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Review: ‘Atrangi Re’: Intriguing narrative keeps you hooked (Rating: ***)

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Film: ‘Atrangi Re’ (Streaming on Disney+ Hotstar); Duration: 138 minutes.

Director: Aanand L. Rai. Cast: Akshay Kumar, Dhanush, Sara Ali Khan, Seema Biswas, Ashish Verma and Dimple Hayathi.

Rating: ***

Treated like a light-hearted romance-comedy, ‘Atrangi Re’ promises a love story with a difference, and it is a familiar but not a different tale to an extent.

To enjoy the film, you need to empathise with Rinku (Sara Ali Khan), an orphan from Bihar who is forced to marry the kidnapped Dr. S. Vishwanath Iyer (Dhanush), a Tamilian from Chennai visiting her hometown.

Competing in this love story is Vishu’s girlfriend Mandakini, aka Mandy (Dimple Hayathi), who is the daughter of his dean, who is supposed to get engaged to Vishu in the next few days. And the other member in this love-quadrangle is the magician Sajjad Ali Khan (Akshay Kumar), with whom Rinku is head-over-heels.

The narrative leads you through an intriguing path. It allows you to fantasize about myriad possibilities ahead. That is what keeps you hooked. But by the end, you realise that while the concept is interesting, the narrative is frothily shallow and a bit disappointing.

The film begins on a dramatic note with Rinku frenetically running away from home, and ever thence you notice especially during the first half, every frame seems to be designed in a frenzy. Someone or the other is running across the screen. These long continuous shots are skilfully captured, and they only add drama to the scenes.

Sara Ali Khan, as the rustic and boisterous Rinku, delivers a relatable performance, but when, in a scene with Sajjad, she breaks into English, you apprehend that her character has not been chiselled, to perfection.

Similarly, Dhanush is charming all the way, there are times where your heart goes out for him, but once again, his character seems to be short-changed by the script, for there are moments when his emotional arch is cut short.

Dimple Hayathi is a competent actress but with limited screen time, her histrionics is not brought to the fore.

After a long time, Akshay Kumar looks fresh and young on-screen, and he delivers a fairly buoyant performance not overshadowing either Sara or Dhanush.

Seema Biswas as Rinku’s feisty and autocratic grandmother Dhulhayen, Ashish Verma as Vishu’s friend and colleague Madhu, and the rest of the supporting cast leave their mark on the screen.

Technically the film is astutely mounted with great production qualities. Also, the songs and the background score are loud and upbeat, and they mesh with the narrative seamlessly.

Overall, Atrangi Re speaks about the language of the heart, but with no Hindi or English subtitles to the Tamil dialogues spoken by Vishu and his ilk, the finer nuances of the words spoken are lost in guesstimation.

Bollywood

Kareena Kapoor shares glimpse of Saif Ali Khan making Ganpati idol at home on Ganesh Chaturthi

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Mumbai, Sep 14: Bollywood star Kareena Kapoor gave fans a glimpse into her family’s Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations on Monday.

The actress shared pictures of husband and actor Saif Ali Khan working with clay to make an eco-friendly Lord Ganpati idol at home.

In the first picture, Saif can be seen dressed in a white kurta-pyjama as he sits on the floor, working on the clay idol with his hands.

Kareena then shared a picture of the completed clay idol, which was placed on a wooden surface. The actress revealed that the idol was made by her younger son, Jehangir Ali Khan, fondly called Jeh.

Sharing the picture, Kareena wrote: “Made by my Jeh Baba. Wishing everyone a happy and peaceful Ganesh Chaturthi!”

For the uninitiated, Kareena and Saif have embraced festivals and traditions from both sides of their families. Kareena comes from the Punjabi Kapoor family, while Saif belongs to the Muslim Pataudi family, making their marriage an interfaith one.

The couple, who got married in 2012, have often celebrated different festivals with their children, Taimur and Jeh. Kareena has previously spoken about how her family celebrates festivals across faiths, saying that Christmas is celebrated as much as Diwali, while Eid is also part of their family celebrations.

From Christmas lunches and Diwali celebrations to Eid festivities featuring biryani and family get-togethers, the couple have showcased a blend of traditions at home.

On the professional front, Kareena is all geared up for her upcoming movie, Daayra which also stars Prithviraj Sukumaran. The movie directed by Meghna Gulzar, is set to release on September 18.

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BB 20: Qazi Touqeer reveals Arijit Singh can play sitar for 7 hours straight, talks about singer’s obsession with music

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Mumbai, Sep 12: Bigg Boss 20 contestant Qazi Touqeer opened up about his longstanding friendship with star singer Arijit Singh.

While chatting with his fellow housemates in an episode of BB 20, Qazi showered praise on the playback singer for his passion, fighting spirit and down-to-earth nature.

Qazi, who shares a friendship with Arijit dating back to their days on the 2005 singing reality show Fame Gurukul, spoke about the singer with immense affection and admiration.

“Bro, I’m telling you. That guy is my life,” Qazi said while talking about Arijit.

Qazi also spoke about Arijit’s passion for music and recalled how the singer could remain completely absorbed in his musical world for hours.

“That guy is my life. Uska fighting spirit crazy hai. Woh 8 ghante tak nahi thakta.” “Sitar leke baithta hai.” (He sits down with his sitar.) “Shuru jab kiya usne toh time ka kuch pata nahi chal raha hai. Saat ghanta, chhe ghanta, constant. Usi cheez mein khoya hua hai.”

(His fighting spirit is crazy. He doesn’t get tired even after eight hours. Once he starts, he loses track of time. Seven hours, six hours, constantly. He is completely lost in it)

Qazi went on to praise Arijit’s love for the process of creating music, saying that for his friend, the joy lies in the process and the music itself.

“Mereko kapdon ka shauk hai, mereko aisa hai. Uske liye maza kya hai? Process. Uska sangeet.” (I have a fascination for clothes and such things. But for him, what matters is the process. His music.)

When asked about his favourite Arijit Singh song, Qazi became emotional and chose “Tum Hi Ho” from the 2013 film Aashiqui 2. He dedicated the song to his friend, saying he shared a very close bond with him and respected him so much that “alfaz kam padh jaaye”. (Out of words)

Qazi then added, “I love you, Arijit bhai. We love Arijit. Arijit bhai, I love you so much. The whole country loves him, bhai. Kuch bolne ki baat hi nahi hai.”

For the uninitiated, Qazi and Arijit’s friendship goes back more than two decades. The two met as young contestants on Fame Gurukul in 2005 and have remained close despite their careers taking very different paths.

Their friendship received another public endorsement after Qazi entered Bigg Boss 20. Arijit took to X and revealed that Qazi had given him a reason to watch the reality show for the first time.

“I will have to watch BIG BOSS for the first time in my life cz Apna Rockstar QAZI hai udhar,” Arijit wrote.

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Akshaye Khanna enjoys a lunch date with longtime friend Rajat Rawail, latter shares rare pic

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Mumbai, Sep 10: Actor Akshaye Khanna recently caught up with his good friend and filmmaker Rajat Rawail over a relaxed lunch in Mumbai.

Rajat Rawail, on Wednesday, sharing a candid glimpse of their get-together on his social media account, wrote, “super luncheon with my best best buddy, the super talented acting juggernaut akshaye khanna & rajat rawail bandra © wed 9/9/36 © friends for ever n ever.”

In the picture, the two friends can be seen seated across a table at a restaurant, posing for the camera.

Talking about Akshaye Khanna, the actor meanwhile, continues to be in the spotlight for his choice of different roles.

After making an impact with his recent performance in Dhurandhar, the actor is now preparing to surprise audiences with another striking transformation in the upcoming mythological film ‘Mahakali’.

In the film, reportedly Akshaye Khanna will be seen as Shukracharya, the guru of the Asuras. The makers had recently unveiled the first extended glimpse, titled ‘Shukracharya’s War Cry’, showcasing the actor in an intense and dramatically transformed avatar.

Directed by Puja Aparna Kolluru and written by Prasanth Varma, Mahakali is part of the Prasanth Varma Cinematic Universe. The film also stars Sriya Reddy, Bhoomi Shetty and Rohit Saraf. It is slated to release in theatres on January 8, 2027.

For the uninitiated, Akshaye Khanna has also been riding high on the success of Aditya Dhar’s Dhurandhar, in which he delivered a performance as Rehman Dakait which received widespread appreciation.

The action thriller, headlined by Ranveer Singh and featuring Sanjay Dutt, R. Madhavan and Arjun Rampal, released in theatres on December 5, 2025. Akshaye Khanna enjoys a lunch date with longtime friend Rajat Rawail, latter shares rare pics Khanna reprised his role in the franchise’s sequel, Dhurandhar: The Revenge, which released on March 19, 2026.

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