Kolhapur: A dancer (28), featuring in Riteish Deshmukh’s upcoming movie ‘Raja Shivaji’, drowned in Krishna river at Sangam Mahuli near Satara city on Tuesday evening.

Saurabh Sharma from Ghatkopar was part of the dancing crew of the movie. The production staff told cops Sharma and a few others went into the river to clean themselves after shooting a dance sequence on Tuesday evening.

After some time, the other crew members realised that Sharma was missing and started to search for him. Deshmukh was also on the set at the time of the incident.

The next day, teams from Shivendraraje Rescue, Mahabaleshwar Rescue, and police launched search operations, but he could not be found.

“On Thursday morning, the body floated upwards and got stuck on the other side of the bank. It was taken out. The post-mortem showed that the dancer died due to water lodged in the lungs,” said S B More, sub-inspector of Satara City Police Station. 

Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; December 20, 2019)

As Dabangg 3 opens across cinemas today, Salman Khan’s fans in the villages of Vaduth and Tasgaon in Maharashtra have a reason to cheer. Picture Time, the digital mobile theatre, in collaboration with Cinemawale, has arranged the simultaneous release of the cop caper in the two villages. The two-year-old digiplex is a travelling cinema chain that screens films in tents in remote parts of the country and offers the benefits of a multiplex — read air conditioning and digital projection.

While Sushil Chaudhary, CEO, Picture Time, has earlier taken movies to different pockets that do not boast of cinema halls, Dabangg 3 marks the company’s first simultaneous release. He informs that the team has scheduled four shows in a day, with the price of tickets ranging from Rs 25 to Rs 80. “Our aim is to take newly released films to the interiors of India, where cinema isn’t accessible. With Dabangg 3 being screened in districts like Sangli and Satara, it is a matter of pride for us that the endeavour is living up to its purpose.”

Manjrekar on sharing frame with daughter Saiee in Salman’s Dabangg 3
Upala KBR (MID-DAY; July 18, 2019)

While his character as an alcoholic and father to Sonakshi Sinha’s Rajjo was written off in Dabangg, Mahesh Manjrekar will return to Salman Khan’s franchise yet again in the upcoming third instalment, part of which is a prequel to the first edition. The actor confirms to mid-day that this offering will see him share screen space with his daughter, Saiee, who features as a young Chulbul Pandey’s love interest.

With Dabangg 3 chronicling Chulbul’s journey to becoming a cop, Manjrekar too will slip into a young avatar.

The actor, who is currently filming for the offering in Phaltan, tells mid-day, “I reprise my role of Haria. It’s a cameo which is there to establish Chulbul’s journey. I had one scene with Saiee and Salman, and it was wonderful to be in the same frame as my daughter. I felt proud and emotional.”

The development comes after Manjrekar featured in a Marathi venture with his youngest daughter, Gauri Ingawale. “This year, I have acted with both my daughters. There were reports that my elder daughter Ashwami was in Dabangg 3, but she is a chef, and never wanted to be an actor. She assisted me for a while on Viruddh (2005). She would have been a fantastic director, but she never wanted to be in films. Saiee has always wanted to be an actress.”

Manjrekar’s son, Satya, 24, also harbours acting aspirations. “But he has to learn the ropes of the profession.”

Gauri, meanwhile, is pursuing a bachelors degree in dance. “She’s the best actress in the world. I have just directed her in the Marathi film, Pandhrun, which will release in Diwali. It’s a period film set in the ’60s. She plays a 16-year-old child widow.”

It was during a reality show in Satara that Manjrekar first saw Gauri, and decided to take her under his wing as her guardian. “I saw great promise in her. I don’t know if she is a better dancer or actor. Her parents are there, and she visits them during her holidays. I told them that she had a great future, and she wouldn’t be able to have that if she continued to stay in Satara. Since then, she has been with us.”

Khan’s producer-brother Arbaaz also returns as Makkhanchand Pandey in Dabangg 3, which is being helmed by Prabhudheva.

MUMBAI MIRROR (April 25, 2018)

On Tuesday at 5 pm, a major fire gutted the Wai sets of the Akshay Kumar and Parineeti Chopra-starrer Kesari. The unit, which has been filming extensive sequences in the area since last month, had been shooting a war scene for the Karan Johar production when the fire broke out. The sequence in progress featured shots of extras running amok after a series of bomb blasts, one of which was a mistimed explosion, leading to fire engulfing the entire set. “Luckily, everyone was rescued on time and there were no casualties. But the set, including equipment and cameras, has been completely destroyed,” a source from the site told Mirror.

Akshay, who has been taking the chopper from Mumbai to reach the location, which is situated in the Satara district, at 7 am every day, had already wrapped up his portions for the day and left. “Ten days of shooting for the film’s climax sequence is pending and now the makers are scouting for an alternate location where the war set can be rebuilt,” the source added.

Directed by Anurag Singh, the period-actioner is based on the 1897 battle of Saragarhi, which was fought between 21 Sikhs and 10,000 soldiers of the Afghan army. The film, which kicked off in January 2018, is expected to release in 2019 but shooting has temporarily been put on hold.
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Blast on location in Wai as elaborate war sequence goes horribly wrong, cast and crew of period drama escape unhurt
Mohar Basu and Chaitraly Deshmukh (MID-DAY; April 25, 2018)

Akshay Kumar has been shooting for Kesari, which is based on the 1987 Battle of Saragarhi, in Wai over the past four months. The unit of the period drama was in for a shock yesterday when a massive fire broke out on the location in the early evening.

A source says, “Anurag Singh [director] was filming a war sequence on location when one of the bombs, being used for the scene, exploded. Within a matter of seconds, the entire set was gutted. Most of the lighting equipment and cameras were lost in the fire. Fortunately, not a single person of the 100-member-strong unit was hurt.”

Kumar, who usually shoots through the day in Wai and flies back to Mumbai on his chartered chopper in the evenings, had left for the day around 3.30 pm. “None of the primary actors were required for the shoot. Akshay filmed his portions by late afternoon and then the director proceeded to can the war sequence with the additional artistes,” adds the source.

With the set now destroyed in the fire, the team has the challenge of recreating the Gulistan Fort — one of the key sites of the battle. “Since a 10-day shoot is yet to be covered, a new set will need to be recreated. Though it’s too early to say, the makers are now considering building the set in Film City in Mumbai.”

Confirming the news, the police officials of Satara said, “The fire department of Bhuinj and those of surrounding areas were alerted [about the incident]. By evening, the fire was brought under control.”

Meena Iyer (DNA; April 12, 2018)

Yesterday, when Akshay Kumar headed to Wai, he had two things on his itinerary. The first was the shooting of Karan Johar’s patriotic film, Kesari, a major portion of which is being shot in and around the town.

But once he had taken off his turban, the Pad Man actor got started on the second thing that was on his mind. Accompanied by some members of his team, he headed to Pimpode Budruk, which is located in Koregaon Tehsil in Satara, Maharashtra, and helped the locals with water harvesting.

One hears that ever since Kesari rolled in January this year, during his frequent trips Akshay has been keenly studying the topography and climatic conditions of the place. He had also been interacting with the locals. In one of his conversations, Akki heard about Pimpode Budruk, which had been facing a water crisis.

A source said, “Besides donating Rs 25 lakh to the villagers to get them to begin work on water harvesting, Akshay travelled there yesterday to work with them. He helped them dig huge recharge pits to store water that could later be harvested.”

Apparently, this hamlet, which has a population of around 10,000 people, has been facing a severe drought situation, though some of the other villages located in the same vicinity have been more fortunate with the water supply situation.

An insider, who accompanied Akki on the mission, said the locals were happy with the actor’s participation. When he told them, “I don’t want you to have water in your eyes, it’s your taps that must have water,” the crowd cheered. Incidentally, Akshay recently received the social influencer award from a media house. The award was given to him by Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Devendra Fadnavis.