Have you heard? Raanjhanaa makers had no budget for Dhanush

Conviction over commerce

At a special screening to mark Raanjhanaa’s (2013) 12th anniversary, Dhanush revealed that director Aanand L Rai “didn’t have the right kind of budget” to cast him, yet “invested his own money” to ensure he played Kundan. “He could have offered any actor this part, but he went against all odds. He saw Kundan in me and stayed true to his vision,” the actor said. The film, also starring Sonam Kapoor, was a box office hit. Calling it a result of “two mad men who believed in [the story],” Dhanush credited the director and writer Himanshu Sharma for creating a “cult classic” driven by conviction, not commerce.

In a hurry to get home?

Mani Ratnam; (right) Kamal Haasan in Thug Life

At a time when filmmakers are trying to extend the gap between a film’s theatrical release and its OTT debut, Kamal Haasan’s Thug Life is reportedly heading to streaming in just four weeks. The buzz is that the Tamil actioner is set to arrive on Netflix sooner than expected. Despite originally promising an eight-week window, the team seems to have opted for an early release on OTT. The movie’s director, Mani Ratnam, recently reacted to the film’s underwhelming performance at the box office. He told 123 Telugu, “For those who were expecting another Nayakan [1987] from the two of us, all I can say is we are sorry. It was never our intention to go back. Why should we? We wanted to do something completely different. The audience expected something far removed from what we delivered.” The movie’s worldwide earning was Rs 97.87 crore gross.

Nag is crushing on Rashmika

Nagarjuna and Rashmika Mandanna

After Animal (2023) and Pushpa 2: The Rule (2024), Rashmika Mandanna is back with yet another hit, her latest outing, Kuberaa, also starring Nagarjuna and Dhanush. Since the film released in cinemas on June 20, it has approximately grossed R87 crore globally. Nagarjuna, at the success event of the film, shared that he has a crush on Rashmika, and even compared her to Sridevi. This comparison left her blushing. The Telugu star said, “Watching Rashmika on screen made me think of Sridevi Garu from Kshana Kshanam [1991]. No wonder that Pushpa has earned her the nickname ‘National crush’. Because of this movie, she is in fact, now Nag’s crush also. I loved you. You look amazing in the movie. We all love you.”

Govinda’s real Avatar

Govinda

Govinda’s wife, Sunita Ahuja, has reacted to the actor’s claim that he was offered James Cameron’s Avatar but turned it down. On a recent podcast with Uorfi Javed, Sunita candidly said, “Arre yaar mujhe nahin pata kab offer hui. forty saal toh mujhe hogaye Govinda ke saath. I don’t know when the director and producer of Avatar came!” Govinda had earlier said, “I said no [to the Hollywood project] because I had to shoot painted in body colours for 410 days,” leading to a wave of memes and disbelief online.

Source