SCOOPS: Kangana Ranaut to celebrate Manikarnika success, Ranbir Kapoor watches Gully Boy with Alia Bhatt and more

Kangana Ranaut will host a party tomorrow to celebrate the success of her historical epic, Manikarnika: The Queen Of Jhansi. The film, which saw her in battle mode as the warrior queen, was appreciated by critics and audiences alike. The actress has invited her co-actors and close friends to her residence for the do.

Over four years ago, Rani Mukerji gave a fiesty performance as the policewoman Shivani Shivaji Roy, who takes on the kingpin of a child-trafficking racket in Mardaani. Now, the actress is all set for an encore as she dons the khaki once again for the sequel, Mardaani 2. This time around, Shivani is the Superintendent of Police locked in a vicious battle with a 21-year-old merciless villain.  

While the anticipation is high for the movie, the news of which was broken by After Hrs, we have heard that Rani begins shooting this film on March 18. 

Interestingly, this movie comes as a stark contrast to her last outing, Hichki (2018), in which she essayed a teacher with Tourette syndrome.

The new drama thriller, which also marks the directorial debut of Gopi Puthran, will go on floors with a short spell in Mumbai. “Rani is raring to go and it will be thrilling to see her back in action as Shivani Shivaji Roy. What adds to the curiosity is that this time, the villain is a 21-year old who knows no empathy. Their edge-of-the-seat showdown will have the audiences glued to their seats,” reveals a source associated with the movie. 

It’s normal for an actor to take a break from work and rest to recuperate from an injury he/she suffers during shooting. However, Nora Fatehi doesn’t believe in taking time off and waiting for the injury to heal.  

The lissome lass, who is currently shooting for Batla House, starring John Abraham, refused to retire hurt when she suffered an injury while filming a high-energy dance number for the action thriller. Even though director Nikkhil Advani suggested halting the shoot, Nora preferred to take a breather for a few minutes and urged the filmmaker to resume and complete the day’s portion as scheduled.  

Even though the pain hadn’t subsided the following day, the dancing diva remained undeterred. She sizzled despite the pain and only when she had completed shooting her portions did she to rest it out. While her professionalism is known to all those who she has worked with, this further reaffirms the fact that she never shies away from going an extra mile in her dedication to work.  

Anil Kapoor is one actor who has endeared himself to people across age groups, and has the best of filmmakers casting him in their movies. The National Award winner recently visited the sets of Super Dancer 3, which has Anurag Basu on the jury.

A source from the sets says that as soon as the Total Dhamaal actor met the filmmaker, he said,  “Anuragji you make great movies and I’m a huge fan of your work.”

The source says that these words left Anurag blushing and he was at a loss of words. However, Anil further added, “You’ve made films with Katrina (Kaif) and Priyanka (Chopra) and now I think it would be really amazing if you could cast me in your next film.” This further embarrassed Anurag and he ran towards Anil to touch his feet, but the versatile actor pulled him in for a hug.

Ranbir Kapoor attended the private screening of girlfriend Alia Bhatt’s film Gully Boy. The couple drove together to a preview theatre in the suburbs on Wednesday night. Alia’s parents — Mahesh Bhatt and Soni Razdan — and close friends were also present here.

(Pic: Yogen Shah)