The BUZZ

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BOLLYWOOD'S CLASS OF 2020

It is time to take a look at the new talent that Bollywood will introduce over the next few months. The mix looks interesting, comprising outsiders as well as youngsters with filmi bloodline.

With every new year, the stakes become tougher for Bollywood newcomers. Can the class of 2020 manage to pass the box-office test with flying colours?

Here’s a look at the B-Town entrants who might create a buzz in 2020.

Manushi Chhillar

Ever since Manushi earned the Miss Universe crown in 2017, the Indian audiences has been waiting to hear the news of her B-Town debut. It's finally happening. Manushi is all set to make her Bollywood debut in 2020 opposite superstar Akshay Kumar. She plays Sanyogita in Chandraprakash Dwivedi's period drama Prithviraj, which stars Akshay Kumar in the title role. The YRF flick is slated to hit theatres in Diwali.

Isabelle Kaif

Being Katrina Kaif's sister can be an advantage, but there is also the drawback of expectation. Isabelle has done a brief role in a 2014 crossover film titled Dr Cabbie before this, and has featured in cosmetics brand endorsements. She makes her Bollywood debut in Karan Butani's movie Kwatha, a drama set against an Army backdrop and starring Salman Khan's brother-in-law Aayush Sharma.

Ahan Shetty

Suniel Shetty's daughter Athiya has already forayed into Bollywood, and now it is the son's turn. Ahan will make his debut in the Hindi remake of the 2018 Telugu film RX 100. The MilanLuthria directorial is titled Tadap and features Tara Sutaria opposite Ahan.

ALAYA F.

Unconfirmed reports state Pooja Bedi's daughter Alaya F. has signed a three-film deal even before her debut film releases, with producer Jay Shewakramani of Northern Lights Films. We’ve just seen her in her debut film, playing Saif Ali Khan's daughter in his co-production, Jawaani Jaaneman.

AHAAN PANDEY

Even though no official announcement has been made, the grapevine is abuzz that Chunky Pandey's nephew and Ananya Panday's cousin Ahaan Pandey will make his Bollywood debut in an action flick backed by Yash Raj Films. Reports claim that the youngster is preparing hard to make himself suitable for the industry, and is undergoing acting and dance training. Looks like YRF might make an announcement soon.

SHALINI PANDEY

Shalini impressed with her performance in Vijay Deverakonda's Telugu superhit Arjun Reddy a couple of yearsago, and went on to feature in several Tamil and Telugu films including the critically acclaimed Mahanati. The 25-year-old is now all set to foray B-Town as Ranveer Singh's heroine in the YRF comedy drama Jayeshbhai Jordaar.

Keerthy Suresh

National Award-winner Keerthy will make her B-Town debut alongside Ajay Devgn in the biographical sports drama Maidaan. The Amit Sharma directorial is a biopic of football coach Syed Abdul Rahim, who changed the course of the game in India.

KRYSTLE D'SOUZA

Television actress Krystle D'Souza makes her Bollywood debut in the psychological suspense drama Chehre, starring Amitabh Bachchan and Emraan Hashmi. The film is directed by Rumi Jaffery. Krystle, 29, has been a popular face on TV thanks to her daily soaps such as Ek Hazaaron Mein Meri Behna Hai, Brahmarakshas: Jaag Utha Shaitaan and Belan Wali Bahu.

Ahana Bhattacharya

AND ANOTHER SPORTING BIOPIC: HAWA SINGH?

Sooraj Pancholi is all set – read beefed up – to play his next role, Hawa Singh, the Father of Indian boxing.

As a young boy from a small village Umarvas, Hawa Singh transformed himself into a champion boxer, in an inspirational story.

The film goes on the floors this month.

Director Prakash Nambiar is convinced the young actor fits the role, and not merely in terms of the look.

"Sooraj is young and fits like a glove into the character,” he said. “His efforts, approach and honesty towards the role surprised me and made my belief in him stronger."

Hawa Singh is a recipient of the Arjuna Award and the Dronacharya Award. He dominated the Indian and Asian amateur boxing scene in his weight class for a decade. Singh won the Asian Games gold medal in the heavyweight category in consecutive editions at the Games in 1966 and 1970, a feat unmatched by any Indian boxer to date.

The champion boxer also created a record of being the Indian heavyweight boxing champion for 11 consecutive years from 1961 to 1972. He is the only boxer, possibly in the World, whose three generations have excelled in Boxing.

Beefed Up Aditya Roy Kapur

Also beefing up in recent months, has been our favourite boy-next-door kind of guy, Aditya Roy Kapur.

In order to fit into his role in the upcoming film Malang, Aditya needed to transform his physical appearance. In the trailer and promos of the film, he can be seen flaunting his muscular body. Aditya revealed it was not easy for him to bring about the changes in his body.

"(Director) Mohit Suri and I were clear that there will be two different looks, and the character had to go through both mental and physical transformation. Changing physicality actually started changing my state of mind as well, and helped me find the character. All the people I consulted told me that when you're training and building muscle, you need eight to 12 weeks completely off everything else. We started the shoot with the younger portion (of the character), which required me to be lean. I psyched myself to hit the gym even though we were shooting for 12 to 14 hours," Aditya told IANS.

Malang also features Anil Kapoor, Disha Patani and Kunal Khemu. It is scheduled to release on 7 February.

THAPPAD, THE SLAP

The critics’ current favourite Taapsee Pannu is gearing up for her upcoming release Thappad, directed by Anubhav Sinha, and scheduled to release on 28

February.

No prizes for guessing that the film is based on a slap: a young wife gets slapped by her husband in front of guests at a house party. She decides to walk out of the marriage.

Hmm, strange how this reminds us somewhat of the ABC TV show The Slap, based on Christos Tsiolkas book of the same name…

But perhaps the similarity ends there, given that Taapsee has been waxing eloquent about domestic violence in her recent interviews.

Playing the protagonist Amrita in Thappad was a huge challenge, she has claimed. "It was tough for me to get out of my firebrand image and mindspace and get into the skin of this character. The character was suffocating for me in the end and I took it as a challenge. After 15 days of shooting, I started feeling claustrophobic," she revealed.

She described Amrita as a "goodhearted, loving and homely girl", who finally decides to walk out of a relationship that she has invested all her emotions in."She took all the typical nonsense of ‘girls should compromise’, ‘little physical violence is part of love', ‘and the girl should do everything to save her marriage'. As Taapsee, I cannot take such nonsense at all," she shared.

Given her "no-nonsense" image on and off the screen with films like Naam Shabana, Soorma, Mulk, Badla and of course Pink, we’ll have to wait and see how Thappad resonates.

COMING SOON: MUNNA BHAI 3?

Filmmaker Vidhu Vinod Chopra says his latest film Shikara, based on the exodus of Kashmiri Hindus from the Kashmir Valley, was an intense experience, and that he will now focus on a new Munna Bhai project because he wants to make a fun film.

The Munna Bhai franchise comprises the blockbusters, Munna Bhai MBBS

(2003) and Lage Raho Munna Bhai (2006). Both films were directed by Rajkumar Hirani, and starred Sanjay Dutt and Arshad Warsi as Munna Bhai and Circuit respectively.

Asked if, as producer, he would bring back the same cast and crew after nearly a decade and a half, he replied, "It will be with Sanjay (Dutt) and yes, hopefully, all of them will be there."

Worth waiting for? You decide!

Indore To Host 21st Edition Of Iifa Awards

The 21st edition of the International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) Awards will be held from 27 to 29 March in Indore. Bollywood star Salman Khan who was born in Indore, made the announcement at a glittering press conference in Mumbai recently.

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath who joined Salman Khan and Jacqueline Fernandez at the press conference said he had a 16year connection with the IIFA and was delighted to see the state getting the very second opportunity to host the ceremony in India after Mumbai that hosted it last year.

The other events of the academy have been held in major cities across the world like New York, Madrid, Singapore and Bangkok over the years. A pre-event will be held on 21 March in Bhopal.

For the first time, Salman Khan will host the ceremony and Riteish

WHO WORE IT BETTER? PRIYANKA CHOPRA OR BELLA THORNE IN LORENZO SERAFINI?

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Deshmukh will co-host. Katrina Kaif and Jacqueline Fernandez will perform.

The Awards events will be attended by more than five thousand people from the film industry, including over 400 film artists. Nehru Stadium is the most likely venue for the event. The event management company Wizcraft has also seen the locations of Holkar Stadium and Daily College.

Kamal Nath bought the first ticket for IIFA Awards.

Political gamesmanship began even as the press conference was on to announce the event.

Leader of the Opposition Gopal Bhargava accused the Kamal Nath government of wasting money.

State Revenue Minister Govind Singh Rajput retaliated by saying the event would add to the pride of Madhya Pradesh.

Rajput said, "The IIFA Awards are very prestigious awards and the ceremony has been hosted in India only once in 20 years and that was in Mumbai last year. With the efforts of the Chief Minister, this event will make Madhya Pradesh a talking point in the whole world. Gopal Bhargava should expand his horizon and look beyond politics. This is my suggestion."

According to the information, the IIFA Awards ceremony will be broadcast in 90 countries. The expenditure involved on the event is expected to be Rs 30 crore.

The first IIFA Awards ceremony was held in 2000 in London.