In Pics: Why Kajol won't turn director, Saif Ali Khan returns signing fee to Ekta Kapoor, Arjun gets injured and more

Ajay Devgn began his B-Town career as an actor and then graduated to producing and even directing films. He has helmed two projects — U Me Aur Hum (2008) and Shivaay (2016) — in the last decade. 

However, his biwi, Kajol, has no such ambitions. While she returns to the screen three years after Dilwale (2015) with Helicopter Eela, she isn’t keen to get behind the camera to call the shots. When we recently asked her whether she would ever consider taking up direction, she said, “No. Direction requires a certain temperament and the ability to play a peacemaker, which I do not have.” Considering the fact that she does a brilliant job in front of the camera, we are sure fans would be happy if she keeps showing up on the big screen at regular intervals.

Saif Ali Khan was meant to do a film for Ekta Kapoor’s banner. At one point, it was conjectured that he would star in Sujoy Ghosh’s thriller based on Japanese author Keigo Higashino’s bestseller, The Devotion of Suspect X. However, it was shelved. In the last three years, Ekta and Saif tried to find another movie to collaborate on, but things didn’t work out due to some reason. A source said that recently, the Nawab of Pataudi graciously returned the signing amount to the television czarina. Guess, when they do narrow down on a future project, Saif may stand to collect another cheque.

Wish other stars would take a leaf out of the actor’s book and return what is not theirs. 

Oh oh, Arjun Rampal hurt himself. The actor had a fall the other day and hurt his knee. He shared the news on his Instagram account with a short video of undergoing an MRI scan. “Torn my ACL….bummer. Bad timing. #accidents #MRI #bedridden (sic)” 

ACL aka Anterior Cruciate Ligament is the most common knee injury and the actor has been advised bed rest over the weekend. While any injury is bad for an actor, it’s more so for Arjun at this point as he’s promoting his upcoming war film, Paltan. The team is scheduled to fly to Delhi today for a round of promotions. A source says after a weekend’s rest, Arjun should be able to travel with his Paltan.

More often than not, actors are known to explore the places they are shooting their movies in and find things to do. However, options are few and far in between when one is shooting in a distant small town or a hill station in Uttarakhand. Like it was for the Batti Gul Meter Chalu team when they had gone to Tehri for the shoot. 

So, after learning more about the place, Shahid Kapoor decided to go out and look around the city with his co-star Shraddha Kapoor. On one occasion, the two went fishing at the Tehri lake. And Sasha managed to hook a big fish. However, since he is a strict vegetarian, he felt bad about having got it out of its natural habitat. So, he quickly released it back into the water.

When a couple of actresses collaborate on a movie together, they often connect and support each other, which, in turn, also proves to be inspiring for others. We hear that Richa Chadha, Mrunal Thakur and Freida Pinto formed a great bond during and post the shooting of their upcoming film, Love Sonia. Mrunal, who makes her big-screen debut with this hard-hitting intense drama, feels overwhelmed with the love and support she got from her co-stars. 

Moreover, the three actresses were seen like pillars of strength alongside their director Tabrez Noorani at the various international screenings of the movie. The girl gang had a gala time with each other as they promoted it overseas and continue their bonding as they gear up for the movie’s release in India. 

Featuring a strong ensemble cast comprising  Manoj Bajpayee, Rajkummar Rao, Sai Tamhankar, Adil Hussain, Anupam Kher, Demi Moore, Mark Duplass and Riya Sisodiya, the film is produced by Tabrez and David Womak (Life Of Pi), co-produced by Amar Butala. Shalini Thackeray, Deepak Nayar and Pravesh Sahni are its executive producers. 

Love Sonia, presented by Tamasha Talkies and Samraaj Talkies in association with India Take One Productions, Cinemantra Entertainment and Media and Dynasty Consulting Group, distributed by Zee Studios in India, releases on September 17.

Vivek Anand Oberoi turns a year older today, but the actor has decided to not celebrate his special day. Says a source, “Vivek is affected by the lives that have been lost in the Kerala floods and the damages the state has faced owing to the calamity. He believes that it would be insensitive to celebrate at this time. 

Instead, he will be working on his birthday. He will complete the shoot of India’s Best Dramebaaz in Mumbai in the first half of the day and then fly to Thiruvananthapuram for his Malayalam film Lucifer with superstar Mohanlal in the second half of the day.”