SCOOPS: Amrita Singh flooded with praises for Sara Ali Khan, Kapil Sharma on KBC grand finale and more...

Ever since the trailer of Kedarnath was launched on November 12, Amrita Singh has been busy replying to the congratulatory messages sent to her for daughter Sara Ali Khan. Says a source, “People have remarked about the similarities between Sara in Kedarnath and Amrita in Betaab (1983), which was the latter’s Bollywood debut. After people got a glimpse of the young actress’ performance in the trailer as well as the song Sweetheart, they have praised Sara’s screen presence. The audience has also been talking about the similarities between the mother and daughter.” Mommy dearest is, of course, thrilled about the compliments that have been showered on her beti. “If Amrita is taking some time to reply to the messages sent by friends and well-wishers, it’s because the trio — Amrita and her kids, Sara and Ibrahim — are currently in England,” adds the source.

Varun Dhawan is known to be a fitness freak. So much so that before any gruelling action sequence or shirtless scenes, he amps up his workout regime to look his fittest best. That’s what he did for his next film Kalank. Says a source, “Varun is expected to film a  scene with a lot of body shots. He had been working out for hours for the scene. But when he finally showed the team how his body looked, everyone was shocked. Both Alia Bhatt and Aditya Roy Kapur told him that they envied how he could easily transform his body within a few days and asked him for his secret tip.” But that’s something only Varun and his trainer Prashant Sawant know!

Kapil Sharma will soon be returning to TV with his comedy show. While the shoot will start in mid-December, there is no clarity on when the show will go on air. However, we have learnt that the stand-up comedian will be seen on the small-screen before that! Kapil will be making an appearance on 

Amitabh Bachchan’s Kaun Banega Crorepati in the finale episode. Incidentally, it was the comedian who had opened the eighth season of the game show back in 2014.

Once Sa Re Ga Ma Pa gets over, Zee is all set to air Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Li’l Champs, the auditions for which have already begun. Shaan has been roped in as the judge for the talent hunt. The singer has had a long association with the show and is returning as the judge after four years. He says, “It is like a homecoming of sorts for me. Previously I have been a co-judge with Monali Thakur and Alka Yagnik and it has been a wonderful association with this team. The kind of talent that we get on this show is astonishing as the creative team ensures that they get only the best voices from across the country. It has been instrumental in giving a platform to young kids across the country to come and showcase their talent and I’m excited to listen to the variety of voices of today’s young generation.” The show to be hosted by Aditya Narayan is slated to go on air in January.

Aparshakti Khurana turns a year older today and this birthday is special for the actor for more reasons than one. His last release Stree is his first Rs 100-crore film and he is in a happy space. Not only that, coincidentally, the film is having a television premiere today and the actor is planning to watch it with the producers Raj Nidimoru and Krishna DK at their house. Aparshakti feels there couldn’t have been a better gift. “Though I will be shooting for a short film in the morning, I’ll wrap it up by noon so that I can catch the movie.” He will later step out for dinner with his family and close friends.

Pooja Hegde along with the entire crew of Housefull 4 has been busy shooting for the period comedy. The reincarnation sequences of the film are currently being shot at a suburban Mumbai studio. While we earlier told you that Pooja is paired opposite Akshay Kumar in the period portions of HF4, her role too has been made meatier. So despite bad health, the Mohenjo Daro heroine has been regularly shooting for the same. Says a source, “Pooja has not been keeping well for a few days. She is suffering from a bad cough and cold but despite that, she has been regularly taking shots and filming for her portions with the entire team.”

The Bombay High Court recently sentenced film producer Gaurang Doshi to six months’ imprisonment after he was found guilty of wilful breach of an earlier order directing him to deposit a sum of Rs 1.25 crore in court. Producer of movies like Aankhen and Deewar, he had entered into an agreement with Scorg International Consulting Private Limited on December 26, 2015. Scorg was to provide a finance of Rs 1 crore for Gaurang’s film (Aankhen 2), and he had to return the amount of Rs 1.25 crore by March 26, 2016. However, Gaurang did not return the money as the film did not release and in April 2017, Scorg filed an aribitration petition following which an ad-interim order was passed by Justice GS Patel directing Gaurang to make a disclosure of all their assets. However, no such disclosure was made. 

On June 20, 2017, Justice KR Shriram directed the respondents to deposit a sum of Rs 1,25,11,111 in court. Gaurang failed to do that also after which a contempt petition was filed by Scorg International against him for committing wilful breach of court’s order. A bailable warrant was issued against Gaurang, who appeared in court and later his advocate deposited a cheque of Rs 10 lakhs but it was not honoured as the producer’s account was blocked. On August 30, 2018, the filmmaker again committed to pay Rs 1.15 crore by September 2018, but did not do so. Neither did he appear in court. The Court was informed that he had left the country and would arrange for funds. 

Dr Abhinav Chandrachud appeared on behalf of Scorg International and submitted that Gaurang’s frequent foreign visit showed he had sufficient funds to stay abroad for long periods of time but intentionally disobeyed court orders. The court was convinced of Doshi’s guilt but Doshi’s mother, Madhukanata was also a respondent in the matter. However, the court did not sentence her considering her old age.