Even as filmmaker Kabir Khan has begun shooting his next that is led by Kartik Aaryan, the actor has reported to the set of Anurag Basu’s romantic musical. It looks like the actor will juggle the two projects for some time to ensure that Basu’s film, reportedly titled ‘Tu Meri Zindagi Hai’, races towards completion. What’s brought on the rush? From what we have heard, the makers’ desire to arrive in cinemas before ‘Ramayana: Part 1’.

The Ranbir Kapoor, Sai Pallavi, and Yash-led epic is expected to dominate screens upon its release this Diwali.

A source told mid-day, “Anurag and the makers want breathing space at the box office. They are aiming for a clean theatrical run without competition from a spectacle like ‘Ramayana’. October has one major release, ‘Drishyam 3’. So, producer Bhushan Kumar and Anurag are considering an October release.”

Aaryan and leading lady Sreeleela shot for a week in Kashmir, and will now move to Manali. The source added, “The idea is to wrap the bulk of the film before peak summer. Then Kartik will move to Kabir’s sports drama, while Anurag will lock his movie’s final cut.”

Had things gone as planned, Ayushmann Khurrana and Sara Ali Khan would have been gearing up for the release of their yet-untitled action comedy now. Instead, mid-day has learnt that the film, co-produced by Karan Johar and Guneet Monga Kapoor, has been in limbo since its first schedule concluded in late 2024.

A source shared, “It is a quirky, fun story. Everything was on track when the team began shooting the first schedule mid-2024 in Manali, Himachal Pradesh. But after that, the movie, which was to release in the first half of 2026, has been stuck for over a year. The actors and the crew are keen to resume filming, but there’s no clarity on when the project will return to floors.”

So, what exactly is blocking debutant Aakash Kaushik’s directorial venture? Another insider revealed that the makers are apparently indecisive about the release model of the film, which was initially conceived of as a theatrical offering.

“There have been discussions about whether it should take the web route and be released as an OTT original. The talks have been going on for months, while the shoot has been on hold,” said the insider.

Actor Boman and son Kayoze Irani pulled off a rare feat this year — both made their directorial debuts only months apart. Boman helmed The Mehta Boys, which fetched a lot of acclaim earlier this year, while Kayoze directed Sarzameen, featuring Ibrahim Ali Khan in the lead.

Interestingly, both their projects were direct-to-OTT releases. Mention this to Kayoze, and he beams, “It was completely unplanned. My father has always wanted to make a film, and has been writing for years. It just so happened that we also shot our respective films around the same time.”

The 37-year-old, who is prepping for his second directorial shares, “I was shooting in Manali, while dad was filming in Mumbai. It’s such a strange thing that our debuts happened this year.” Ask if he’s afraid of comparisons with his dad and the actor-director replies, “I’m very happy about it. It’s a distinction I don’t know of any other father-son duo achieving this.”

As for his next project, Kayoze tells us, “I’m going into it, thinking it’s my launch. My next is a comedy film; it’s in the process of being written and will go on floors next year, if all goes well.”

From his unforgettable comic timing as Aakhri Pasta in Housefull to early hits like Tezaab, Apna Sapna Money Money and Aankhen, Chunky Panday has carved a niche in Hindi cinema with a career that has seen many turns. In Manali shooting for his upcoming film Rahu Ketu sometime back, Chunky, in an exclusive conversation with us, talked about his new project, a long-lost film that never released, his experience working on The Royals, and watching the women in his life, wife Bhavana and daughter Ananya steal the spotlight in their own ways.

Chunky spent considerable time shooting in Manali in the early monsoon for his new film Rahu Ketu. Telling us about his time spent there, the actor said that this was his second film shoot in Manali, the first one never being released.

“I came back to Manali after ages to shoot. I had done a film here 35 years ago, and I was so excited to come back here for this film. That film, based on a novel by Shashi Tharoor called Bollywood: Show Business, never released,” recalled the 62 year-old actor.

The actor also shared his experience of shooting Rahu Ketu in Manali. “Manali is beautiful, I’d love to come here in winters when it snows. The weather was perfect then in June-July. It was crowded at that time, but very beautiful. It is sad to see how badly it is affected due to floods. I hope and pray that people there are safe. They were so good to us when we were there.”

Lately, Chunky has been happily soaking in the success of the women in his life. Speaking of his wife Bhavana, who found fame after her stint in Fabulous Lives Of Bollywood Wives, he shared, “I was with Bhavana in Paris after the show released. A group foreigners stopped and wanted a photo with her. They were so excited to see her and actually handed me the camera to take a picture of them with her. I was so happy seeing that fandom for her and thought to myself that ‘this is like the ultimate moment’.”

“First I was Chunky Panday, then I became Ananya’s dad and now I’m known as Bhavana’s husband. So I’m loving it. I think I’m enjoying Ananya’s success and whatever success Bhavana is getting now more than I’ve enjoyed my own success. When I was successful, I was too busy working to enjoy it. But this is something I really enjoy. I love being known as Ananya’s father or Bhavana’s husband, it makes me so proud of these women in my life, who have an identity of their own,” said the Don actor.

Speaking of a cherished moment that came from a tribute and not a trophy, the actor shared one of the most emotional moments during an awards function in Mumbai. “The whole theme was fan moments where actors paid tribute to someone they had always admired. Ananya came on stage, did a little number and said she wanted to pay tribute to someone who always made her laugh. I whispered to Bhavana that she’s probably going to call out SRK’s name. But she started the segment with a Neelam song, and I thought maybe it’s for Neelam. But then, she broke into my songs one after the other. I was just stunned with the realization that my daughter was paying a tribute to me,” said the actor.

Seen in the web show The Royals, Chunky again portrayed a flirtatious comic character, one which he has often portrayed on screen. When asked if he views being typecast as limiting he said, “On the contrary, I love to be stereotyped! I’m flattered, in fact. Yes, there definitely is a comfort in playing roles that one can master well. However, I felt so nice doing The Royals. I felt like a star doing it..”

He went on to add, “When I did the character Aakhri Pasta in Housefull, everyone just wanted me to do similar roles. Similarly, when I had done a Nepali character, many people wanted to cast me as a Nepali in their film. It’s very flattering when that one thing clicks. But, I always try to break the image and give a little different taste to the audience. And that’s why in Rahu Ketu, I’m playing a villain.”

Ask if he would change anything about his career trajectory if given a chance, the Tezaab actor shared, “If I went and changed the course of my career, maybe the chances were I would not meet Bhavana, and the chances are that Ananya and Rysa wouldn’t be born. So, I would not want to change anything in my life,” he said.

“I was a very last-moment addition to The Royals. They called me up and asked me two things: ‘are these dates available? And do you know horse-riding?’ And I lied about both,” he chuckled. “I was a horse rider in my first film. But it had been almost 40 years since I got onto a horse. And here I had to play polo with Ishaan Khatter, who had been practicing it for two months. I was surprised that the role fell into my lap. I hope they consider me for a second season as well. My character is a very integral part of the story,” he added.

In the chilling weather of Manali, actor Tahir Raj Bhasin was shooting for his upcoming digital series. The Mardaani actor is back to Mumbai and says, "I missed Mumbai's 30 degree temperature." The 30 degrees do sound warming, especially when the actor was shooting at a freezing minus five degrees in Manali. “Escaping the madness of the city and going to a hill station is always an experience I look forward to,” he mentions.

Talking about shooting in Manali, Tahir reminisces, “Shooting in Manali was very challenging. It was snowing, drizzling. I and the entire crew were not comfortable with the temperature. Everyone put on their thermals and would go on the set. It was difficult to say the dialogues, you cannot feel your fingers, your eyes feel like the water inside them is about to freeze, but when you have to overcome something like that, it adds to the overall palate of the show. It is something you can never achieve in a studio.”

While he had a packed schedule in Manali, the 83 actor did manage to find a way to find time with himself. "One of my favourite things to do is to rent a bike and go off biking on the hills of Manali towards Solan Valley. There were these very dense pine wood forest that I would absolutely love to walk in. The old Manali has some incredible off the beat track cafes where you get everything from Greek food to Israeli food to incredible hot chocolate. This time I also visited a monastery," he elaborates.

I'm an avid traveler. I'm someone who has always - right from my days in college - put on a backpack and and set off to a destination without really having any agenda, except to explore a new city, meet some new people, discover some new cafes and have great conversations. I have always felt that travel teaches you something that is inexplicable. You come back as a changed person.

On a humid afternoon in Delhi with clouds playing hide and seek, actor Amit Sadh joined HT City on his bike as he completed the first phase of his month-long biking trip — Motorcycles Saved My Life. And the journey, he reveals, has been far from easy.

“On the very first day, after being on the bike for over 10 hours, I asked myself, ‘Why am I doing it?’ But then I passed a beautiful canal. The breeze, the sunset, a nice terrain to ride... I had answers to all my questions,” says the 40-year-old, who left Mumbai on August 25 and has crossed Ahmedabad, Jodhpur, Delhi and Chandigarh, enroute to Leh (Ladakh).

“I have a knack of putting myself in danger,” quips Sadh, who has faced several life-threatening situations in his 25 years of biking. “In 2017, I was on my way to Manali, for which one has to cross Chang La (situated at an elevation of 17,688 feet). At that time, it was fully covered with snow and the temperature was minus 17 degrees. Nobody travels on that route during that time... As soon as we left, my bike slipped and then my friend’s bike slipped, followed by a puncture. As a result, we had to stay for a night there because the vehicle could not get fixed. Thankfully, the locals helped and we could move the next morning,” he recounts.

Sadh took a liking to adventure activities when he was just about five years old. Now, any free time he gets, he is ready to vroom. “That’s how much I love bike riding. It’s also my way of connecting back with life. I’ve not even finished this trip and have already planned my next one,” the Jeet Ki Zid (2021) actor says.

Passion aside, he also ensures he’s adequately prepped. Sadh, who has been to California Riding School, shares, “I’ve been to schools around the world to learn how to ride on mud, in snow etc. So, it’s also about testing my skills. While the reason for riding can be emotional, when I am on the bike, I keep my emotions aside and execute with discipline, knowledge and instincts to minimize the risk.”

Reflecting on all the biking expeditions he has been on so far, Sadh says these experiences of riding through different terrains and meeting new people have made him the person he is today. Citing a recent example, he shares, “On my way to Delhi this time, I met a truck driver at a dhaba and he told me about his life and I told him about what I’m doing. More than anything, these experiences keep me grounded. They make me fall in love with everything around me. They teach me discipline and resilience. I’m a product of all these experiences.”

This one!

In 2017, when I got stuck in Chang La

Train as much as you can. Learn about your bike before you go on a trip.

Start with places around you, within 100-200km

Mongolia

Every trip to Ladakh

First day of this trip. I rode the bike for 10 hours

Travelling for more than 200-300km a day

photos: Dhruv sethi/ HT Concept: Monika Rawal Kukreja

Amit Sadh is in the second leg of his month-long biking trip from Mumbai to Leh. The actor plans to halt in many cities to meet people and experience India in a new way.

On the fifth day of his biking expedition, Amit Sadh made a quick stop in the capital. The actor’s #MotorcyclesSavedMyLife trip is his first long-route ride post COVID.

With Himachal Pradesh being adversely affected during the monsoon, going to or via HP to other cities right now is not advisable. Ask Amit whether he reconsidered his trip, and he says, “No, I just knew that I had to go. So, we figured out the routes from Chandigarh to Leh. The route via Manali was a complete no-go, so we decided to go via Spiti. I have already been to Ladakh 10 times. I know people in those regions; I am almost a local (laughs). We did proper recce and locals told me it was okay to ride. From Chandigarh to Shimla, I might encounter a few roadblocks, but I’ll find my way around them.”

Talking about his love for biking, he says, “When I was younger, biking was an escape for me. I used to ride in anger. It meant running away, and this running away also taught me a lot. It has taught me discipline. Now I feel, since I am riding differently, life has changed and things are mellow. There’s happiness, there’s calmness – life’s better. When you are biking, you might either have a hundred thoughts racing in your mind or have nothing at all.”

The Jeet Ki Zid actor, who is a very private person, says, “I rarely share stories about my biking adventures with my fans, but this time I decided to share this journey with everyone. The hero of this trip is my bike. I am taking this trip to inspire myself, spread smiles, and experience India differently.” 

Amit travels to the hills quite often. He shares, "India is so beautiful, mann nahi bharta. As a child, I used to travel with my father to the hills a lot. Those memories have stayed with me. So, I travel to the mountains and apne dad ko bhi yaad karta hoon."

"Being in Delhi was always fun. We used to do a lot of biking and bike racing at India Gate. This was about 20 years back. Many of my biker friends are still in Delhi and the city will always be special to me," he says reminiscing about his time in Delhi.

The flash floods in Himachal Pradesh caused fear among everyone in the state and musician Samar Puri, who is part of the band Sanam, was stuck in Manali with his wife.

“My wife Amisha and I had travelled to Himachal (on July 6) for a wedding. It was raining heavily in Manali, and when we woke up the next morning, we saw the water level of river in front of our hotel rise in a matter of minutes. We saw trees falling, cars getting sucked into the river, shops and houses getting destroyed and washed away by the flash floods. We just wanted to get back home. At every point, we knew there was a possibility for anything to happen to us,” recalls Puri, who was supposed to return to Mumbai a day after the floods hit the state.

Not being able to contact their kin left them stressed. “We couldn’t get in touch with anyone. The hotel staff advised us to not leave the property until things got better. But by the looks of things around us, no place looked safe enough. One morning, I woke up early, went out to check if we could leave the hotel. We wanted to reach a higher ground, away from the river, so we started our climb up. We walked up the mountain for hours and finally reached a road where we got one car to take us to Kullu,” he shares.

They were airlifted and dropped in Kolkata, where he joined his band for a performance on July 15. “I figured it was sensible to keep my phone off to save on battery in case I got a chance to use it. When I finally got network, I immediately called my family and bandmates to let them know that we were alive and safe. My brother, Sanam Puri, and bandmates immediately started looking for options to get us airlifted. When we landed in Kolkata, I was disoriented. But when I got on stage, the adrenaline kicked in and we ended up having an incredible show,” he ends.

Ruslaan Mumtaz, who was shooting for his web show in Manali, is currently stranded there following the heavy downpour and landslides in Himachal Pradesh over the past few days. Despite the poor network there, the actor managed to share a few pictures and videos of the grim situation on social media.

When we spoke to Ruslaan, he said, “I came here on July 4 for my shoot. We were living at a resort and also shooting there. It had started raining, but we didn’t expect things to escalate to such an extent.”

The situation got worse on July 9 when it rained nonstop. Ruslaan said, “It started flooding and water entered the premises of our resort. We were moved to the service quarters of the resort, which were safer. But the next day, we realized even that was not safe, so the resort staff took us up the hill to a small village.”

Ruslaan shared that he is grateful to be at a safe spot, but the situation is still worrisome. “We are safe. We are holed up in a school in this village, which is at a height. When we first came here, there was not much food. We had to skip some meals. It’s tough, but the resort owner has not abandoned us and is taking care of us. The situation in Manali was very scary, but slowly, it seems to be improving. I hope it stops raining completely. Of course, even after that, it will take us a while to return because the roads have got destroyed due to landslides,” said Ruslaan.

(L-R) Sunita, Shubham and Kirna and Dhiren Vira, a family from Dadar, had gone on a road trip to Leh Ladakh on June 29. HT PHOTO

Mumbai: On Tuesday, film actors Kartik Aaryan and Kiara Advani quote-tweeted a message on Twitter about a Mumbai family which had gone missing in the flash floods in North India. One of the family’s frantic relatives, who knew the Bollywood celebrities, had requested them to amplify a message put out by a cousin on all social media platforms, and Aaryan and Advani had immediately obliged.

Within a few hours, there was a response from a local, saying the family was safe and sheltering at a military camp at Sissu near Manali. “We got a call from someone called Siddharth, who said he had spoken to the local police after reading the tweet,” said Dipin Shah, a relative of the family. “He confirmed that the family was indeed at the military camp.”

Dhiren, Sunita, Shubham and Kirna Vira, a family from Dadar, had gone on a road trip to Leh Ladakh on June 29 and were to return on Monday morning. “They made a call to us on Saturday to inform us that they were stuck four kilometres before the Atal Tunnel en route to Manali because of a landslide,” said Dipin, Shubham’s cousin. “On Sunday, they video-called to tell us they were safe and had spent the night inside the car. We advised them to keep the car unlocked and to not turn on the heater. But after that call, we were unable to get in touch with them.”

Worried, Dipin and his cousins created a message and shared it on various social media platforms on Tuesday. The message went viral on Facebook, various WhatsApp groups, Instagram and Twitter. On Twitter, after the tweet was quote-tweeted by Bollywood celebrities Kartik Aaryan and Kiara Advani, news came in that the family was safe.

“Despite all our efforts, we have still not been able to establish direct contact with them,” said Dipin. “But we at least know that they are not missing. Kiara and Kartik were kind and quick enough to help us amplify the message. It is because of their tweets that a load was taken off our shoulders.”

Another family from Kandivali is also desperately trying to reach its relatives, Vatsal and Priyal Shah, who had gone on a trip to Spiti Valley and were to return on Sunday. The family said they were stuck in Manali but were safe. “They are in Manali,” said Parag Shah, uncle of Vatsal and Priyal. “On Monday morning, they called and said they were safe but shifting to a different hotel. However, since that call, there has been no contact. We are worried because it’s been more than 36 hours. We are trying the hotel numbers and other possible local contacts as well.”

In the past two days, an interaction between a western disturbance and the monsoon trough led to extremely heavy rainfall over Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab and Haryana, causing landslides, flooding and widespread damage. The unusual interaction of a western disturbance with the monsoon trough can be devastating, as witnessed during the 2013 Uttarakhand floods.

There are pet lovers everywhere around us, but in the past few years, rescue and adoption of native pets from the streets and animal shelters has seen a rise, as people have grown to understand how important it is to give these animals a loving family and a home. Raveena Tandon, who is an environmental activist and a fervent supporter of animal rights, has led this trend by rescuing many animals and providing them shelter either at her home or her farmhouse. On Pet Day today, the actress shares with us her personal stories of rescuing animals and how she’s been an ardent animal lover since childhood.

Recalling the time when she brought home a little kitten for the first time, the actress says, “I remember I was just three or four years old and had rescued a kitten and brought her home.”

Raveena says, “Now after 30-40 years, I rescued a kitten (four years ago) who was crossing the road and was almost going to die under the wheels of a vehicle. I brought her home and named her Puma. She is now four-years-old.”

The actress, who was recently awarded the Padma Shri, stresses on the need to adopt pets over shopping or going to a breeder for one. Currently, she has adopted and rescued four dogs and three cats. Out of these rescued pets, a dog named Cuddle and a cat named Puma live with the actress in her home in Mumbai along with her other pets, while the rest live on her farm. She also has three Mini Pomeranians and a Husky. Earlier, the actress had another pet, Chotu, a visually impaired rescued Indie dog, who passed away in March 2021.

“Looking after the welfare of animals and having pets are two different things. It is important to understand that adopting an Indie is far more important than specialty breeds multiplying and all of us buying them. Everyone looks after pedigree pets, but it is important to give a home to these Indies who need protection and shelter. At my farm, one of the rescued dogs, Lilie, is a tripod, (she has three legs) and it is lovely playing with her,” she says.

Raveena looks out for abandoned pets everywhere – whether it is the bylanes of Mumbai, or faraway shooting locations. She picked up a pup from a drain in Himachal Pradesh while shooting for the web series Aranyak.

She shares, “We adopted 15 pups when we were shooting in Kullu Manali and Dalhousie, and a few were adopted by my colleagues from the team. Being passionate about animal welfare is one thing, but you need to be compassionate to rescue animals and give them a loving home.”

Stressing on the need to sterilize animals, the actress adds, “People feel that it is good karma to feed Indies on the road, but I feel that money should be used to sterilize them. It is the need of the hour. There is a woman in our society, who starts fighting when the BMC (Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation) comes to sterilize these dogs on the road, but people don’t understand that these animals multiply and then they are ill-treated by people or they meet with accidents on the road.”

The actress reveals how over the years her love for animals has only grown. “I can’t wait to get home to my pets or spend a weekend on my farm with them. I agree it is not easy to have so many pets. My husband (producer, Anil Thadani) often teases me saying, ‘If you get another one, then it’s either me or them,’ but my children and my mother enjoy spending time with them. Everyone knows how your pets are the best companions and, in many ways, better than humans. There is no comparison!”

In the past few years, the actress has rescued a baby bat, who had fallen on her home terrace, three owls, who literally flew into her home, and a monkey.

Raveena shared this throwback picture as a toddler when she had rescued a kitten. Cut to four years ago, she rescued Puma, who now lives with her

Actor Vikram Gokhale, who died on November 26 in Pune, was last seen on screen in Nikamma, directed by Sabbir Khan and starred Shilpa Shetty Kundra and Abhimanyu Dassani. Khan reveals that the veteran’s last project, titled Adbhut, also directed by him is yet to be released.

Revealing that Gokhale will be seen in his next film, which he finished shooting recently, the director tells us, “Our relationship was recent but very strong. I first met him (Gokhale) in 2019, while working on Nikamma. He was 74 then, and despite being a veteran actor, he wanted to give his best. After finishing the shoot, he asked me if I was happy with his work, if I would work with him again.” Khan says it was an awkward moment as he was taken aback by how grounded Gokhale was.

The 46-year-old says that when he approached Gokhale for Adbhut, the actor was unwell. “He wasn’t accepting any offers, but after I narrated the role to him, he agreed to do it,” shares the director, adding that he had initially planned to shoot the actor’s scenes in Manali, but on his request, had agreed to do it in Mumbai. However, when the schedule in Manali began, Gokhale reached out to Khan and said it would be wrong of him to not be there.

“He came with us to Manali and shot. He was so full of life. He would just sit around even after his shot and say, ‘I will have my tea. If you need me, I am here’. They don’t make actors like him anymore,” Khan signs off.

On Sunday, Ranbir Kapoor and Rashmika Mandanna were spotted returning to Mumbai after a short shooting spell of Animal in Manali. After a three-day break, director Sandeep Reddy Vanga resumed his place behind the camera yesterday to kick off the Mumbai schedule. The prep began early morning in Chembur where the unit will be filming for the next two days.

A source reveals, “A dramatic scene, featuring Ranbir and Rashmika, was canned at a set erected near Mysore Colony in Chembur. The movie will be shot in different pockets of the city, primarily in western suburbs, up to May 5.”

Come May, the actor will have to juggle the gangster drama, and the final schedule of Luv Ranjan’s yet-untitled film that sees him opposite Shraddha Kapoor.

Animal, which is Vanga’s second Hindi film after the successful Kabir Singh (2019), reportedly revolves around a gangster family, with Mandanna playing Ranbir’s wife and Anil Kapoor his father. Barely a week after his April 14 wedding to girlfriend Alia Bhatt, Ranbir had headed to Manali to commence work on the project.

Everyone expected the newly married couple to take off for a few days to celebrate their union, instead, we hear that Alia Bhatt and Ranbir Kapoor will be diving headlong into work. While Bhatt will resume shooting for Karan Johar’s Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani, Kapoor will kick start the first schedule of Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s Animal in Himachal Pradesh.

Kapoor, who had started bulking up for Animal, will have to get lean post the April schedule of the film for Luv Ranjan’s romcom. In September, he will have to “gain the muscle back for the second schedule of Animal”.

“Ranbir had started bulking up under the guidance of coach Shivohaam. He is passionate and has been following rigorous training and diet [to fit into the skin of his character]. He is also trained in freehand movement, gymnastics, and strength building. He will fly for a two-day shoot in Manali on April 22, post which he has a week-long shoot in Mumbai,” informed a source from the unit of Animal.

On May 7, Kapoor is set to play football against the Emirates United at the Shabab. “He then has a month-long schedule in Spain and Mumbai for which he will sport a lean and toned look. Post completing Luv Ranjan’s film, Ranbir will wrap up Animal by end of the year,” added the source of the gangster-themed drama that is being produced by Vanga, Bhushan Kumar and Murad Khetani.

Deepti Naval, who was recently in Delhi, showcased one of her paintings at an art gallery in the capital. The veteran actress, who has filmed for Chashme Baddoor and Made In Heaven in Delhi, says, “I like Delhi. I keep coming back here. That haveli (where she shot for Made In Heaven) was glorious.” 

Talking about her art on display, she says, “The painting that I have put on display is a portrait of my friend, Zaki. There is a portrait of me on display as well. ”

Her work, although not part of the festival, also includes a painting of Smita Patil. She says, “With Smita ji, I had an intense bond. When she passed away, I made her painting in the next 10 days. It was my way of dealing with the grief. In fact, there is also a poem that I have written ‘Between Smita and I’. It describes our equation. In the painting, my eyes are closed and her eyes are open and somebody asked me, ‘why you have kept her eyes open (as she has passed away) and yours closed?’ I said, ‘I am still groping in the dark, but Smita has found the light’. So, uski aankhein khul chuki hain.”

Apart from the paintings of her friends, her work also includes a lot of self-portraits. She says, “My self-portraits are not pretty pictures of me because as an actress there is enough of that. These self-portraits are all internal. It’s the state of mind that you are going through at that moment when you are painting a self-portrait. In each self-portrait, I have tried to capture different feelings and state of mind.”

Over the years she has captured snowcapped Himalayas in her paintings while travelling in the hills. And now her paintings have found a home (at her gallery) in Haripur, Kullu. She says, “Himachal se meri personal history judi hui hai. When I was growing up in Amritsar, my parents would take us to the Kullu Valley in Himachal Pradesh and we would go and stay in Manali. So, I have this connect with Manali. I eventually got a place there but later I thought, ‘What is the point of having a place in the hills when you hardly stay there?’ Then I decided to make it a home for my artwork and that’s how it became a gallery. I enjoy going there and want to find more time to visit and paint there. ”

Actor Dharmendra took to social media on Wednesday to share a video of himself receiving a Coronavirus booster shot. “The Omicron variant is spreading like wildfire,” he says, noting the need for everyone over the age of 60 to be jabbed. The actor adds, “I’m trying to take care of myself. But even after taking the shot, we should be very careful. So far, I’m doing well.”

The 86-year-old actor is currently nestled in his farmhouse in Lonavala to keep himself safe and away from Mumbai, where Coronavirus cases are on the rise. Dharmendra shares that he keeps himself busy with writing poetry and taking regular walks. He adds, “I also keep testing myself at regular intervals. It keeps the fear of contracting the virus at bay. I was supposed to go for a shoot in Daman but I cancelled it.”

However, he is quick to add that he’s eager to get back to work: “Five to ten days of shooting for Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani are still left. I truly enjoy playing this character. I’m so used to working that I can never sit idle. Work is worship for me.”

A couple of weeks back, Dharmendra was in Manali with his family, including his elder son, actor-politician Sunny Deol. “It was one of life’s best experiences. Sunny is an introvert, but this time he was very friendly with me. Baap bete ke beech mein izzat bahut zaroori hai but thoda sa khul jaana bhi achha hai. We went camping and enjoyed the snow,” ends the actor, who will also be seen in Apne 2.

In the first week of October, Nawazuddin Siddiqui headed to Shimla to kick off work on the horror outing, Adbhut. While the week-long schedule went by smoothly, the team — led by director Sabbir Khan — faced a hiccup in its next leg in Manali. The filmmaker, who has planned a month-long schedule in the resort town of Himachal Pradesh, had to call off the shoot on Monday due to unexpected rains in the area.  

The cast of the Sony Pictures production, including Diana Penty, Shreya Dhanwanthary and Rohan Mehra, were to can outdoor sequences on Monday. “But incessant rains lashed the town from early morning. We waited for a few hours, hoping that the downpour would subside, but Sabbir had to eventually cancel the shoot for the day,” says a unit hand. After the meteorological department predicted heavy rains for the next 48 hours in the state, Khan promptly informed the crew that filming will be halted for the next two days.

When mid-day reached out to the director, he confirmed the development, stating, “It was a completely unexpected change in weather. Shooting in the rains with a crew of this size is risky. Rains in hilly areas are known to cause landslides, and I didn’t want to put my team in any sort of danger.”

Khan is not worried about the slight delay caused by the weather. “We will make up for the lost time in the days to come,” he says assuredly, before adding that the unit is utilising the time to put their feet up.

Tahir Raj Bhasin loves the cooler climes. In fact, he spent more than a month in the mountains when Coronavirus cases began rising across the country. However, the actor faced extremely chilly weather in Ladakh during his shoot this April, before he could rest it out in Manali. He was in the beautiful, but tough terrain to shoot for a web project.

Talking about the challenging schedule, Tahir says, “The Ladakh schedule was testing because we were shooting at -10 degrees. Also, Ladakh is at a higher altitude, so that was an issue, too, as you have to acclimatize before you get comfortable, and even then, you often find yourself out of breath. It looks stunning visually, but I have never battled so much with nature for a performance. For a 6 am call time, we had to wake up at 4 am. You have no idea what it feels like when hand sanitiser is sprayed on your hands at -10 degrees, but we had to keep doing it, along with following other protocols.”

The Chhichhore actor feels that leading the cast adds to an actor’s responsibility, especially during a time like this. “When you are shooting at a remote location, you may not have a medical facility nearby, but at the same time, you are checking your newsfeed, so you are aware of what’s happening around you,” he says, adding, “As the lead actor, I felt a certain sense of responsibility. During a shooting schedule, your first priority is to be healthy, so that the shoot isn’t impacted. Of course, it affects the studio and the producer, but the other thing at the back of your mind as the lead is that, if something happens to you, all those who have struggled to earn in the last year — set designers, carpenters, make-up artistes, spot boys, security guards — their livelihood would be impacted, too. We know that work was hard to come by in the last year for people across departments, and that’s motivation enough to keep working and going that extra mile to ensure that you stay safe.”

Actor Tahir Raj Bhasin was shooting for his next web project in Manali when the second wave of Coronavirus took over the country. Witnessing the situation, he decided to stay back for a longer period than intended.

“It was a lockdown all over, including Chandigarh, Delhi, Maharashtra and Himachal Pradesh. Leaving Manali would have meant taking cabs and multiple flights, so it wasn’t a good time. I took it as the universe sending a sign that this is where I had to be,” he muses.

Bhasin, who has a host of projects lined up next including Looop Lapeta and ’83, shares, “I first shot for Looop Lapeta in Mumbai and Goa, then came here for this series. It’s a complete lockdown here as well, just with a better view and weather.”

Amid all this, getting the first dose of the vaccine became a task for the 34-year-old. “When the slots for ages 18 and above started opening, I checked around, and the only one was available at a small village called Jagatsukh, which is an hour away from my place, and I also needed transportation. We had to apply for an e-pass,” recounts the Chhichhore (2019) actor.

Expressing his gratitude for managing to get the jab, he says, “They had converted a small primary school into a health centre. It was beautiful and surreal, looking at the whole Kullu Manali valley while waiting for vaccination.”

Tahir Raj Bhasin left his Mumbai home to shoot for a web show in March and hasn’t returned to the city in the last three months. The actor shot in many parts of the country, including Madhya Pradesh, Ladakh and Himachal Pradesh, till the end of April. However, when it was time to return home, he decided to stay put at the last shooting destination, Manali. In fact, the actor even got his first jab of the vaccine there.

Talking about his long absence from Mumbai, Tahir says, “The show is such that it needed to be shot at various places. So, after shooting in Mumbai, we set out and filmed at various locations. The last part of the schedule was in Manali. But this place was chosen because we could see the signs of the second wave of the pandemic by mid-March. Shooting here with the minimum amount of people made sense as everyone would be at one place.”

The actor plans to come back to Mumbai soon, but before that he wants to stop over at Delhi to meet his family as he has not met them this year due to his work schedule and Coronavirus surge. Excerpts.

When asked why he decided to stay in Manali rather than return to Mumbai with the crew or head to Delhi where his family stays, the Chhichhore actor says, “After we finished shooting, I had to decide whether to stay back in Himachal or travel back. But the way things were back then, I would’ve probably had to take a car to Chandigarh, then a flight to Delhi and another flight to Mumbai. It didn’t seem like the wisest thing to do at that time, so I decided to stay put here.”

“It’s been over a month since I am in Manali, but I wouldn’t say that I am locked down here, I have stayed back by choice. People are expected to follow stringent safety precautions and protocol here, too,” says Tahir. Luckily, he managed to find accommodation there. “There’s a homestay that’s run by a family friend, which they opened for me. Luckily, I had an RT-PCR test done for the shoot, which you need to stay here. I just took it as a sign from the universe that I was here when the lockdown was announced in Mumbai,” he says.

The actor says that though rules are followed stringently, and he doesn’t get to venture out a lot, there are some perks to being in the midst of the mountains. He adds, “The rules here are pretty much the same, what’s different from Mumbai is the view and the weather.”

Tahir, a solo traveller, says he was conscious of the fact that this wasn’t a vacation. “I am fully aware that I am here only because of safety concerns, but as someone who has spent the previous lockdown in my apartment in Mumbai, I do know what that was like. Given a choice, this seemed to be a better option. Though I don’t get to be out a lot, everyone has a lawn and a little more space here in the mountains than in the cities, and the weather is definitely more hospitable. My friends in Delhi and Mumbai keep telling me that I am lucky to be surrounded by nature at a time like this, and I realise that, too,” he says.

Speaking about his routine in Manali, he shares, “My routine here is similar to the one I have in Mumbai. I have a workout routine at home and then I cook for myself. The only difference is the workout happens in the garden instead of a room in my apartment.”

Tahir says that the first lockdown emphasised the importance of human contact. He says, “That period really taught me the importance of family and being in touch with loved ones. When the pause button was hit due to the pandemic, everyone realised the importance of human contact. After the lockdown, when I stepped out and went for a short walk, it felt like such a privilege.”

Since his family lives in Delhi, he plans to meet them when he leaves Manali soon. “Due to the lockdown last year, I got an opportunity to meet them in November 2020. I haven’t met them this year due to my shooting schedule and the sudden surge in COVID cases. That’s another challenge when you are shooting,” he says, adding, “Even if you have two days off, you can’t meet someone else and put your crew at risk. On the other hand, you also meet people at work, and end up wondering whether it would be safe to go home and meet your parents and grandparents. This whole year has been challenging, especially for people living away from their families, because you have to pick whether you want to meet your family or you want to work.”