Entertainment

Prajakta Koli: Wanted to be a radio jockey

Prajakta Koli has become a household name today. She has successfully donned the hats of an influencer, blogger and an actor. After her acting debut in ‘JugJugg Jeeyo’, Prajakta is all set to dabble into teleplays with ‘Yeh Shaadi Nahi Ho Sakti’. ETimes sat down with her for an exclusive interview where she opened up about the play, her thoughts about marriage, her most interesting collaborations and more. Excerpts…From being a breakout star on social media to now, a Bollywood actor, how do you look back at your journey so far?I look at it with a lot of surprise and with a lot of gratitude because I never imagined opportunities like this coming my way.Did you always want to do something in the content or acting space or you had other plans?I wanted to be a radio jockey, and then YouTube kind of just happened, and everything that has happened after that has opened newer avenues. I however loved acting always and used to do theatre when I was in college.

How have your parents reacted to your career choices?They have been very supportive and have always been one hundred percent, my biggest support system. They have always been there for me.

You made your Bollywood debut with ‘JugJugg Jeeyo’. How was it working with the stellar star cast? Were you intimidated? I was very intimidated and till I started work, I was extremely nervous. I did not know how I was going to go through the entire duration of the shoot. I had cold feet and was extremely under-confident. But everyone was just so warm and so sweet that it was lovely. I couldn’t have asked for a better first film.

How did you come on board for ‘Yeh Shaadi Nahi Ho Sakti’?Akarsh Khuana told me that he was working on ‘Yeh Shaadi Nahi Ho Sakti’, a really fun adaptation of ‘The Taming of the Shrew’ on Zee Theatre and because Akarsh is someone I look up to and deeply admire, have worked with before and also because the rest of the cast was amazing, I instantly came on board.

Tell us something about your role. I play Priya, the youngest daughter of the family who is very close to her father and her sister, but there is a complication in her love life. She cannot get married to the love of her life (Chaitanya Sharma) till her elder sister is married. She’s very fun, bubbly, quick-witted and at the same time very loving, and she’s looking for someone eligible that her sister can marry so that her path clears.

You have worked with Akarsh Khurana in Mismatched. How is he as a director? He is the best. I was so glad that he was my first director when I kind of ventured a bit out of the YouTube universe and started working professionally on an acting set for ‘Mismatched’- Season 1. I couldn’t have asked for a better director. He’s also a very good friend and mentor and I’m just very grateful that I keep getting opportunities to work with him and learn from him.

How was your experience exploring the format of teleplay? Exploring and prepping for the format was fun. Initially, I thought that this was going to be a stage play that would just be filmed. But then I saw how each scene was being staged, how the long takes were framed, how the actors had to move in harmony with the camera movement and the lighting was changed to indicate the progression of time and it just blew my mind. Yes, it was theatre but it was filmed in the most beautiful, fluid way.

What was it like to be on the sets? Who did you bond the most with? Being on set was too much fun because of the energy of the cast. I love everyone so much! I think it was really fun working with Shikha Talsania. I was very excited about working with Akarsh uncle. Adhaar, I love, so it was very nice to be around him. But I think I had most of my scenes with Sarthak and Cheetah (Chaitanya), so I think we hung out the most.

You are currently enjoying your dating life. What are your thoughts about marriage?I’m not married and so I really don’t have any thoughts about it.

From all your collaborations with other content producers on the internet, which has been the best collab and the most fun collab till date? I think hands down, my collaboration with Michelle Obama was one hundred percent the best. The most fun would be the one with Hrithik Roshan for many reasons.

What more does 2023 have in store for Prajakta Koli? There are a few fun announcements that have happened. There are a couple of projects that should come out this year, but mostly, it’s as much a surprise for me as it is for you. We are still in the middle of a lot of discussions. So we’ll see how it goes.

ETimes had a exclusive talk with Prajakta Koli in which she discussed her performance, outlook on matrimony, her most remarkable team-ups and further.

Entertainment

‘Jawan’ to mint Rs 70 crore on opening day

With a 5 am show in Kolkata, a 6 am one in Jaipur and tickets flying off the proverbial shelf, Bollywood theatrical releases — most recent being “Gadar 2” and “OMG 2″ — are raking it in.Mumbai-based trade expert Komal Nahta agreed with Biji’s estimate.”The situation is crazy across single-screen theatres and multiplexes both. It is difficult to predict the business. It will at least do Rs 70 crore on day one (in India),” Nahta told PTI.In Delhi, the film releases ahead of the G20 Summit on September 9-10 with several heads of state, including US President Joe Biden, set to attend the event. While the city will remain open during the weekend, restrictions will be imposed on a small part of the NDMC area.Bijli said he is not worried about the theatrical business taking a hit in central Delhi because of G20 restrictions. It would mean four PVR theatres — PVR Plaza, Rivoli, Odeon and ECX Chanakyapuri — shut during the summit.”They are single screen theatres with a total capacity of about 2,000 seats so that really wouldn’t have much of an impact because the loss for that will be compensated by the fact that Delhi has a four-day weekend,” he said.About 30-35 per cent of the film’s business will come from the South, which again is bigger than the numbers made by “Pathaan”, added Bijli.The buzz around “Jawan” is also high in south India as a majority of the cast and crew hail from the region, said Chennai-based trade analyst Ramesh Bala.”The advance booking is looking good all over India, certainly so in the South as well. There are early morning shows in the south. It is a big release here for all the states combined because the cast and crew are from the South.”So the buzz is more. Looking at the advance booking response for the film, I think on day one, the film should do Rs 20 to 25 crore from the South market, and overall, it should do Rs 70 to 75 crore across India. If the movie is reasonably good, then the lifetime business of the movie will be Rs 800 to Rs 1,000 crore,” Bala told PTI.It’s not just in the South.Theatre chain Miraj Cinema, which has 182 plus screens across India, said it has already sold 28,000 tickets.”Due to overwhelming public demand, we’ve broken new ground by adding a 5 am show for a Hindi film in Kolkata, a first in our cinema’s history. Jaipur will experience the earliest screening at 6.05 am in Hindi, setting a record for the city,” Amit Sharma, MD of Miraj Entertainment Ltd, said in a statement.Senior distributor and exhibitor Raj Bansal, said many theatres in Rajasthan will also hold early morning shows of “Jawan” due to the unprecedented response.”After almost 30 years in Rajasthan, we are having 6 am shows for ‘Jawan’. In the past, this happened with Amitabh Bachchan’s ‘Hum’,” Bansal, director of Jaipur’s three-screen multiplex Entertainment Paradise, told PTI.In Mumbai, Gaiety-Galaxy, a prominent single-screen theatre, about 90 per cent of its seats are sold out.”Almost 80 to 90 per cent booking is done so far; by Thursday it will be houseful. We are happy with the golden run of movies in theatres, especially in single-screen theatres. I think because of ‘Pathaan’ and ‘Gadar 2’, the business in single screen has revived. The industry has bounced back in a big way. With ‘Jawan’ things are looking positive,” Manoj Desai, executive director of Gaiety, Galaxy and Maratha Mandir Cinema, told PTI.As screens open up for advance bookings in various cities, the Tamil and Telugu versions of the film are also seeing enthusiastic support although the Hindi version is naturally taking the lead, Ashish Saksena, COO – Cinemas, BookMyShow, said in a statement.”What is interesting to note is that the Hindi language version of the film has seen maximum interest from markets in South and East India such as Hyderabad, Kolkata, Bengaluru and Chennai amongst others,” he added.According to Bijli, 2023, particularly the months of July-August, have been great for the exhibition sector with the back-to-back successes of both Hollywood and Hindi movies such as “Mission Impossible 7”, “Oppenheimer”, “Gadar 2”, “OMG 2” and “Dream Girl 2″.”Movie going (experience) has come back. ‘Jawan’ has a lot going for itself. The film has Shah Rukh Khan, who has delivered ‘Pathaan’, a Rs 525 crore movie,” he said.That film releases on Janmashtami, when many people celebrate the birth of Lord Krishna, and a weekend follows one day later is expected to boost sales.Rajkot-based distributor Ajay Bagdai said the advance booking for “Jawan” looks promising as Gujarat will have a holiday weekend due to Janmashtami.”At my theatre in Rajkot, we have 1,100 seats and so far we have sold about 750 tickets, only for September 7. On the first day, the pan-India business should be at least around Rs 50 to 60 crore,” Bagdai added.

Shah Rukh Khan’s next movie “Jawan” is expected to outperform the opening day grossing of “Pathaan” from earlier in the year. It is projected that Jawan should reach nearly 70 crore in earnings on its premiere day at the theaters.

Entertainment

Salman Khan warns against fake casting agents

Shah Rukh Khanfor an action packed spy drama, titled ‘Tiger vsPathaan’.

In a recent post on social media, Salman Khan cautioned his followers to beware of phony individuals, vowing to give innocent persons roles in his movies. The actor released a declaration on behalf of his studio as well. Soon, audiences will be able to witness Salman Khan’s performance in ‘Tiger 3’, the movie also featuring Katrina Kaif and Emraan Hashmi.

Entertainment

Aamir enjoys Wimbledon 2023 finals with kids

Aamir Khan was spotted at the Wimbledon 2023 finals in London with his children, Junaid, Azad and Ira, where they enjoyed the match together. Popular Bollywood celebrities such as Sonam Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra, and Nick Jonas also attended the event.

Aamir Khan and his kids, Junaid, Azad, and Ira, could be seen at the 2023 Wimbledon finals in London together, savoring the match. Celebrities like Sonam Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra, and Nick Jonas who are superstars in Bollywood were at the occasion.

Entertainment

With Katrina, it is always a ‘Merry Christmas’

CELEB LOOKS

Nature’s girl

Katrina is known to be a huge nature lover and here she is seen sitting pretty amidst flora and fauna

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Mornings like these

We think the diva looks flawless even when she wakes up in the morning. Don’t you agree?

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Festive fervour

The actor, who looks as gorgeous in Indian wear as Western, strikes a pose in this pastel salwar kameez

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Girl next door

Sultry diva or girl next door? Katrina, who recently turned 40, aces many avatars with elan

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Click happy

The actor posted this pic thanking her insta family that now boasts of 74 million people!

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Glam girl

Katrina, who carries off the glamorous look with panache, looks stunning in this shimmering golden dress

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Floral fantasy

Katrina shows you why a good floral pant suit is a must in your wardrobe

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Rock and roll

This zig zag chic dress with thigh high slits on either side is perfect for the summers

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Cozy corner

Katrina looks so radiant and fresh in this pic as her eyes do all the talking. Don’t miss her luscious locks!

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Green brigade

The actor poses in a green swimsuit atop a yacht and does she not look mesmerising?

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Next: Bollywood star kids making their debut in 2023

Entertainment

Prasoon Joshi to watch ‘OMG 2’ today

AfterCBFCwas slammed recently for passing Om Raut’s ‘Adipurush’ with zero cuts, Amit Rai’s ‘OMG 2’ was referred to the Revisting Committee by the Examining Committee, ahead of its release.Prasoon Joshi, Chairperson of CBFC will reportedly be watching the film today. According to reports, usually the Chief Executive Officer of the CBFC, Ravinder Bhakar, awards the certificate.His signature is seen on almost all the censor certificates. However, in the case of ‘OMG 2’,Prasoon Joshihimself will go through the film and make a decision accordingly, the report inBollywoodHungama stated.

The report added that he has decided to spearhead the Revisting Committee as the CBFC wants to be fully sure that ‘OMG 2’ doesn’t have any scene or dialogue that can cause a problem.

Prabhas, Kriti Sanon and Saif Ali Khan starrer received a huge backlash from the audience for its dialogues and scenes. The film received mixed reviews from the audience and the critics alike.

Meanwhile, ‘OMG 2’ stars <a href=”https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/akshay-kumar” class=”” data-ga=”Click-Hyperlink