Bollywood
Review: ‘Atrangi Re’: Intriguing narrative keeps you hooked (Rating: ***)
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
Shriya Saran reveals she couldn’t sleep a day before ‘Drishyam 3’ release: ‘Every scene, I was revisiting emotionally’

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

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

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.”
-
Crime4 years agoClass 10 student jumps to death in Jaipur
-
Maharashtra2 years agoMumbai Local Train Update: Central Railway’s New Timetable Comes Into Effect; Check Full List Of Revised Timings & Stations
-
Maharashtra2 years agoMumbai To Go Toll-Free Tonight! Maharashtra Govt Announces Complete Toll Waiver For Light Motor Vehicles At All 5 Entry Points Of City
-
Maharashtra2 years agoFalse photo of Imtiaz Jaleel’s rally, exposing the fooling conspiracy
-
National News2 years agoMinistry of Railways rolls out Special Drive 4.0 with focus on digitisation, cleanliness, inclusiveness and grievance redressal
-
Maharashtra2 years agoMaharashtra Elections 2024: Mumbai Metro & BEST Services Extended Till Midnight On Voting Day
-
National News2 years agoJ&K: 4 Jawans Killed, 28 Injured After Bus Carrying BSF Personnel For Poll Duty Falls Into Gorge In Budgam; Terrifying Visuals Surface
-
Crime2 years agoBaba Siddique Murder: Mumbai Police Unable To Get Lawrence Bishnoi Custody Due To Home Ministry Order, Says Report
