Have you heard? No plans

Samantha who has currently taken a break from work to deal with health concerns supposedly addressed rumours of being part of Karan Joharrsquos next venture starring Salman Khan During a chat session that she conducted on her Instagram Stories Samantha discussed her upcoming work ldquoMy next project is to actually not have one Not having a plan sicrdquo she said adding ldquoI want to be more selective about the things that I work onmdashthe things that push me out of my comfort zone Until I get a role like that I think I am okayrdquo she stated The actor also addressed questions on skin care stating that she does not have clear skin due to the ldquosteroid shotsrdquo that she took for her treatment A fan on Instagram asked the actor the secret behind her lsquoclear skinrsquo a claim she dismissed stating that she uses beauty filters on social media as she deals with pigmentation ldquoBecause of this issue Myositis I had to be on steroids which really messed up my skin and gave me a lot of pigmentationrdquo she candidly shared Samantha will be seen in the Hindi adaptation of Citadel which also stars Varun Dhawan and Sikander KherAshutoshrsquos next up soonAshutosh Gowarikar who is part of the upcoming diverse star cast of Kaala Paani which is set to release on October 18 called the project intriguing Starring Mona Singh Gowariker and Amey Wagh Kaala Paani will have audiences embark on a journey to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands Chaos ensues as social order crumbles leaving its inhabitants trapped and isolated from the outside world Talking about his association with the series Gowarikar said ldquoIrsquom excited to be part of an intriguing project like this The makers have created a series with a genre that will breathe new life into our audiencersquos viewing experience I am hoping that audiences will be just as intrigued as I was and enjoy it as much as I did while performing in itrdquoBig Brsquos big dutiesTaking a trip down memory lane on a reality TV show Amitabh Bachchan who has a career spanning over five decades shared his experience of bagging his first film and revealed his thoughts about his first earnings Bachchan made his film debut in 1969 as a voice narrator in Mrinal Senrsquos National Awardwinning film Bhuvan Shome His first acting role was as one of the seven protagonists in the 1969 film Saat Hindustani When asked what he felt while signing his first film Bachchan said ldquoI thought of giving my earnings to my parents I wanted to make them stay with me They carried my responsibility throughout their lives I wanted to take that burden on my shoulderrdquoA film worth revisitingDrishyam Filmsrsquos Siya completed a year since its release The project was selected and screened at multiple international film festivals including the New York Indian Film Festival UK Asian Film Festival and Indian Film Festival of Melbourne Siya marked the directorial debut of producer Manish Mundra and starred Vineet Kumar Singh and Pooja Pandey in the lead roles The film tells the poignant and harrowing story of Siya a 17yearold rape survivor who defies all odds to fight for justice after enduring captivity and repeated abuse by a group of influential and powerful menShowing women with agencyThe generational oppression that women have faced makes him ldquofeel guiltyrdquo as a man says filmmaker Vishal Bhardwaj who believes it is his duty as a storyteller to speak up against injustice whether it is political or social Bhardwaj whose stories have featured women with agency is set to make his streaming debut with Charlie Chopra amp The Mystery of Solang Valley a web series that revolves around the titular female detective ldquoThank God we evolved as a society There were laws but we didnrsquot change in India from the inside Even in films the woman remained a mother sister or wife She didnrsquot have her own agency A filmmaker is a rebel so I come up with strong female charactersrdquo Bhardwaj saidCooking up stories tooCelebrity chef Ranveer Brar is set to host a new season of the show Star vs Food Survival which sees celebrity guests tackle the wilderness as they navigate the culinary journey Celebrity guests like Suniel Shetty Sanjay Dutt Mouni Roy and Nakuul Mehta will explore the essence of Indiarsquos culinary legacy Brar will lead the starstudded cast on an adventurous journey through the vibrant flavours of two unique Indian locales Coorg and Spiti The show promises to unravel the flavours and stories behind each dish Brar said ldquoThis season we venture beyond cooking to explore the breathtaking regions of Coorg and Spiti while having our guests take on challengesrdquoFor the womenKangana Ranaut welcomed the Centrersquos move to introduce the longpending womenrsquos reservation bill terming it a ldquohistoric dayrdquo for India The government introduced a constitutional amendment bill reserving 33 percent seats for women in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies Ranaut attended the ldquospecial sessionrdquo during the introduction of the bill ldquoIt is a historic day for the country Today it was the first session at the new Parliament building and they could have discussed any issue but they made womenrsquos empowerment their priority This is a big statementrdquo she saidFactContemporary filmmakers are lucky to be reaping the benefits of the streaming era something actorsinger Ila Arun believes wasnrsquot the case when directors like Govind Nihalani and Shyam Benegal were churning out ldquodifferent kinds of contentrdquo in the 1970s and 1980s Recalling working with Nihalani and Benegal she said ldquoWhen these people made films it was labelled as parallel cinema They did not see a long life in cinema halls If OTT was there their films would have done wellrdquo