The BUZZ

PRIYANKA CHOPRA’S “NEVER SAY NEVER” MANTRA TO BEING INDIA’S PRIME MINISTER

Actress Priyanka Chopra Jonas says she would likely consider running for Prime Minister of India. Someday.

In an interview with The Sunday Times, the Quantico actress opened up about her political aspirations and her husband - pop star Nick Jonas.

“I would love to run for Prime Minister of India. I would love Nick to run for President,” Priyanka, 36, said. “I don’t like the things associated with politics, but I know that both of us really want to make a change. Never say never.”

While Priyanka said she has tried to remain apolitical throughout her life because she likes to “cheer for humanity”, the actress could not deny the fact that Nick, 26, would make a great leader. “He’s not afraid to use the word (feminist) and I love that,” she said.

Priyanka, who got married to Nick in December 2018, had previously praised the Sucker singer in April at Tina Brown’s 10th Annual Women in the World Summit.

Back then, she had said of her husband, “I call him ‘Old Man Jonas’. That’s my name for him ‘OMJ’. He’s such an old soul, extremely smart, so good for me because he grounds me so much. I’m a wild child, I do whatever I want, whenever I want and he always supports me.”

VARANASI’S THE PLACE TO BE

Varanasi, which has taken centre stage in India’s electoral politics since Prime Minister Narendra Modi made it his Lok Sabha constituency, has become an exciting place for filmmakers to explore over the past couple of years.

The crew of Karan Johar’s mega production Brahmastra, which stars Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt, is currently filming in Varanasi.

Megastar Rajinikanth also filmed for his movie Petta in the city, said to be one of the oldest in the world. Its beauty also attracted Puri Jagannadh for his next Telugu film, while Zaigham Imam’s latest release Nakkash was also shot in Varanasi.

While its picturesque ghats, iconic temples, narrow lanes, mohallas and the expanse and serenity of the Ganges have long attracted Indian and international filmmakers, Imam pointed out multiple factors that have helped Varanasi to emerge as a preferred filming destination.

“It is the constituency of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Since 2014, Varanasi has been in the newswhether for political or other reasons. People have been saying Uttar Pradesh itself has come up as a political centre.

But what is interesting is that whenever there is a social change in India, it reflects in Benaras (Varanasi) in a prominent way because the cultural values there are different and very interesting,” said Imam.

In Nakkash, Imam explores the story of a Muslim craftsman who uses his skills to engrave Hindu temples in Varanasi. His first film Dozakh - In Search Of Heaven (2012) told the story of a Hindu-Muslim clash and was also set in the same city.

“There is an interesting social, internal layer in Varanasi,” explained Imam, who feels that the box office success of Bollywood films set in small towns is also contributing towards how filmmakers are looking this way.

The UP Government’s film policy is helping too.

“There are incentives for films to shoot in UP and a single window mechanism,” a UP Government official said. “Varanasi is therefore attractive for filmmakers, and its locations - backed by heritage legacy and mysticism - make it that much more appealing. As a location it is perfect for films that seek the old world Indian charm or a blend of culture and contemporary India.”

Wonder what PM Chopra-Jonas and President Jonas would mean for the IndoUS relationship.

PHOOLAN DEVI’S AUTOBIOGRAPHY TO BE ADAPTED FOR WEB

Phoolan Devi aka the Bandit Queen’s autobiography I, Phoolan Devi, will be made into a web series.

“There are important chapters and layers of Phoolan Devi’s life that remain unexplored and the web series format will allow us the bandwidth to do that,” said Kishor Arora, co-founder of Namah Pictures, which has acquired the rights of the book.

Umed Singh Bhaiya, the husband of the late Phoolan Devi, said that “the truth of Phoolan’s life should reach out to people. It’s a tale of a rebel that should inspire women across the world to speak against any atrocity.”

Shareen Mantri Kedia, co-founder of Namah Pictures, added, “In the current digital age, we feel that Phoolan Devi’s stark and immersing tale will find a resonance in audiences across geographies and demographics.”

Namah Pictures had previously produced filmmaker Majid Majidi’s feature Beyond the Clouds as well as the web show Karenjit Kaur - The Untold Story of Sunny Leone.

PRIYANKA, NICK RECREATE ROMEO-JULIET MOMENT

Actress Priyanka Chopra Jonas and her husband Nick Jonas recreated the iconic balcony scene from Romeo and Juliet, to the delight of swooning fans worldwide.

Priyanka accompanied Nick to iHeart Radio’s Wango Tango concert in California earlier this week. The singer and his brothers Joe and Kevin - who together form the Jonas Brothersperformed their new singles at the gig.

The Isn't It Romantic actress posted images from their outing on Instagram, which showed them recreating the iconic and modified-for-2019 balcony scene from William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. While Nick stood on a balcony with a paper cup in his hand, Priyanka looked at him from down below.

“Romeo oh Romeo… and Ava drew #nightout,” she captioned the image.

Jonas replied with a cheeky, “When bae’s been on the gram too much”. Their nearly 65 million combined fans on Instagram let out a collective sigh, because #couplegoals.

On the movie front, Priyanka will next be seen in Shonali Bose’s The Sky Is Pink. She has also signed up for a project with actress Mindy Kaling.

NO CUTS FOR ELTON JOHN’S BIOPIC ROCKETMAN IN INDIA

Legendary singer Elton John’s biopic Rocketman, scenes from which were cut out for a preview in Russia, has released in India without any changes. The film, which is exclusively distributed in India by Viacom18

Studios, received the censor certificate without any cuts. It was certified on 29 May and got an ‘A’ certificate for release over the weekend.

“This movie is about when I started to become famous,” Elton John said in a statement. “It was an extraordinary and surreal time, and that’s how I wanted the film to be.”

Described as an “epic musical fantasy about the incredible human story of John’s breakthrough years”, the film follows the journey of his transformation from a shy piano prodigy Reginald Dwight into an international superstar.

Directed by Dexter Fletcher, Rocketman also stars Richard Madden as John Reid, John’s manager and one-time lover, and Jamie Bell as Bernie Taupin, John’s famed song-writing partner.

So far, it’s been smooth sailing for the film in India.

On the other hand, Russian movie distributors have censored Rocketman and excluded several scenes depicting homosexual sex and affection from the film - a move which has been denounced by the singer as well as the makers of the movie.