WAITING IN THE WINGS

Varun Dhawan and Tiger Shroff are two budding stars, one of a kind. Together, they could be the last of the industry kids whose primary ambition is superstardom.

What sets apart these two spirited youngsters from a host of others of their generation is that, looking at their overall filmography, you realise that both are agreed upon the fact that in commercial cinema, it is the hysteria that ultimately counts. When it comes to audience expectation, both these young actors raise expectation of the good old paisa vasool entertainer. What's more, although both actors have delivered a fair amount of boxoffice hits, they are still to be serious contenders to the throne yet.

At a time when many say the days of superstars are over - that the numbers game is all but goneVarun and Tiger seek to defy that contention with a good dose of old-school glamour.

Varun Dhawan: Salman + Govinda + Gen-Now Spunk

Perhaps it has to do with the fact that he is the son of the phenomenal David Dhawan, but Varun Dhawan's on-screen image in his mainstream entertainers has always constantly reminded of a mix of Salman Khan's happy-go-lucky charmer and Govinda's funnyman prankster. Varun has consciously lent that mix his own originality, with ample new-generation spunk. Yet, Varun has managed to impress with a couple of performances of depth too, such as Badlapur and October. These roles are perhaps an announcement to rivals, fans and critics alike: in an era when content is fast dominating every other aspect of mainstream Bollywood cinema, Varun Dhawan is ready for the complex scripts too. For everything else, being the old-school entertainer of Judwaa 2 works just fine for him for now. He needn't experiment with misplaced ambitions as Kalank, and he will be on cruise mode.

SHAH RUKH: QUICK WITH HIS WIT

Tiger Shroff: Fight, Dance & Be Macho

He is a dream as long as he dances or fights. The trouble starts the moment he utters his lines and tries to emote. Tiger Shroff's career is over five years old now. He has become a better dancer and a more invincible fighter. The trouble is there seems not much movement in the emoting aspect.

Look at the bright side. Despite revealing limited histrionic talent, Tiger's fan base has only grown with every new release. Clearly, the young audience likes him - which should be enough for now. Many industry watchers see a lot of Akshay Kumar's early years in Tiger, owing to his dancing and stunt skills. In his early years, Akshay, too, was often written off because of his dialogue delivery and awkwardness before the camera. Today, Akshay has scaled the heights, as a superstar survivor who is counted among the industry's most restrained actors. There's a lesson over there for Tiger, if he must emerge beyond being a traditional commercial star and survive a rapidly changing Bollywood.

Vinayak Chakravorty

Cheese, wine and SRK… few things only get better with age.

One of the things we love most about SRK is his self-deprecating humour. When a fan asked him recently whether he would burn copies of his film Ra.One on the occasion of Dussehra, he replied, “Arre kitna jalepe namak chhidkoge!” (Why rub salt on my wounds?)

He was speaking with fans online in an “Ask SRK” Twitter session.

It did seem though that the festive season had him in the best of spirits, given his quick wit in reply to the quirky questions.

When does he plan to do films with his son AbRam, one questioner asked.

“As soon as I get his (AbRam’s) dates,” King Khan replied.

Q: What’s your secret to looking cool

Vikram Seth For Bbc One

Acclaimed filmmaker Mira Nair has commenced work for the screen adaptation of the Vikram Seth classic A Suitable Boy in Lucknow. The film features Tabu, Ishaan Khatter and newcomer Tanya Maniktala. Tanya will play the central role of Lata, in the project adapted by Andrew Davies.

The creative forces behind the showNair, Seth, and Davies - got together in Mumbai recently to start rehearsals and read through scripts alongside the cast.

"The talent in the room sizzledVikram Seth, author of the masterpiece that I have loved since the day it was written; Andrew Davies, the great craftsman of distillation of epic stories into screenplays; cutting-edge actors, first-timers and legends from across the subcontinent, all coming together to make a human, funny, political, sexy chronicle of India," Nair said. always?

A Suitable Boy tells the story of spirited university student Lata in 1951 at the same time as the country is carving out its own identity as an independent nation and is about to go to the polls for its first democratic general election.

It is a tale charting the fortunes of four large families and exploring India and its rich and varied culture at a crucial point in its history.

The six-part BBC One drama will be shot on locations across India. Produced by Lookout Point, it is slated to launch next year.

A: You mean apart from Photoshop?? Always cool.

VICKY KAUSHAL: GHOST TROUBLES

Actor Vicky Kaushal is not a fan of horror films.

Yet he has just signed on for Bhoot Part 1: The Haunted Ship.

How come, you ask?

“Before I read the script I was like, pata nahin…” he admitted. “But as I read it, I found it easily spooked me out and I really got sucked into that story.”

As well, he added, “It is a Dharma Productions and Bhanu (Pratap Singh) is directing. Horror is something that comes naturally to him. I knew I would be in safe hands.”

The film, which also stars Bhumi Pednekar will release on February 21, 2020.

RANVEER: MUSICAL VENTURE

With his music label IncInk Records, actor Ranveer Singh is trying his best to create music for people with hearing impairment. During an episode of the hip hop reality show MTV Hustle, the label's artist Spitfire aka Nitin Mishra, the writer and composer of the hit song Asli Hip Hop from the film Gully Boy, performed his song Vartalap alongside a sign language interpreter for the benefit of the hearing impaired audience.

Talking about the initiative, Ranveer said, "I can't imagine my life without songs, and there are so many people who don't have the option of experiencing music at all! We wanted to attempt to change that.”

Hmm, he never ceases to surprise us, Ranveer.

THE NAME IS BOND, PRIYANKA BOND

Priyanka Chopra has put herself in the running to be the first female James Bond. The 37-year-old actress is a massive fan of the British spy drama franchise, and thinks it's time for a female 007 agent.

When asked which actress she could