“Just FYI, this is how we escaped death today.” Rashmika Mandanna Shares Harrowing Flight Experience

Mumbai, Dec 24 (IANS) Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan has mourned the loss of veteran filmmaker Shyam Benegal, who passed away in Mumbai on December 23 aged 90.

The cine icon took to his blog, where he expressed his sadness over the death of the filmmaker, who pioneered the parallel film movement in India.

Amitabh wrote: “The Indian Film Industry loses another stalwart ..Sad ..Shyam Benegal .. passes away .. Our prayers and condolences ..My affection

The filmmaker was suffering from a kidney ailment for a while, and was admitted to Wockhardt hospital in Mumbai. His funeral will be held in Mumbai at 10:00 am on Tuesday.

Shyam Benegal is widely considered as one of the greatest filmmakers after the 1970s, and received several honours like 18 National Film Awards, a Nandi Award, the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, India’s highest award in the field of cinema, a Padma Shri, and Padma Bhushan.

The filmmaker recently celebrated his 90th birthday in Mumbai.

He was born in Hyderabad to Sridhar B. Benegal who was prominent in the field of photography. He was the second cousin of the legendary Indian auteur Guru Dutt.

Shyam Benegal started his career as a copywriter, and made his first Documentary film in Gujarati, ‘Gher Betha Ganga’ in 1962. His first four feature films ‘Ankur’ (1973), ‘Nishant’ (1975), ‘Manthan’ (1976) and ‘Bhumika’ (1977) made him a pioneer of the new wave film movement of that period.

His film ‘Mandi’ (1983), is known for its satire on politics and prostitution. The film starred Shabana Azmi and Smita Patil. Later, working from his own story, based on the last days of Portuguese in Goa, in the early 1960s, Shyam explored human relationships in ‘Trikal’.

Benegal’s last project was the 2023 biographical film ‘Mujib: The Making of a Nation’, an epic biographical film based on the life of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founding father and first president of Bangladesh who is popularly known as Bangabandhu.

–IANS

dc/

Mumbai, Dec 18 (IANS) “American Warrior,” a powerful tale of redemption, resilience, and transformation, was screened at the Culver City Film Festival in Los Angeles on December 14.

This screening followed the film’s highly acclaimed premiere at the 55th International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in Goa on November 24. The film had already garnered considerable international attention, with its debut in India receiving an enthusiastic response.

Speaking about the film, VishyAyyar, who played the protagonist in the movie, shared, “The film meant everything to me—it’s my life, my blood, sweat, and tears for over 10 years. I loved it, breathed it, and it brought me to my knees. At the same time, my heart was filled with gratitude. This project had been my baby, and I couldn’t have done it without the incredible support of my team. A special thank you to Naveen Chathapuram, our lead producer, Cristy Coors Beasley, my manager who became a producer, and Rashana Shah and Chaitra from Women and Cloud for their invaluable help. I also want to acknowledge Gustavo Martin, our director, who brought my story to life with his brilliant screenplay. This film was the product of so many great people working together to make this vision a reality.

In addition to its success in Goa, “American Warrior” competed at numerous international festivals, including the 33rd Heartland Film Festival, Tallgrass Film Festival, Tasveer Film Festival, San Antonio Film Festival, and the Santa Fe Film Festival in 2024.

At these festivals, the film and its cast received multiple accolades, including Best Actress for Veronica Falcón and Best Cinematographer for Derek Fisher.

The cast included acclaimed actors such as Omi Vaidya, best known for his performance as “Chatur Ramalingam” in the 3 Idiots, and Danny Trejo, known globally for his iconic roles in action movies like Machete, who played the role of “Dennis”, a seasoned MMA coach.

Veronica Falcón, from Ozark, played “Marcella”, the tenacious owner of a local gym, while Andrew Gray, who starred as the Red Ranger in Power Rangers Megaforce, played “Marcus”, Jai’s fierce opponent in the ring.

“American Warrior” is set for worldwide release in April 2025.

–IANS

ps/

Mumbai, Dec 23 (IANS) Lovebirds Tamannaah Bhatia and Vijay Varma are making the most of their time together, enjoying a romantic getaway in Goa.

On Monday, the ‘Baahubali’ actress took to her Instagram to share photos and videos from the trip. In one of the clips, Tamannaah and Vijay can be seen playing a video game with their other friends.

Bhatia also shared her solo and candid photos. Based on the actress’s post, it’s clear that she is currently holidaying in Goa with her boyfriend Vijay and their close friends.

Sharing the post, the ‘Rebel’ actress captioned it, “Goa getaway.”

Vijay Varma and Tamannaah Bhatia reportedly began dating during the filming of Netflix’s anthology “Lust Stories 2.” Rumours about their relationship started circulating after they were spotted together at a New Year’s party in Goa. However, Vijay clarified that they did not start dating during the shoot of the film.

In an earlier interview with Tanmay Bhat on Netflix India’s YouTube channel, the actor called “Lust Stories 2” a cupid, revealing that their real-life love story began much later.

Vijay was quoted as saying, “Lust Stories was cupid, but it wasn’t during the shoot that we started dating. There was talk of a wrap party happening, but it never took place. So, we wanted to have a wrap party, and only four people showed up. That day, I feel I told her I wanted to hang out more with you. It took 20-25 days for the first date to happen after that.”

In 2024, Tamannaah officially confirmed her romance with Vijay in an interview in June. Since then, the couple has been openly affectionate, regularly commenting on each other’s social media posts and making public appearances together at various events.

Last month, they served major couple goals when they arrived together at Manish Malhotra’s star-studded Diwali bash.

–IANS

ps/