VUNBEATABLE WINS AGT

The Mumbai-based dance group V Unbeatable has won the second season of America's Got Talent: The Champions.

The dancers found international glory with their victory on the US show on 18 Feb. Congratulating V Unbeatables on their win, a post on the of cial page of America's Got Talent read: "Give it up for your new #AGTChampion winners, @v_unbeatable."

A video is doing the rounds on the internet in which the group members can be seen hugging each other after hearing the result.

The audience gave a standing ovation to the group after their winning performance. V Unbeatable, which is composed of 29 dancers from Mumbai aged between 12 and 27, rst appeared on America's Got Talent in 2019, winning a Golden Buzzer from guest judge Dwyane Wade. The group came in fourth place last year, but this time round, V. Unbeatable took home the trophy in America's Got Talent: The Champions.

Typically, the troupe’s dance routines are Bollywood-based, but choreographed with added acrobatics, coordinated dives and stylised stunts that have left judges and audiences in awe. In one stand-out moment, one of the youngest members of the group leapt from behind the judges and landed straight on the stage; it brought the house down with thunderous applause.

(In fact, the V in the troupe’s name stands for Vikas Gupta, a teammate who died performing the stunts on the show. In one of their recent dance routines on AGT, they displayed the name ‘Vikas’ on their blazers in his honour).

The group, already popular from Indian dance shows before their US sojourn, have had some stellar support in recent weeks, such as from dance guru Remo D’Souza and of course, Bollywood’s popular dancer-actor Ranveer Singh, who they have claimed to be fans of for a very long time.

Ranveer wished them luck before the nale's announcement.

"We are so proud of you. We love you for your dedication, commitment and honesty. Keep it going till the nals. Put in all your energy and perform with your hearts and bring it home. C'mon V Unbeatable," Ranveer said in a video message.

Congratulatory wishes are now pouring in for V Unbeatable from across the US and India.

GUESS REASSESS GUESS WHO?

This Gen Y star is confused about his next and wants to walk out of the already announced lm.

A promising young actor, he has been experiencing a lull in his career of late, which is worrying him and in turn, making him all picky-choosy!

Our lovely hero has signed 3 lmsone releases this year and the other two are yet to get off the ground. But a li’l birdy told us he might opt out of one of the projects that has already been announced.

The lm in point is actually being helmed by a director who the hero has a 100% track record with, and the rst poster has also been launched.

So his behaviour has come across as a little surprising. As of now, he has sent the script for a rewrite, but insiders tell us he doesn't want to risk his career.

It remains to be seen whether he opts out or decides to push ahead…

GUESS WHICH SHOW?

According to Bollywood grapevine, a streaming giant betted big on a supposedly sure-shot show that now appears to be in trouble. This show was to have a multi-episode story which was a spin-off to one of the country's biggest box-of ce blockbusters. This would be the backstory of the lm's central female character and her journey. Given the mass popularity of the lm and the character, there was no reason to believe that the show wouldn’t work. But the bosses at the streaming service are unhappy with what has been delivered by the producers. Also the massive sets have been dismantled and the actress is now busy with other lms. So the show is being rushed to completion with smaller sets,heavily reliant on computer graphics and visual effects.

We'll have to wait and see how this turns out!

GUESS WHICH FILM?

We are shocked to learn this, but the producer of this recent movie was stunned when he saw the rst rushes of the lm, just a week before its launch! He decided to cut the trailer himself, but alas, couldn't save the lms from the trolls.

With his money riding on the movie, he lividly called up the director, a long-time friend, and red him for his reckless attitude. Otherwise known for good quality cinema, the director’s latest project was completely haywire and haphazard, felt the producer. We hear he also made hurried calls to leading stars for some damage control. The two former friends are now busy having a cold war!

Film Fare Awards The Target Of Unhappy Fans

Discontent over Gully Boy winning big at this year’s Film fare Awards raged on onsocial media till a few days after.

The haashtag #BoycottFilmfareAwards began to trend on Twitter after the Zoya Akhtar directorial bagged 13 awards across categories.

Accusing the awards of propagating nepotism and awarding actors and lmmakers who are star kids, the mood was re ected in one user’s words: “They have to promote betis of some renowned people Akhtar, Bhatt and Pandey... nepotism rules in Bollywood. So sad that quality cinema does not matter. #BoycottFilmfareAwards”.

Others pointed out htat some wonderful work such as lyricist Manoj Muntashir’s song 'Teri Mitti' from the lm Kesari, the lm Super30, and the critically acclaimed actor Shushant Singh Rajput (Sonchiriya, Chhichhore) were all ignored.

One netizen, not happy with merely trolling the long-running event, vandalised the Wikipedia home page of the Awards.

In the list of winners over the years, next to the name of Gully Boy the user keyed in the words "paid award" in bracket. (This particular lm was targeted repeatedly, given it featured current favourites who hail form leading Bollywood families.) However, the original Wikipedia page was restored after a while.

Although the Wikipedia page was restored, the hashtag #BoycottFilmfareAwards continued to trend for a while.

NEW 'MR. INDIA' NOT A REMAKE OR SEQUEL

Filmmaker Ali Abbas Zafar, who has helmed blockbusters like Sultan and Tiger Zinda Hai, will write and direct the new Mr. India.

The makers of the project clari ed that it is not a sequel or a remake of the 1987 classic. Rather, it is a reimagination of the original that starred

Sridevi and Anil Kapoor.

Zafar is currently working on the script and building the superhero universe and, contrary to reports in sections of the media, he avers that the casting process is yet to begin.

"I have just commenced working on the script, no actor has been locked so far. Once the rst draft of the script is ready, we will begin the casting process. The lm involves massive amounts of pre-production and will go on the oors early next year," said the director.

Uncon rmed reports have stated that Ranveer Singh and Shah Rukh Khan might come together for the project.

Zafar's Mr. India will be set in a new, relevant and contemporary superhero world. "It is a huge responsibility to carry forward an iconic character that has been loved by Indians for so many years," the lmmaker shared.

The 1987 lm narrated the story of a poor man (Anil) who gives shelter to orphans. After he accidentally discovers his late scientist father's invisibility device, he uses it to save his children and all of India from the clutches of the villain Mogambo, played with iconic aplomb by the late Amrish Puri.

KANGANA’S NEXT SOUNDS FASCINATING

She’s back in the news… no, not making one of her ery speeches on an issue of national importance, but for her work. Again.

This time round, she’s playing a

WHO WORE IT BETTER?

MALAIKA ARORA OR

Dakota

JOHNSON IN GUCCI?

+ Share your views with us on our Facebook page /IndianLinkAustralia ghter pilot. All decked up in Top Gun gear, with mandatory ghter jet behind her and helmet in hand, her rst look form the lm Tejas is winning her rave reviews. Tejas of course is the name of an Indian Air Force ghter plane.

Directed by Sarvesh Mewara for Ronnie Screwvala's production house RSVP Movies, the lm pays a tribute to the Indian military after the immensely success Uri: The Surgical Strike. Turns out Tejas is also the name of Kangana’s character in the movie.

Coming a day before India announcedthat its army will grant permanent commission to women of cers, the lm’s launch could not have been better (although of course women have been ying ghter planes for the Indian Air Force for a while now).

No Stunt Doubles For Ishaan Khatter

Actor Ishaan Khatter has shot the action sequences for the climax of Khaali Peeli without any cables or stunt doubles.

Film's action director Parvez Shaikh said, "Ishaan did all the stunts himself, without any cables or harness. He expressed the wish to do the stunts himself, and I agreed.

"We were shooting for a chase sequence on a bridge, and Ishaan had to drive his taxi, stop at a point, come out and do a ght scene. Even though a taxi doesn't match the speed and technology of the latest cars, Ishaan did it perfectly."

A source reveals that Ishaan lmed the action sequences for the climax of the Maqbool Khan directorial for ve days straight.

"Everybody on set was shocked to see Ishaan perform dangerous stunts on his own. There was limited time, but he pulled off the stunts on his own without any rehearsal or harnesses, which came off on the second day!

Kaali-peeli is the colloquial name of the traditional black-and-yellow Indian taxis. So you’ve guessed by now that Ishaan plays a taxi driver in the lm. The story of the lm is a roller coaster ride that kicks off when a boy meets a girl one night.

The masala entertainer, which also stars Ananya Panday, is produced by Ali Abbas Zafar with Zee Studios and Himanshu Kishan Mehra.

On Twitter This Week

Match the following stars to the tweets below.

Ananya Panday, Shah Rukh Khan, Karan Johar, Ranveer Singh 36 years... ab toh Valentine's bhi hum se pooch kar aata hai. Wishing you all, love beyond restrictions....

When my Little Lady met my Black Lady

Grateful, blessed, honoured and humbled! Filmfare award for Best Debut Female 2020!

Absolutely baseless stories making the rounds of SOTY 3! My request to everyone publishing this fabrication is to please stop!

What’s Ananya Pandey thinking here?

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LAST ISSUE CAPTION CONTEST WINNER

What’s the chitchat between Susanne Khan and Malaika Arora here?

In Beyonce’s voice: All the single ladies, Now put your hands up…

Aman Shah

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