Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; September 23, 2019)

Not too long ago, Pankaj Tripathi had told mid-day about his plan to set up a writers' retreat in his village, Gopalgunj. Even as he is giving shape to the creative hub, the actor is doing his bit to mentor writers. Turns out, Tripathi hosts an informal meet-up at his Madh Island address once every week where writers, both aspiring and successful, come together to share ideas and brainstorm over scripts.

A source says, "Even when people are not offering him parts, they sit with Pankaj to narrate their story ideas. Writers — including Varun Grover, Puneet Sharma, Nilotpal Mrinal and Gaurav Solanki — often brainstorm with him. Pankaj is enamoured by literature, and enjoys being introduced to worlds and stories he isn't familiar with."

Confirming the news, Tripathi says, "The process helps me to grow as an artiste because at the end of the day, an actor is a part of the larger process of communicating the same vision. The spirit of any film lies in the script, which is owned firstly by a writer. Actors are merely tools putting out that story in the world. It's a collaborative process of evolving together."

DNA (May 12, 2019)

Amitabh Bachchan and Shoojit Sircar, who have collaborated on movies such as Piku (2015) and Pink (2016), have now come together to pay an ode to moms with a special montage video titled Maa. Released on May 10, it has music by Anuj Garg while Puneet Sharma has penned the lyrics. Big B has rendered the soul-stirring homage in his baritone while Shoojit has created the clip.

The montage begins with a slide show of images of brave and inspiring mothers, along with the years of their birth and death. It also features a picture of the Badla actor as a boy along with his mother, Teji Bachchan. On Friday, the legend of Hindi cinema shared the special number online and tweeted, “Tomorrow on Mother’s Day a small tribute under Shoojit Sircar’s creation, Anuj Garg’s music, his son’s voice, lyrics by Puneet Sharma .. and my voice!”

Talking about how he got the idea for the homage, the filmmaker said in a statement: “This video is not just for those who have lost their mothers, but also those who are fortunate enough to still be in their mom’s shadows. The idea first came to me through music. Anuj pitched the musical piece to me, as a special birthday surprise for his wife, on behalf of his small son Yajat Garg, who incidentally is the child’s voice in the video. I felt none other than Mr Bachchan could do vocal justice to the lyrics. So, I initially sent him small video clips along with the photo of him with his mother — the late Teji Bachchan, asking his reaction. He immediately responded saying it was a great idea and agreed to do it.” He added, “For me, it was a powerful moment to shape a tribute which speaks from a child’s point of view as well as a person with decades of life gone by. No matter the age, we feel our mother’s presence all the time.”