actor will face the camera on May 3, before flying out briefly to the US. She is expected to resume work after May 6. “The shoot is tightly planned with an elaborate set constructed in Madh Island. Alia will shoot for two days in all. Since she is making an appearance at the Met Gala on May 4, the makers have brought a double for some patch scenes,” said a unit insider.

Everyone has wanted to see more of Aneet Padda ever since she broke out with the sleeper hit, Saiyaara (2025). What if we told you that you’ll see two of her in her next, Shakti Shalini? mid-day has exclusively learnt that Padda plays a double role in Aditya Sarpotdar’s directorial venture, which is the next chapter in the Maddock Horror Comedy Universe.

As the film’s title suggests, producer and co-writer Amar Kaushik and director Sarpotdar have etched out two powerful roles for the actor — the protector Shakti, and the evil force Shalini. From what we’ve heard, the horror comedy will see Shakti as an ordinary woman who transforms into an indestructible force when her family is attacked by an evil spirit.

A source told us, “Rooted in Bengali folklore and mythology, the movie revolves around the eternal battle between good and evil. The story is about a vengeful female ghost, dwelling in trees and water bodies, who punishes men, as she was betrayed and killed in a brutal manner. In Bengal, the goddess invoked to destroy evil spirits is Goddess Kali. She is recognised as the ultimate form of Shakti. Here, the character Shakti is pitted against the spirit.”

Sarpotdar took the project, also starring Vishal Jethwa and Viineet Kumar Siingh, on floors in Mumbai last month. The unit is currently shooting in Madh Island, where a massive set, depicting a small town in West Bengal, has been built.

The source added, “Next, they will head to Madhya Pradesh for an extensive schedule. Crucial scenes will be filmed in Datia, Gwalior, Morena, and other towns.”

Weeks after mid-day reported that Tumbbad 2 is in the works (Khatarnaak combo, March 4), it’s time for Nawazuddin Siddiqui to step into the world of fear and folklore. We’ve heard that the actor and Sohum Shah, who is co-producing the sequel, will kick off the shoot in Madh Island today with an elaborate opening sequence that involves 200 people.

Adesh Prasad, who was one of the writers on Tumbbad (2018), is directing the second part. “On the first day, the crowd will be smaller, but by March 28 and 29, the scale will increase. A massive crowd sequence is being shot. Adesh wanted to start with the opening sequence itself; it is designed as a major set-piece that establishes the scale of the world imagined,” said a source.

A few days ago, Siddiqui and Shah were spotted in Madh Island, where the set was being built over weeks. Details about Siddiqui’s role remain under wraps, but the source indicated that his character has dark shades.

“It’s not a straightforward antagonist. Sohum has been involved at every stage — from script development to building the film’s look.”

Actor Sudha Chandran recently took to Instagram to share a video of herself stuck in traffic in Mumbai’s Madh Island, voicing her frustration over the poor state of roads in the city she was born and lives in.

Speaking to us, she says, “You wake up charged up to work, but due to the traffic, bad roads and mismanagement, you get so tired and annoyed by the time you reach on set. It deteriorates our physical health too.”

The 60-year-old adds that the worsening conditions are now directly impacting her work. “As an actor, I never come late on set. But nowadays, due to the state of the roads, at times, I reach 45 minutes late. The work gets delayed, it causes a monetary loss and the stress also builds on your mind,” she shares.

She further points out the lack of traffic regulation despite ongoing construction: “There is no officer deputed to regulate the traffic. Nowadays, I don’t ask about my role but the shoot location while choosing work.”

While Sudha acknowledges the need for development, she stresses that it must not come at the cost of people’s livelihoods. “It’s a vicious circle, and all of us need to raise our voices. There is a limit to how much your patience can be tested. It’s time to wake up. I understand that development is important, but regulation is equally important,” she ends.

In January, mid-day reported that Ayushmann Khurrana and Sara Ali Khan’s yet-untitled spy comedy was in limbo ever since the first schedule was concluded in 2024 (Intermission comes before the film, Jan 20). Things appear to have swiftly progressed on the Karan Johar and Guneet Monga production in the last two months. It has been learnt that the leads shot an extensive schedule in Mumbai in February, including a massive song sequence.

Originally, first-time director Aakash Kaushik wanted to film the song, titled ‘Jai Hind’, in real locations in Delhi and Mumbai. However, when that didn’t materialize, the makers decided to shoot it on a set at Madh Island in Mumbai.

A source told mid-day, “‘Jai Hind’ is set against the Independence Day celebration that happens in Delhi. More than 700 dancers and junior artistes were roped in for the song that depicts the Independence Day parade. Karan and Guneet felt that a colourful, patriotic song, mounted on a grand scale, would add to the spy comedy’s appeal. It appears at a critical juncture in the movie. Ayushmann and Sara shot the track in two days.”

We’ve heard that the unit has an end-credit number to be filmed before Kaushik can call it a wrap on the project. The makers are apparently eyeing a mid-2026 release.

On February 28, Sohum Shah’s Crazxy opened in cinemas. The following Monday, the actor-producer was back on the set, reshooting the thriller’s climax. In an unusual post-release move, Shah and director Girish Kohli altered the climax of Crazxy. “It was a quick shoot in Madh Island,” says the actor.

In Crazxy, Shah’s character, a doctor, is given one day to save his daughter who has been abducted. The earlier climax entailed a big reveal regarding the mastermind behind the kidnapping. But the actor admits that it left the audience underwhelmed, prompting the makers to rework it for a stronger impact. 

He analyses, “People liked the film a lot, but found the climax a bit underwhelming. We understood this largely in the reviews. I wanted to make something more than a thriller. The climax didn’t land as much as we wanted to, so we listened to people’s feedback, then brainstormed and arrived at an idea. I think the current film, with the new climax, adheres to our commitment to make a thriller with a heart. Every father should watch this movie,” he states.

Crazxy with its revised ending hit the screens on March 7, a week after its original release, and Shah says there has been an uptick in its performance since. “With the new climax, we noticed that the footfall is higher. Our second Saturday’s [collections] are slightly more than that of the first Saturday. There is not much star value to Crazxy; it’s a solo-actor experimental film. And today, the cinema viewing culture has become such that on the third day, the film’s [box-office run] ends. But here, it’s picking up slowly,” says the actor-producer, proud that like his horror film Tumbbad (2018), Crazxy too is benefiting from positive word of mouth.

“This change wouldn’t have been possible if it was a studio-helmed film. The idea itself would have got lost in e-mail chains. I am the actor and the producer. I work on Sundays and I could shoot this on Monday. This translated quickly because I had the agency to make decisions.”

- Imtiaz Ali’s Love Aaj Kal (2009) initially had a bittersweet ending in which the leads didn’t reunite. But after mixed reactions in the test screenings, a new happily-ever-after ending was filmed.

- The original ending of Sholay (1975) had Thakur killing Gabbar Singh by kicking him onto a nail. However, the Central Board of Film Certification objected to the depiction of vigilante justice, which led director Ramesh Sippy to reshoot the climax.

Right after the Diwali festivities, it will be work calling Yash. The Kannada superstar, along with co-actor Nayanthara, will dive into the next leg of Toxic: A Fairy Tale for Grown-ups. The buzz is that director Geetu Mohandas will lead an extensive Mumbai schedule from November 6. While Film City will serve as the primary venue for the shoot, an additional set is being built at Madh Island.

Right after the Diwali festivities, it will be work calling Yash. The Kannada superstar, along with co-actor Nayanthara, will dive into the next leg of Toxic: A Fairy Tale for Grown-ups. The buzz is that director Geetu Mohandas will lead an extensive Mumbai schedule from November 6. While Film City will serve as the primary venue for the shoot, an additional set is being built at Madh Island. 

While Nayanthara plays Yash’s on-screen sister in the actioner revolving around the drug mafia, Kiara Advani portrays his love interest. In this leg, the KGF superstar and Nayanthara will wrap up most of their combination scenes. Some critical action sequences are also on the cards.

The source added, “The action will be raw and gritty, with an emphasis on physicality. Fifty stunt experts have been roped in for these scenes. Kiara and Akshay Oberoi will also be a part of this schedule.”

It’s almost pack-up time for Sunny Deol on Lahore 1947. On Tuesday, director Rajkumar Santoshi will call it a wrap on his period drama, which went on floors in Mumbai in February. Sources tell us that the actor-director duo had an intensive schedule that has brought them to the finish line.

“It has been a non-stop 70-day schedule. Over the last few weeks, the unit was shooting the climax, which involved an elaborate train sequence, at Film City,” says a source close to the production.

Backed by Aamir Khan, Lahore 1947 also stars Preity Zinta, Shabana Azmi, Karan Deol, Ali Fazal and Mithun Chakraborty. As soon as the shoot is completed on August 12, Santoshi will dive headlong into editing.

“There will be a few days of patch work, but the principal photography is almost done. They are on track for a January 2025 release. Raj-ji is excited about what he has been able to capture through the film. Besides the climax, he is particularly proud about how the ambitious crowd scenes have shaped up. The team had created two grand sets at Film City and Madh Island for the project,” says the insider.

While the movie marks Deol’s first collaboration with Khan, it is his fourth offering with Santoshi after Ghayal (1990), Damini (1993) and Ghatak (1996).

In January, mid-day had reported that Vikrant Massey was headlining The Sabarmati Report that is centred on the real-life episode of the burning of the Sabarmati Express in 2002 (That burning question, Jan 17). While director Ranjan Chandel’s political thriller rolled in December 2023 in Ahmedabad, the leading man had taken a paternity leave in the first week of February to be by wife Sheetal Thakur’s side. We now hear that the new daddy has resumed the shoot that is underway at Madh Island.

On February 27, 2002, 59 Hindu pilgrims returning from Ayodhya were killed in a blaze in the four coaches of the Sabarmati Express near Godhra railway station in Gujarat. It had led to one of the worst communal riots in Gujarat. The Ektaa R Kapoor production sees Massey and Raashii Khanna play journalists who investigate the cause of the fire.

“Since January, Ranjan sir has been continuously shooting on a huge set in Madh Island, where art director Rajat Poddarr and his production design team have built replicas of trains and the Godhra railway station. Vikrant had informed the director beforehand that he would take a few days off in February as Sheetal and he were expecting. So, the schedule was planned such that Ranjan sir and DoP Amlendu Choudhury shot portions featuring Raashii, Ridhi Dogra and the supporting cast in that window. Vikrant was back on set a few days after welcoming his baby boy on February 7,” reveals a source.

If things go as planned, the director will call it a wrap on The Sabarmati Report next week. The source adds, “The editing has begun so that the movie can make its May 3 release.” Playing out over a decade, the narrative begins in 2002 and touches on events in 2007 and 2012.

An elaborate round of scouting for appropriate locations to film Sunny Deol’s next came to an end after the makers of Lahore 1947 zeroed in on Vrundavan shooting studio at Madh Island.

A source tells mid-day of the film that will be backed by Aamir Khan’s production house, that the makers have set up a refugee camp for the shoot. “[Director] Rajkumar Santoshi has a certain palette and vision in mind for the scenes. This shoot will be different from the ones that have been canned by Aamir Khan Productions. Aamir is certain that the director will run with his vision, and his role will be relegated to that of a producer alone. The first day of shooting is February 12. This week, the team will be working on the logistics,” says the source.

What would be a fitting film to continue Vikrant Massey’s golden run after 12th Fail (2023)? Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s directorial venture, one of the finest Indian movies of 2023 and a sleeper hit, is a tough act to follow. But it looks like Massey has found another powerful story, this time with producer Ektaa R Kapoor. The duo have teamed up for a political thriller titled The Sabarmati Report.

Beginning with the real-life episode of the burning of the Sabarmati Express in 2002, the movie then focuses on two journalists who investigate the incident and the cause of the fire. While Massey and Raashii Khanna play the reporters, we hear Ridhi Dogra—recently seen in Jawan (2023)—portrays a negative role.

On February 27, 2002, 59 Hindu pilgrims returning from Ayodhya were killed in a fire in the four coaches of the Sabarmati Express near the Godhra railway station in Gujarat. The incident led to one of the worst communal riots in Gujarat.

A source from the creative team reveals, “While The Sabarmati Report is based on the burning of the Sabarmati Express, the makers have completely stayed away from the Gujarat riots. Ektaa and director Ranjan Chandel, who previously helmed the acclaimed Grahan [2021], want to treat the subject with utmost sensitivity. When co-producer Amul Mohan and writer Aseem Arora first narrated the story to Ektaa, she was moved and told them that it was the best political thriller she had come across in years. Aseem’s story is loosely based on real-life incidents. It plays out over a decade, from 2002 to 2012.”

We hear Chandel took the film on floors in Ahmedabad on December 17 last year. The director has charted out a start-to-finish schedule.

“It was always planned as a 36-day schedule. Currently, the film is being shot near Madh Island, where life-size trains and the Godhra railway station have been recreated by art director Rajat Poddarr and his production design team. Chandel has chosen Amlendu Choudhury to serve as the director of photography.”

Ahead of the release of Kadak Singh, Sanjana Sanghi is dominated by one emotion—relief. The actor admits that initially, the prospect of starring in the Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury film was daunting. It didn’t help that when the director narrated the thriller to her over a Zoom call, she was left more confused than convinced.

“He was editing Lost, and was distracted. Kadak Singh can be tricky to understand in a narration. But when I read it, it spoke to me,” smiles Sanghi. Couple that with Chowdhury’s unwavering faith in her, and she was ready to jump into the project.

“At this stage of my career, it feels reassuring when a filmmaker of Tony da’s [Chowdhury] calibre wants me, without asking me to audition or to read for him. I’m glad I did the film, otherwise I would have regretted it for the rest of my life.”

The ZEE5 thriller follows Pankaj Tripathi’s Kadak Singh, a joint director at the department of financial crimes, who is suffering from retrograde amnesia and is trying to piece together the events that led to this predicament. Sanghi, who plays his daughter, says the depiction of their bond touched her heart.

“I desperately wanted to do [the film] because I knew Tony da would bring [more] layers to the dynamic.”

The director ensured that Tripathi and Sanghi undertook workshops that would enhance their father-daughter bond on screen. She has fond memories of them. “I will always remember Pankaj sir’s Madh Island house where I used to eat momos and take a nap in his daughter’s room. Tony da would join us sometimes, we’d listen to classical music and not even talk about the film. Our workshops [focused] on discovering each other. We spoke about so many things that weren’t even relevant to our characters. In the middle of all that, we found our film.”

The team of Singham Again is moving at a brisk pace towards the finish line. Earlier this month, Ajay Devgn, Rohit Shetty and Kareena Kapoor Khan wrapped up a 45-day schedule at Ramoji Film City in Hyderabad before calling for a break. Tomorrow, the leading man and the director are expected to resume work on the action fare with a three-day schedule in the city.

We hear Shetty has set the stage for a critical action sequence that plays out at a fair, in the narrative. A source reveals, “The setting-up of a funfair was underway in Madh Island over the week. Tomorrow, Ajay will begin filming the set-piece. Over 100 actors have been roped in as the mela scene requires a huge crowd. Rohit and Ajay plan to wrap up this portion by November 21, after which they will move on to filming major scenes in the city over the next 15 days.”

Singham Again, the third instalment in the Singham franchise, is turning out to be a star-studded action extravaganza. While Devgn and Kareena Kapoor Khan reprise their roles of Bajirao Singham and Avni Kamat respectively, the duo will be joined by Akshay Kumar’s Veer Sooryavanshi and Ranveer Singh’s Sangram Bhalerao aka Simmba. Deepika Padukone and Tiger Shroff will mark their entry into Shetty’s cop universe with this film.

There might have been scores of stories centred on Mumbai and yet, every few years, a filmmaker has something new to tell about the city. Last week’s release Bambai Meri Jaan, in that sense, is familiar yet novel. The gangster drama, reportedly inspired by real-life characters, sees Kay Kay Menon play Ismail Kadri and Avinash Tiwary, his on-screen son Dara Kadri.

The real names must not be taken, the act of Voldermort-ifying it almost adding to the hype. Instead, we have reference points that are quite telling—Menon’s Ismail Kadri is an honest cop while his son Dara rises through the ranks to become the city’s most dreaded gangster. Tiwary immediately discourages us from connecting the dots, as he begins, “It is a fictional account of all the stories we have heard of the underbelly, and we have added our own colours to it. It’s a new painting!”

For co-creator and director Shujaat Saudagar, Bambai is the show’s primary character along with the protagonists Ismail and Dara. The Amazon Prime Video series, set in the ’60s and ’70s, harks back to the city it once was. “We had to visually get Mumbai right, but more importantly, we had to capture the experience that the city is. There is a pulse and euphoria to it,” says Saudagar.

In fact, the co-creator says he witnessed the “euphoria” second-hand through his US-based DoP (director of photography) John Smith, who first arrived in Mumbai in February 2020 to shoot the series. “We shot the first schedule over 20 days in February right before the lockdown. We restarted a year later on January 31, 2021. [Then] John got COVID and was stuck in a hotel room for nearly two months. We had to fly him out because it was monsoon by the time he got better [and we couldn’t shoot in the rains]. When he came back to shoot the next schedule, he was hit by dengue.”

Despite Smith’s harrowing time in the city, he is smitten by it, laughs Saudagar. “John jokes that he still wouldn’t mind settling in Mumbai if his wife agrees.”

Saudagar’s tryst with the gangster drama began in 2019 as he developed the story with co-creator Rensil D’Silva, and wrote it with Abbas and Hussain Dalal. He took it on floors in February 2020, unknowing that he was embarking on a tumultuous three-year journey. The first wave of the pandemic hit in March 2020, stalling his production. A mammoth set of old Mumbai that had been built in Madh Island lay unused for months, shooting up the show’s budget.

“During the first wave, for five months, we had no idea what was happening. There were fears we wouldn’t carry on at all. We had not shot in the Madh set for a single day. We rebuilt it twice over [over the subsequent months],” says the creator-director, who then filmed the show intermittently through 2021 and 2022. 

He wasn’t alone in living with the story for years. It was an equally demanding process for actors Menon, Tiwary and Kritika Kamra. Menon says that staying true to his role for over three years has been an elaborate process of switching on and off.

“If there is a long gap between two schedules, it’s no longer about the continuity of what you are wearing. It is also about the continuity of the character’s headspace. It is a re-investment of everything an actor puts into the character. I believe that an actor primarily is in the business of emotions. [You have to] re-process to immerse yourself into a scene whose last beat was shot a while ago,” says Menon.

Tiwary’s approach, however, was different. Contrary to his co-actor’s on-and-off process, Tiwary had become Dara for the past three-and-a-half years. “My mind hadn’t stopped thinking about Dara. For over three years, this was the only thing I had. When I chose it, I felt it needed an immersive dedication. I feared letting go of the character, because if I did, I would never be able to find that magic again,” recalls the actor.

In hindsight, he admits he could have “chilled a bit”, before telling Menon, “I want to get to a point like you where I can switch off and on.”

It helped that everyone on the set was on the same page. Tiwary recounts, “There were 300 people cheering for the same thing. I remember there were days I would walk in and they would call me Dara bhai. As an actor, I tend to do better when I am looked at in a certain way. It was fun getting the lingo right, and I enjoyed the touch of brotherhood, where every [line] ended with bhai.”

When telling a story about the mafia, novelists and filmmakers are sometimes faulted for glorifying them. The examples are many—from Gregory David Roberts’s ever-popular book Shantaram, to Vikram Chandra’s Sacred Games. Bambai Meri Jaan too adds a tinge of heroism to its morally ambiguous characters. Point this out to Saudagar, and he views it differently.

“Storytellers are merely telling a story, and there is a human fascination with the world of crime. Martin Scorsese’s entire repertoire is replete with great gangster films. The fascination exists because these are regular people who did deviant things and one wants to live vicariously through them. As a filmmaker, I don’t want to glorify or judge them. I want the audience to judge the characters. I only want to humanize [the characters]. It is futile in any society to glorify crime. There is a moral framework in this show where you see two men struggling to find their version of right and wrong. Here, we are telling the story of a family, the choices they made and how they dealt with its outcome.”

Earlier this month, mid-day had reported that Kartik Aaryan was shooting a last-minute song for Shehzada, which was one of the reasons the film’s release was deferred (Taking a chance on dance, Feb 2). It appears that the team didn’t look too far for inspiration. The makers of the Aaryan and Kriti Sanon-starrer recently released Character Dheela 2.0, a recreation of Salman Khan’s hit number from Ready (2011).

Production designer Rajat Poddarr reveals that Aaryan — who is also one of Shehzada’s producers — suggested incorporating a promotional song to amp up the buzz around Rohit Dhawan’s directorial venture.

“Kartik wanted to [reimagine] this number from Ready, in his own way. Initially, the team felt that the situation didn’t require a song, but he insisted it would enhance the movie’s promotions. He contacted Bosco [Martis] for the choreography, and me for the sets. He suggested to the producers that this would be his team, as we had done the title track of Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 together,” shares Poddarr. 

With the team in place, it was time for execution. The leading man prepped for two days with choreographer Martis, before the dance number was shot over three days in the last week of January at a Madh Island bungalow. Building the set in such a short time was no mean feat.

“We were constructing one part of the set, while Kartik would be shooting in the other part. We built different sets, including a swimming pool, ramp, and a colourful scooter. We submerged the ramp in water so that Kartik could do his slide step. He had referenced videos with Bosco, Manu [Anand, director of photography] and me [to determine the song’s treatment].”

Character dheela had become a rage when it was released. Aaryan knew that stepping into Khan’s dancing shoes was a huge responsibility. So, instead of recreating the track, step for step, he did the next best thing. Martis says, “Recreating Salman bhai’s song could have created a backlash. So, we decided to celebrate the song. We wanted to make it peppier and relevant.”

On Monday, the makers of Shehzada announced that they are deferring its release from February 10 to 17 “out of respect for Pathaan.” But it looks like the runaway success of the Shah Rukh Khan-starrer isn’t the only reason for the postponement. Sources tell us that director Rohit Dhawan is shooting a new song with leads Kartik Aaryan and Kriti Sanon.

An insider attributes the last-minute addition to the tepid response that the album has generated. “Besharam Rang and Jhoome Jo Pathaan are topping the music charts. No movie song released since January, including Shehzada’s Munda Sona Hoon Main and Chedkhaniyan, has been able to match their popularity. So, the makers decided to shoot a new promotional song that will pique audiences’ interest,” says the source. Bosco Martis is choreographing the number that is being filmed in Madh Island.

The decision to delay the film’s release also stems from the unavailability of adequate screens on February 10. A trade source says, “Exhibitors want to make the most of Pathaan’s glorious run. It remains to be seen how many screens Shehzada gets in mid-February when Pathaan will enter its fourth week.”

Filming for Ajay Devgn’s next directorial venture, the action-drama, Bholaa, is close to completion as the unit takes the last leg on floors mid-October. The last schedule of the Tabu-starrer—a remake of the Tamil movie Kaithi—will be wrapped up in 14 days.

Action designer Ramazan Bulut will be part of the October schedule which is set to cover a few action, chase, and dramatic sequences. “[A part of the] shoot will be done on Mumbai streets. Sets will also be constructed in Kharghar and Madh Island,” informs a source from the unit.

Bholaa revolves around an ex-convict, who wants to be reunited with his daughter, but gets persuaded by a police officer to help catch the criminals. “Writers Sandeep Kewlani and Aamil Keeyan Khan have rewritten many scenes and characters in the Hindi remake, including Tabu’s character, to give the storyline a new spin, while keeping the emotional core intact,” says the source, adding that Devgn is currently investing his time in getting the soundtrack right.

Music director Ravi Basrur of KGF franchise fame has been roped in to compose the songs and background scores.

One of the studios under scanner, in Madh

BMC Commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal on Tuesday ordered an inquiry into the alleged illegal studios in Madh, Marve, Erangal, Bhati and Malad. The roles of officials from the civic body and the Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority (MCZMA) are also under scanner.

Deputy Municipal Commissioner, Central Purchase Department, Harshad Kale will head the inquiry over the next four weeks, said Chahal. Among the officials under  scanner are P North ward’s assistant municipal commissioner and Assistant Engineer Tushar Dudhara.

“The BMC has received complaints about 49 such studios that came up between 2021 and 2022 in the no-development zone (NDZ) of the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ). There are allegations that thousands of square meters of such studios are built without proper permission, fraudulent documents forged with the help of BMC and MCZMA officials,” Chahal stated in a written order (a copy of which is with mid-day).

The MCZMA falls under the state’s Department of Environment, which was headed by Shiv Sena leader Aaditya Thackeray between 2021 and July 2022.

Recently, BJP leader Kirit Somaiya claimed that studios in Madh and Marve were illegal. Somaiya and other BJP leaders visited some of the studios and subsequently, the BMC issued stop-work notices to a few of them on August 26.

Chahal has asked the probe committee to conduct the enquiry within four weeks. “The enquiry report should include aspects specifying the role played by the BMC officials. The inquiry officer is also directed to see further proposed action to be taken by the BMC and other suggestive measures to prevent such wrongdoings,” his letter reads.

>> Role of P-North ward

>> No. of functional studios

>> No. of permissions granted

>> What types of permissions were granted by MCZMA

>> Whether permissions were granted for temporary film shoots or sets

>> Whether BMC officials, in connivance with studio owners, misused temporary permissions

>> Whether studios have legal permission

>> Whether studios are in CRZ and NDZ

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