Expresso Bollywood News Update at 11:30 am on 5 July 2024

Bollywood update: Justin Bieber to perform at Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant’s sangeet ceremony today. Taapsee Pannu and Imtiaz Ali to guest star on The Indian Express’ Expresso series. Sudha Kongara discusses working with Suriya and Akshay Kumar.

Let us begin with our top story: From Rihanna and Katy Perry to the Backstreet Boys, many Hollywood artists have already performed at Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant’s pre-wedding parties. The pop sensation Justin Bieber has flown in from Los Angeles to perform at the couple’s sangeet ceremony today, July 5th. Videos of the Canadian singer walking out of the Mumbai airport’s private terminal have surfaced on social media. In the photos, Justin is dressed in casual attire. He wore a loose-fitted T-shirt and a bucket hat, as he quickly entered the parked car waiting for him. Anant and Radhika are set to tie the knot on Friday, July 12th.

Moving on, Actor Taapsee Pannu and filmmaker Imtiaz Ali will come together as the next guests of Expresso, the specially curated six-part series from The Indian Express. Taapsee and Imtiaz will be in conversation at the event, set to take place in Hyderabad today, July 5th. This will be the second event of Expresso, which kickstarted with much fanfare in April with Vidya Balan and Pratik Gandhi as the first guests. The two were in the romantic drama Do Aur Do Pyaar. Expresso will be a live event of 60-90 minutes, which will also feature an open audience Q&A.

Sudha Kongara, who is gearing up for the release of Sarfira, the Hindi remake of her 2020 film Soorarai Pottru, recently revealed how it was different to work with Tamil star Suriya and Bollywood star Akshay Kumar. In an interview with Galatta Plus, Sudha Kongara said, "I think the processes were different but where it landed was the same. Because I know Suriya is a lot more prepared and he gets better with time. He keeps telling me I get better and better with each take. Whereas with Akshay sir, he always kept telling me that my first shot was my best shot. But, no. I realised as he goes on with more takes, he gets better and better."

National Award-winning make-up and prosthetics artist Preetisheel Singh is the brain behind the much-discussed look of Amitabh Bachchan’s Ashwatthama in Nag Ashwin’s Kalki 2898 AD. In an interview with Mashable, Preetisheel said, "Amitabh Bachchan’s Ashwatthama look in Kalki 2898 AD is an ‘amalgamation of Indian mythology and futuristic design. To get an opportunity to work on Mr. Bachchan and to do something this iconic, is of great value. It was very interesting, something new to work on. We took inspiration from all these factors to show the ageing process, his dreadlocks, and everything, understood the character brief and then we made digital drawings."

Javed Akhtar and AR Rahman’s collaboration has given the Indian music industry some of its finest songs. Akhtar has worked with Rahman on projects like Lagaan, Swades, and Dil Se. In an interview with O2india, Javed Akhtar recalled AR Rahman’s strange yet unique practice. He said, “Rahman is a very unusual man. Let me share something unique yet strange. After entering the room, he would light a candle. I wondered why since the room was already lit. One day, noticing my curiosity, he said, Everything here is mechanical, a machine. There should be something real. This candle isn't a machine. Its light isn't a bulb. It reminds us that some things in life are beyond machines."

Meanwhile, Though Disha Patani plays a brief role in Nag Ashwin’s Kalki 2898 AD, she thoroughly enjoyed shooting the film with Prabhas. The actor, who portrays the character Roxie, took to her Instagram stories to praise the filmmaker. Disha shared a photo of Prabhas and Nag from inside a flight. She wrote, “Thank you Nag Ashwin for creating this crazy sci-fi world most beautifully, integrating Indian history and science, you’re truly a creative genius sharing conversations with you about anime was my highlight of being on your set. Thank you actor Prabhas for being the sweetest co-star ever and taking care of everyone."

Veteran actor Smriti Biswas died on Wednesday, July 3rd at the age of 100. The actor, best known for her work in Bengali, Hindi, and Marathi films, breathed her last at her house in Nashik due to age-related illness. Filmmaker Hansal Mehta took to his Instagram handle to confirm the news and condole her death. He shared a set of photos of the actor and thanked her for blessing people’s lives. He wrote, “Go away in peace and to a happier place dear Smritiji. Thank you for blessing our lives.” Social media too is flooded with condolence posts for Smriti Biswas with many sharing pictures of the actor from her various films.

Lastly: Actor Juhi Chawla gave all the credit for the Kolkata Knight Riders' success to her husband Jai Mehta and her longtime friend Shah Rukh Khan. At an event organised by the Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Juhi said, "I remember going to Shah Rukh’s home for meetings, where literally from putting the jingle together, to thinking of the uniform they’ll have, everything was done in-house. I still remember he made it black and gold, Shah Rukh, and I was not happy with it. I thought ‘What is this black and gold?’ Because black is considered inauspicious, isn’t it? But they worked more than I did.”

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