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Bhumi speaks up for gender-neutral performing arts awards

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Hours after Brian May, the guitarist of the British rock group Queen, slammed the decision of the Brit Awards management to do away with gender-specific awards, Bollywood actress Bhumi Pednekar came out in support of the move, saying that it is time human beings started celebrating artistes irrespective of the gender they belong to.

The Brit Awards, which celebrate the best in British and international music, have replaced Best Male/Female Solo Artiste of the Year and Best International Male Solo/Female Solo Artiste of the Year with two gender-neutral categories — Best Artiste and Best International Artiste of the Year, respectively.

Pednekar, who is known to articulate her opinions on gender and environmental issues, says that society needs to be more open to the reality that’s unfolding each day.

Batting for inclusivity, Pednekar said: “I have always felt that gender must not be important to determine the value of an artiste’s skill or creation. Artistes should be celebrated solely because of their body of work and not by how they choose to identify themselves.”

Almost echoing the sentiments of the best-selling ‘genderqueer’ English Grammy Award-winning singer and songwriter Sam Smith’s concern that the award categories ruled out non-binary artistes like him, Pednekar said: “People are identifying with diverse genders and we just can’t turn a blind eye to this reality.”

Pednekar praised the Brit Awards management for “doing away with gendered awards” and said: “We have to ensure that our society acknowledges gender diversity. I laud the Brit Awards. It is a step in the right direction and shows across the world will soon follow suit.”

She added a note of caution, saying the journey towards more inclusivity must not come at the price of representation. “We should also keep in mind that while we try to be more inclusive, it should not lead to less representation or less inclusion of genders in a world that is governed by the binary lens. That would be counterproductive to equality.”

Most recently, the Berlin Film Festival awarded its first-ever gender-neutral Silver Bear for Best Leading Performance to Maren Eggert for her role in the German sci-fi romance, ‘I’m Your Man’.

The Gotham Awards, which will be held on Monday, November 29, also announced that their best actor and best actress prizes will be combined into a single lead performance category.

Bollywood

Ranbir Kapoor’s first poster from Alia Bhatt, Vicky Kaushal-starrer & SLB directorial ‘Love & War’ unveiled

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Mumbai, Sep 24: The first poster of Ranbir Kapoor from Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Love & War unveiled on Thursday, further offering the first official glimpse of the actor from the much-awaited film.

The poster features Ranbir in a rugged look, with a blood-stained sleeve and a bullet mark visible on his shirt.

The actor is seen sporting a serious expression, with the caption stating,, “Woh rutba, woh raub, woh junoon!Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Love & War on 21st January 2027 See you at the movies! #LoveAndWar @saregama_official #RanbirKapoor @vickykaushal09 @aliaabhatt.”

Love & War will release worldwide in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu. The unveiling comes after the film recently completed its shoot.

The project, which stars Ranbir alongside Alia Bhatt and Vicky Kaushal, has now moved into the post-production stage ahead of its January 2027 theatrical release.

Love & War was initially announced for a Christmas 2025 release. Its release was subsequently pushed, with March 20, 2026 being the earlier announced date before the makers confirmed January 21, 2027 as the new release date.

Directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Love & War brings Ranbir, Alia and Vicky together in the lead roles. The film is described as an epic romantic drama set against the backdrop of war.

Reports indicate that Ranbir and Vicky play Air Force officers whose lives become intertwined with Alia’s character. However, the makers have kept much of the storyline and character details under wraps, as of yet.

The film marks Ranbir’s reunion with Sanjay Leela Bhansali after the actor made his Bollywood debut with the filmmaker’s Saawariya in 2007.

Alia previously worked with Sanjay Leela Bhansali in Gangubai Kathiawadi, while Love & War marks Vicky’s first collaboration with the director.

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Complaint against Netflix & Mukesh Chhabra for inappropriate language on ‘India’s Got Latent 2’

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Mumbai, Sep 23: Samay Raina’s show ‘India’s Got Latent’ has once again landed in trouble after a complaint was filed against the casting director Mukesh Chhabra and Netflix India for inappropriate language being used on the show.

Complainant Anurag Shrivastav has alleged that he arrived in Mumbai on the evening of September 22, 2026, and while watching Netflix on his laptop in the hotel room, he saw the ‘India’s Got Latent’ episode that had actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui, actor and YouTuber Bhuvan Bam, casting director Mukesh Chhabra, and stand-up comedian Kaustubh Agarwal, alongside host Samay Raina as part of the panel.

As he was watching the episode, the complainant came across some objectionable statements and realized their serious social impact.

During the episode, Mukesh Chhabra allegedly said, “Mere Aaram Nagar mein aao, gaand marao.”

“In the said episode, Mr. Mukesh Chhabra appears as a panel member. While watching the program, he was allegedly heard using highly inappropriate, objectionable, and sexually suggestive language, stating:

“Mere Aaram Nagar mein aao, gaand marao,” read the complaint.

“The authenticity of this statement, the identification of the voice/person, the complete context, and the exact timestamp need to be verified from the original and unedited recording”, it went on.

The complainant further stated that if the authenticity of this statement is proven, it poses a huge question on the dignity of the viewers and cyber security of children.

The complainant further demanded the investigation of Netflix’s role in this. It was further asked on what basis such content was allowed on the streaming platform. An investigation into the role of Monika Shergill, Netflix India’s content chief, was also demanded.

‘India’s Got Latent’ is no stranger to controversies. In February 2025, content creator and podcaster Ranveer Allahbadia faced massive backlash after his remarks about parents and sex during one of the episodes of season one.

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Bollywood

David Warner reacts to AI video of him dancing to ‘Jailer 2’ song: Bollywood Dave has some moves

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Mumbai, Sep 23: Former Australian cricketer and an ardent fan of Indian cinema David Warner was left amused after an AI-generated video showed him dancing to the song ‘Ala Bolelo’ from the upcoming film ‘Jailer 2’.

Sharing the clip on social media, Warner jokingly asked his followers to rate his “technique” out of 10 and said that the Bollywood version of him has some “moves”.

Posting the clip on Instagram, Warner wrote in the caption: “Righto Who made this?? I have no idea what song this is or what dance I’m doing but apparently Bollywood Dave has some moves. Rate the technique out of 10. Please comment below if you’re the person who sent this.”

Jailer 2 is an upcoming Indian Tamil-language action comedy film written and directed by Nelson Dilipkumar.

A sequel to th 2023 film Jailer, it also stars Rajinikanth, Ramya Krishnan, Yogi Babu, Mirnaa and Rithvik reprising their roles from the predecessor, with S. J. Suryah, Mithun Chakraborty, Vidya Balan, Suraj Venjaramoodu, Anna Rajan and Jatin Sarna joining the cast. Jailer 2 is scheduled to release worldwide on 15 October 2026 in theatres.

Talking about the 2023 film Jailer, the film stars Rajinikanth as a retired jailer who sets out to apprehend an eccentric idol smuggler threatening his family. The cast also includes Ramya Krishnan, Vinayakan, Tamannaah Bhatia, Sunil, Vasanth Ravi, Yogi Babu and Mirnaa in supporting roles. Mohanlal, Shiva Rajkumar and Jackie Shroff play guest appearances.

Jailer was released theatrically on 10 August 2023. The film received positive reviews from critics and emerged as the highest-grossing Tamil film of 2023, sixth highest-grossing Indian film of 2023 and second highest-grossing Tamil film of all time.

Meanwhile, Warner is a left-handed opening batter. Warner was the first Australian cricketer in 132 years to be selected for the national team in any format without first-class experience. He captained Australia in ODIs and T20Is, served as vice-captain across formats before his suspension, and played domestic cricket for the New South Wales Cricket Team.

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