Chetan Hansraj plays SEVEN characters in Ramayana, including Ravana’s maternal grandfather

 The trailer for Ramayana came out on July 30 and has been talked about a lot for almost two weeks now.The movie has a big group of stars, and one actor whose role is especially interesting is Chetan Hansraj.What's even more exciting is that he will play seven different characters in the story!

In an interview with Hindustan Times, Chetan Hansraj, who is 54 years old, shared that he plays the character of Raja Mali, Ravana's maternal grandfather (played by Yash).

He said, "Raja Mali is an important character from history, and my scenes with Yash are really intense.Yash is such a good actor on screen, and these two characters really work well together.It was a huge opportunity for me."

He also mentioned, "After my part was done, I was given six motion-capture roles, including one for Ravana's brother and a demon."

Chetan Hansraj also talked about the criticism the film has received and how it compares with Ramanand Sagar's classic TV show, Ramayan.

He explained, "We have top action directors from Hollywood and Bollywood, plus great technicians like Terry Notary.Today's makers want to give the best cinematic experience, and that's a vision we should support.People who watch it on the right platform will forget all these comparisons, I'm sure."

Other actors in Ramayana include Ranbir Kapoor as Lord Rama, Sai Pallavi as Sita, Yash as Ravana, Sunny Deol as Lord Hanuman, and Ravie Dubey as Lakshman.

The film is directed by Nitesh Tiwari, famous for Dangal, and produced by Namit Malhotra.The music is by A R Rahman and Hans Zimmer.It's a two-part story, with the first part coming out on Diwali 2026 and the second part on Diwali 2027.Interestingly, the first part will be released in India on November 8, but will hit international markets two days earlier, on November 6.

Scam 2010 begins production: Hansal Mehta to direct Siddharth Bodke in new chapter

 The next big part of one of India's most popular and highly praised story series is now officially starting.Sony LIV, Birla Studios, and Applause Entertainment have started making Scam 2010, which will be directed by Hansal Mehta, a filmmaker who has won many national awards.The show will explore the journey of a person who rises through small savings plans, builds a big financial empire, and then faces public attention and scrutiny.

Hansal Mehta shared his thoughts about the series, saying, "Scam 2010 is a story about ambition, influence, and the arrogance that comes with both.

It shows how a large business empire in India was built on belief and what happened when that belief faded.It tells the amazing story of how an empire grew and the man who thought he was unstoppable."

Deepak Segal, Chief Content Officer at Applause Entertainment, said, "Scam has become much more than a series for us.

Its success brings a lot of responsibility because we are aware of the expectations people have.Scam 1992 came at a time when the Indian streaming world was still developing and became one of the most loved and culturally influential shows from India.The success of Scam 1992 gave us the confidence to create an anthology based on a simple but powerful idea: India's history is filled with extraordinary stories where ambition, money, power, and human nature all come together.With Scam 2010, we are taking that idea even further.What makes this season special is bringing back Hansal Mehta to direct.He has been a key part of the Scam series from the start, and his skill in turning complex real-life events into personal, gripping stories is a big reason the franchise has touched so many people."

Siddharth Bodke, who is playing the main character, said, "What impressed me most was the complexity of the lead's personality and the scale of the show.

His passion, power, flaws, rise, and eventual downfall make him a very interesting character to act.The experience has been fantastic for me, and I have enjoyed the chance to play such a rich character under someone like Hansal Mehta."

Produced by Birla Studios and Applause Entertainment, Scam 2010 is currently being made and will be available only on Sony LIV soon.

Malamaal Weekly 2 EXCLUSIVE: Riteish Deshmukh, Elvish Yadav, Paresh Rawal and Rajpal Yadav locked in leads, shoot begins in November

 In February, Bollywood Hungama shared news that Priyadarshan's 2006 comedy Malamaal Weekly is getting a sequel.Since then, we have been keeping people updated about the film, and recently we revealed the main female stars, which are Parineeti Chopra, Raveena Tandon, and Shilpa Shirodkar.Now, we can also share the male leads for the movie.

According to a source, Riteish Deshmukh, Elvish Yadav, Paresh Rawal, and Rajpal Yadav have been cast in Malamaal Weekly 2.

Although Riteish is the main star, he hasn't officially signed the contract yet as he is still reading the script.The sequel will include Riteish, Paresh, and Rajpal returning as the main actors, and Elvish Yadav joining as a new addition to the main cast.Elvish is a well-known YouTube creator and also won Big Boss OTT Season 2 in 2023.This film will be his second Bollywood project, after his first with Tiger Shroff and Remo D'Souza.All the actors have been confirmed verbally, and the official paperwork is now in progress.

Malamaal Weekly 2 will have a completely new story, but it will keep the same main themes as the original – a group of ordinary people in a small town dealing with poverty, greed, and the hope of sudden wealth, leading to a chaotic and funny situation.

Amit Joshi, who directed the romantic comedy Teri Baton Mein Aisa Uljha Jiya with Shahid Kapoor and Kriti Sanon, will be directing this film.He is currently working on the script and plans to start production by November 2026.

The original Malamaal Weekly, released in 2006, was a box office hit and was remade in Telugu, Kannada, and Malayalam, with Priyadarshan directing the Malayalam version.

The comedy follows Lilaram, a lottery ticket seller and the only educated person in his village.After one of his customers dies from the shock of winning the lottery, he decides to keep the money for himself.However, others in the village also want the prize money, leading to a series of funny and chaotic events.Malamaal Weekly 2 is expected to continue the original's humor while delivering a full comedy of errors for audiences.

Haiwaan teaser out: Priyadarshan-directorial promises an intriguing face-off between Akshay Kumar and Saif Ali Khan

The highly anticipated teaser for *Haiwaan*, featuring Akshay Kumar and Saif Ali Khan, has been released, giving viewers a taste of the dark and mysterious world Priyadarshan is bringing to life in his upcoming thriller.After the first-look posters came out, this teaser has further built excitement around the intriguing showdown at the heart of the story.

The teaser doesn’t give away much of the plot and instead uses a dark and suspenseful style to set the mood.

It shows shadows, outlines of characters, and quick scenes that hint at danger without revealing the full story.The central question, "Hero Ya Haiwaan?", adds to the mystery of what the characters are really up to.

Akshay Kumar and Saif Ali Khan seem to be the main focus of the film’s unpredictable setting.

But the teaser doesn’t clearly say who is the hero and who might be "haiwaan".This confusion makes the whole thing more suspenseful and leaves viewers wondering about the relationship between the two actors.

Instead of explaining the story in detail, the teaser builds a tense and spooky atmosphere.

The glimpses show that things might not be as they seem, with characters involved in a dangerous and tricky situation.The bigger story is expected to be clearer when the trailer is released.

*Haiwaan* is directed by Priyadarshan and also stars Boman Irani, Saiyami Kher, and Shriya Pilgaonkar in important roles.

This is another project between Priyadarshan and Akshay Kumar, who is stepping into a darker, more intense role than usual.

The film is produced by Venkat K.

Narayana and Shailaja Desai Fenn through KVN Productions and Thespian Films, and is set to come out in theaters worldwide on September 11, 2026.

With its teaser focusing more on mystery than on giving away the plot, *Haiwaan* is shaping up as a thriller that will keep the audience guessing.

The upcoming trailer is expected to give a better idea of the characters, the conflict, and the "haiwaaniyat" that was hinted at in the teaser.

Ranbir Kapoor hits back at Ramayan VFX critics; says, “There’s countless hours of work where artists are working for years”

Ranbir Kapoor has responded to the criticism about the visual effects in the film *Ramayan*, asking people to understand how much hard work goes into making such big visual scenes.In a recent interview with Collider, he talked about the negative comments online, especially those saying the film's visuals look like they were made with artificial intelligence.

Ranbir said that with AI becoming more popular, people are more curious and critical about computer-generated images.

He explained that viewers now watch trailers and promotional clips and quickly form opinions about the visual effects, even before the movie comes out.

“Number of people online who become like CG critics, you know, they see a trailer and they're always critiquing.

It's not good enough.It's seeming like it's not done,” Ranbir said.

He admitted that audiences are more aware of CGI and visual effects because of the rise of AI-generated content.

However, he emphasized that there’s a big difference between AI-generated material and the hard work of professional VFX artists on a big film.

“So, I feel like people are getting more aware, especially with the influx of AI, people are getting more interested in how good the CG is, how good the CG will finally look, once the film releases,” he added.

Ranbir also found it funny when people who don’t know about the VFX process think filmmakers can just use AI to make complex visuals.

He highlighted the effort put in by the team behind *Ramayan*, saying thousands of hours of work have gone into making the film.

“People who don't know how CG is done, people think like someone's just use some AI and release something.

There's countless hours of work where artists are working for years,” he said.

He also mentioned that he has seen director Nitesh Tiwari and producer Namit Malhotra spend a lot of time on VFX discussions.

He recalled how they worked on even small details, like getting the exact color of the sky right.

“I've seen Nitesh sir, Namit sitting on VFX calls ever since this project started, trying to get even a certain color of the sky right,” Ranbir said.

Finally, Ranbir said that creating visuals that look real has become harder, especially now that people are used to seeing advanced AI images.

“So, I think it's tricky right now really to impress the audience with authenticity,” he remarked.

Awarapan 2 vs Batwara 1947: Emraan Hashmi takes 20% lead over Sunny Deol in Twitter poll; Awarapan 2 likely to open 2x higher than Batwara 1947

The box-office competition between Awarapan 2 and Batwara 1947 on August 14 is showing a clear pattern in what people want to watch, with Emraan Hashmi's movie leading over Sunny Deol's film in a Twitter poll.The poll asked people which movie they would watch first if both are showing on the same day.Out of 3,213 votes, 56.7% picked Awarapan 2, while 36.4% chose Batwara 1947.Another 6.9% said they would watch both films one after the other.

This means Awarapan 2 is leading Batwara 1947 by 20.3 percentage points in the poll.

That shows Emraan Hashmi's film has much more support from the people who voted on Twitter.The poll also had a lot of attention, with 16,647 people seeing it and 1,689 interactions.It got 265 detailed responses and 44 profile visits, but no link clicks.

The numbers show that the August 14 clash has caught a lot of interest online.

More importantly, the poll shows that Awarapan 2 is currently ahead when people are asked to choose between the two films.

Only 6.9% of people said they would watch both films back-to-back, meaning most of those who had an opinion picked one film over the other.

The early audience feelings are also shown in the expected opening-day ticket sales.

Awarapan 2 is expected to make between Rs.2 to 2.5 crore on its first day, while Batwara 1947 is estimated to make around Rs.1 crore on its first day, based on ticket sales as of Wednesday 11 AM.

That would put Awarapan 2's opening at nearly twice the estimated collection of Batwara 1947.

Even when looking at the broader ranges, Awarapan 2's lower end is more than twice Batwara 1947's upper end.So, the box-office projections suggest the gap might be much bigger than a simple 2X advantage if the estimated numbers match the real figures.

Though the early numbers are in favor of Awarapan 2, the final box-office result will be decided once both films are on the big screen.

Factors like early audience interest, show timings, seat availability, word of mouth, and the August 14 holiday could all affect the actual opening-day numbers.

A social media poll can show what people prefer, but it can't predict the real box-office numbers on its own.

For now, the early signs are clearly in favor of Awarapan 2.

With 56.7% of Twitter poll respondents choosing Awarapan 2 over 36.4% for Batwara 1947, Emraan Hashmi's film is leading by 20.3 points in audience choice.

If the current opening-day estimates are accurate, Awarapan 2 could open more than twice the collection of Batwara 1947—maybe even four times its first-day earnings.

The August 14 clash is looking like an exciting competition, but the early numbers suggest Awarapan 2 has more momentum going into its release.

Wamiqa Gabbi joins Rishab Shetty in Prasanth Varma’s Jai Hanuman

2026 is becoming a really good year for Wamiqa Gabbi.She started the year with the big hit movie Bhooth Bangla, starring Akshay Kumar and Priyadarshan.Then she did Pati, Patni Aur Woh Do, and is now getting a lot of praise for her role as Chandra in her new Tamil film, DC: The Bloody Valentine.Her good times seem to be continuing, as she has just been cast in what might be her biggest film yet.

Source has found out that Wamiqa Gabbi has joined Rishab Shetty’s upcoming big movie, Jai Hanuman.

She will play a major and strong character in the film directed by Prasanth Varma, but the details of her role are not yet revealed.The actress is excited about joining the world of mythology, action, and devotion and will soon start filming in Hyderabad.

Jai Hanuman is the much-anticipated sequel to Prasanth Varma’s 2024 film Hanu-Man, which featured Teja Sajja as a small-time thief who discovers powers like Hanuman.

Rishab Shetty, who became a big star because of his success with the Kantara series, is now playing the role of Lord Hanuman in this sequel.The film is an exciting action story set in Kaliyug, celebrating Hanuman's strong devotion, loyalty, and timeless strength, while showing him as an immortal spirit.

The movie is produced by Mythri Movie Makers and presented by T-Series.

It is part of the Prasanth Varma Cinematic Universe (PVCU), a superhero universe inspired by the rich history of India.Other movies in this universe include Mahakali, which is about Goddess Kali, and Adhira, based on Lord Indra.The film started filming in March, and the production is moving quickly with a big theatrical release planned for the second half of 2027.

In the meantime, Wamiqa has several exciting projects coming up.

She will next be seen with Rajkummar Rao in Prahaar, which is set to release in September.She will then star in Goodachari 2, an action thriller by Adivi Sesh, later this year.Her upcoming films also include Dil Ka Darwaza Khol Na Darling with Siddhant Chaturvedi, Genie with Ravi Mohan, and Kuku Ki Kundali, co-starring Bhuvan Bam, produced by Dharma Productions.