SCOOPS: Sara Ali Khan's NOT teaming up with Varun Dhawan, Amitabh Bachchan's surprise for Taapsee Pannu and more

Sara Ali Khan seems to be the hottest newcomer in tinsel town today. Even as she gears up for her Bollywood debut, the newbie — who has Rohit Shetty’s Simmba with Ranveer Singh and Abhishek Kapoor’s Kedarnath with Sushant Singh Rajput lined up for release — is reported to have signed her third film. Buzz in the trade indicates that she has bagged David Dhawan’s next, starring Varun Dhawan. 

However, our source privy to the Dhawans’ project states that things are still far from being finalised. “David is still working on the script. And only after the screenplay is locked will he approach an actress. Till then, there’s no question of discussing it with any suitable actress, forget finalising or signing anyone for his next with Varun.” 

It was a dream come true for Taapsee Pannu when she received a letter from Amitabh Bachchan. The Hindi cinema icon, who caught a preview of Manmarziyaan late Sunday evening, came out impressed by her acting chops. The following day, he sent her a huge bouquet along with a letter praising her performance in the romance drama that also stars Abhishek Bachchan and Vicky Kaushal.

We hear the actress, who has worked with Big B in Shoojit Sircar’s Pink, was floored by all the taareef his letter conveyed. Incidentally, Taapsee will be sharing screen space with Bachchan Sr again in Sujoy Ghosh’s murder mystery, Badla.

Sridevi passed away this year on February 24. Since then, several honours have been bestowed in her name, not just in India, but also by various other countries where she left her mark with her films.

Recently, the Switzerland Tourism Board announced plans of installing a statue in the memory of the actress who shot several songs of her 1989 superhit Chandni there. That’s not all, a UK-based charity organisation has created a mural of the actress in a pose from the song Mere Haathon Mein Nau-Nau Chudiyaan Hain from the romantic musical.

However, it has been noted that the Southern states have not paid any tributes to the late diva who began her journey as a child artiste in South cinema and did over 225 movies there. 

This Ganesh Chaturthi is special for Tamannaah Bhatia. The Baahubali actress, who has been hosting Bappa for years now, will be launching her own diamond jewellery line for her parents’ brand on this auspicious day.

A source close to the actress, who was also seen in It’s Entertainment and Humshakals, says, “Tamannaah actually wanted to surprise her parents on their 35th wedding anniversary last week. But since they have been hosting the Elephant God at their home for three decades, she thought a dual celebration would be ideal in this case. She had always wanted to start her own label, so what better occasion than Ganesh Chaturthi to start her jewellery line?”

The actress, who is currently working on the Telugu remake of Kangana Ranaut’s Queen, also has Kunal Kohli’s next with Sundeep Kishan lined up for release this year. 

As part of its annual property — Zee Rishtey Awards — Zee TV is all set to sponsor the wedding of a much-in-love couple  Priya Singh and Sunny Kakkar.

Apparently, Priya and Sunny, who hail from Bareilly, approached the channel with a request to have their favourite jodi Abhi-Pragya (from Kumkum Bhagya) join them at their nuptials. “That’s when the channel decided to turn the couple’s dream to reality with not just Abhi-Pragya but the entire family of Zee TV’s stars participating in the revelry,” says our source. Marked by a series of events including Roka, Bachelor’s party, Mehendi, Sangeet and Shaadi, it will be a grand spectacle. Abhi (Shabir Ahluwalia) and Pragya (Sriti Jha) will lead the nuptials as Priya and Sunny’s foster siblings. 

Says Priya, “Zee TV has always been an integral part of our families and we are ardent fans of Kumkum Bhagya. Abhi-Pragya are not just on-screen characters for us. We closely identify with their journey of emotions. It has been our dream to invite them to our wedding. We knew that this will never materialise as the idea was far-fetched, aisa toh filmon mein hota hai... but we thought — hum khud hi kyon apne sapnon par parda daalein? So, we took a chance and wrote to the channel. Inviting the entire family to be a part of our wedding proves that Zee TV not only believes but also lives and breathes their philosophy of ‘Aaj Likhenge Kal.’