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Pratik Gandhi on playing a real-life character in audio show ‘Gangistan’

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Actor Pratik Gandhi, who is known for playing ‘Harshad Mehta’ in ‘Scam 1992: The Harshad Mehta Story’, now plays journalist Aashu Patel in Hindi audio show ‘Gangistan’.

The story revolves around Gujarati author and journalist Aashu Patel and his investigation and research work about the Mumbai underworld.

Talking about ‘Gangistan’, Pratik says that this is his first audio show and he has known Aashu Patel for many years, so bringing the character on-screen was not that tricky.

“Playing the role of Aashu was slightly easy for me because I have known Aashu Patel for many years. Immersing myself in complex emotions and intriguing situations was a treat. I was able to naturally relate with the protagonist’s ambition and thoroughly enjoyed the challenge of having to use only my voice to perform the role.”

The story of ‘Gangistan’ spans across different eras like the 1960s, 1980s and the present. It brings out some interesting facts and stories about Mumbai’s gangs, their operations and impact on people. The 48-episode series features Pratik Gandhi, Saiyami Kher and Dayashankar Pandey in lead roles.

Pratik adds: “‘Gangistan’ lets you create your own visual interpretation which I think is the power of audio. What’s cool is that while recording it with the team, we did not just stand in front of the mic and speak. We recreated situations from the script, for example a hospital scene with Saiyami lying down in the studio and me sitting next to her or some of the encounter scenes where the actors ran across the studio.”

‘Gangistan’ is directed by Siddhanta Pinto, the story by Aashu Patel, writer and creative producer Heer Khant.

For journalist Aashu Patel, this has been a nostalgic affair. He adds: “Audio has an appeal similar to that of the power of the pen, in the sense that it’s left to the audience’s imagination to picturise the story. Writing ‘Gangistan’ with Heer Khant brought back so many memories from my journalism days. It is truly a grand story, over a grand timeline of several decades, straddling both fiction and non-fiction. This has never been done before in the audio space.”

Director Siddhanta Pinto says that the project took a year to complete: “Finally, after being in the Indian audio industry since 2001, I feel we are scratching the surface of the true power of audio. This project took over a year, and every minute has brought joy.”

The Hindi audio thriller ‘Gangistan’ can be listened to on Spotify.

Bollywood

Shriya Saran reveals she couldn’t sleep a day before ‘Drishyam 3’ release: ‘Every scene, I was revisiting emotionally’

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Mumbai, Oct 5: Actress Shriya Saran has opened up about her nervousness ahead of the release of ‘Drishyam 3.’

In an exclusive interview with media, she admitted that she could not sleep the night before as she kept thinking about how audiences would receive the film. Speaking about the film, Shriya said she found herself emotionally revisiting every scene she had performed.

“I couldn’t sleep last night. I was thinking what will happen, what kind of a film it will be. And you know, it’s a sense of nervousness. Every scene that I have done in the film, I was revisiting it emotionally and mentally. I was thinking how it will be,” she said.

Shriya also spoke about the evolution of dubbing and sound technology in filmmaking. She noted that while actors earlier spent considerable time watching films during dubbing, the sound process has now become much more sophisticated.

“Because earlier when the film was made, we used to watch a lot of films in dubbing. But now dubbing has become so sophisticated. The sound system is so amazing,” she said.

Shriya praised the film’s sound team and revealed that the team did not have to rely on dubbing extensively as the film was shot with sync sound. “And in conclusion, Abhishek has got such an amazing sound system, sound director. It’s amazingly sync sound that we didn’t have to dub it at all. So, we are very lucky,” she added.

Describing ‘Drishyam 3’, Shriya said the film carries a sense of responsibility because of its emotional and dramatic nature. She explained that the film is rooted in family drama and mystery rather than being a larger-than-life visual spectacle.

“So, I was thinking what it is. But I know for a fact it’s a beautiful film. Yes, I know there is a lot of responsibility. Because it’s not like, it’s a drama. Family drama, mystery. And it plays with your emotions,” she said. The actress added that the film’s strength lies in its emotional connection with the audience.

“But it’s not like a visual spectacle, spectacularly. It’s not like, it’s a larger than life kind of a film. It’s a film that connects to your heart. So, it’s that. And there is a lot of responsibility. But I know that Abhishek is on a great job,” Shriya said.

On a related note, Shriya Saran returned as Nandini Salgaonkar, the wife of Vijay Salgaonkar, portrayed by Ajay Devgn, in the concluding chapter, Drishyam 3: The Conclusion. The film hit theatres on October 2, 2026, coinciding with Gandhi Jayanti.

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Rakul Preet Singh breaks silence on IT raid reports, clarifies, ‘The search was not pertaining to me’

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Mumbai, Oct 5: Bollywood actress Rakul Preet Singh has addressed reports that linked her name to recent income tax searches.

Taking to social media, the ‘Yaariyan’ actress on Monday clarified that she was not connected to the matter and sought to set the record straight. Rakul shared a note that read, “It’s heartbreaking to see that There’s a growing trend amongst the self styled online reporters & some main stream media journalists to sensationalise the news without verifying facts. Let’s therefore set the record straight once for all. The search was not pertaining to me.”

“Let it be known that I am from the Armed Forces background & had no Godfather in the Industry. I have come up through sheer hardwork & as a responsible law abiding citizen have been paying my due taxes since the age of 20 years.”

The actress added, “I am not involved in any kind of illegal Foreign remittance in personal capacity or on behalf of any Production house. I would also add here that I do not hold any Benami property on behalf of anyone anywhere in the country or abroad. Neither anyone has ever gifted me any property at anytime nor do I accept such expensive gifts as a principle.”

“I urge all those who published these false, malicious and speculative reports to retract them and clarify the facts. I understand that everyone running a media business however big has their own commercial pressures. But it cannot come at the cost of facts. And certainly not at the cost of someone’s reputation and livelihood.”

According to some online reports, the Income Tax Department had conducted searches at multiple locations reportedly linked to Rakul Preet Singh, her father-in-law and film producer Vashu Bhagnani, and Panorama Studios in Mumbai.

The reports claimed that the Mumbai Income Tax Department had carried out searches at 12 locations as part of an investigation into suspected financial irregularities. Officials were reportedly looking into allegations that funds had been routed overseas under the pretext of financing film projects.

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Shah Rukh Khan lauds Captain Smit Machchhar’s heroic act: You stood strong when it mattered the most

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Mumbai, Oct 3: Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan lauded Captain Smit Machchhar for his courage and presence of mind that ended up saving many lives during the horrific mid-air incident aboard a Flydubai flight.

Wishing the Captain a speedy recovery, SRK shared that the entire country was extremely proud of him as he managed to show courage during extreme circumstances.

Taking to his X (Formerly known as Twitter) timeline, Salman wrote, “Captain Smit Machchhar, you stood strong when it mattered the most!! It’s not easy to stare adversity in the face and put one’s safety on the line… but you did just that to protect those onboard and showed us what being a Captain entails. A true display of courage and duty. Wishing you a speedy recovery, the country is proud of you…(sic).”

Prior to this, Salman Khan also applauded Captain Smit Machchhar, saying that it would be a pleasure to fly with him.

Salman’s Tweet read, “Kamaal kar diya pilot ji, hum sab aap ko salute karte hain will be a pleasure to fly with u.. Well done bro.. Capt #SmitMachchhar.”

For the unversed, Captain Machchhar was seriously injured on Flydubai flight FZ1073, which was headed from Dubai to Tel Aviv with 174 people on board, after his co-pilot allegedly attacked him inside the cockpit.

Despite being seriously injured, he managed to open the cockpit door, allowing passengers and crew members to intervene. The aircraft was eventually diverted to Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, where it landed safely.

Many prominent names from the world of entertainment used social media to pay tribute to Captain Machchhar.

Actor Anil Kapoor revealed that he shares a personal connection to the pilot through his business manager Jalal. He shared that Jalal had known Captain Machchhar ever since his days in flying school and had always considered him as someone he would want by his side in a difficult situation.

His post read, “What Smit did in that moment was nothing short of extraordinary. It takes immense courage to stay strong and put others first.”

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