Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Alia to play Sita alongside Ranbir as Ram in ‘Ramayana’

If Ramayana materializes, it will mark the second collaboration between Alia and Ranbir after their last film Brahmastra.

Alia to play Sita alongside Ranbir as Ram in ‘Ramayana’

After remakes and biopics, it seems Bollywood has now set its eyes on mythological dramas. As Prabhas and Kriti Sanon’s much-anticipated film Adipurush, based on the Hindu epic Ramayana, nears its release, news has emerged that renowned filmmaker Nitesh Tiwari is gearing up to bring his version of the Ramayana to life for the silver screen.

The latest we hear is that actress Alia Bhatt is set to play Sita in Tiwari's much-anticipated film. She will join forces with husband Ranbir Kapoor who is already on board to portray Lord Ram in the mega-budgeted film.


Earlier, rumours were doing the rounds that Tiwari's film was shelved. However, if fresh reports are to be believed, the project is pretty much on track and will commence once the director finishes his ongoing film Bawaal with Varun Dhawan and Janhvi Kapoor.

As soon as the report of Bhatt joining the cast of Ramayana surfaced online, she started trending on Twitter.

One of Alia Bhatt's fan pages reasoned why she was best suited for the film. “Four things that will make Alia Bhatt the best Sita: 1. Alia's height 2. She is a great actor (if there's doubt, then watch Gangubai Kathiawadi) 3. They (Alia and Ranbir) are real-life couple and they love each other purely as Ram and Sita (so they don't need to act as they love each other.) 4. Her acting in RRR as Sita was great."

A Twitter user said, “For people, who are giving opinions on the casting of Ramayana and comparing (it with) Adipurush, Nitesh Tiwari is the one, who has been working on it for three years now. It's his vision that he thinks Alia Bhatt and Ranbir Kapoor are best suited. It's not like they are making it on your money.”

If Ramayana materializes, it will mark the second collaboration between Alia and Ranbir after their last film Brahmastra.

Stay tuned to this space for more updates and reveals.

More For You

Lubna Kerr Lunchbox

Scottish-Pakistani theatre-maker Lubna Kerr returns to the Edinburgh Fringe with 'Lunchbox'

Instagram/ lubnakerr

Beyond curries and cricket: Lubna Kerr’s 'Lunchbox' challenges stereotypes at Edinburgh Fringe

Acclaimed Scottish-Pakistani theatre-maker Lubna Kerr returns to the Edinburgh Fringe with Lunchbox – the final instalment of her deeply personal and widely praised ‘BOX’ trilogy, following Tickbox and Chatterbox.

Inspired by her own upbringing as a Pakistani immigrant girl in Glasgow, Lunchbox is a powerful one-woman show that tackles themes of identity, race, bullying and belonging through the eyes of two teenagers growing up on the same street but living vastly different lives. With humour, honesty and heart, Kerr brings multiple characters to life, including her younger self and a troubled classmate, as she explores whether we are shaped by our environment or capable of breaking the cycle.

Keep ReadingShow less
Tawseef Khan

Based on Khan’s lifelong proximity to immigration law

Instagram/ itsmetawseef

Tawseef Khan brings together justice and fiction in his powerful debut novel

Tawseef Khan is a qualified immigration solicitor and academic who made his literary debut with the acclaimed non-fiction book Muslim, Actually. His first novel Determination, originally published in 2024 and now available in paperback, brings his legal and creative worlds together in a powerful, emotionally rich story.

Set in a Manchester law firm, Determination follows Jamila, a 29-year-old immigration solicitor juggling frantic client calls, family expectations and her own wellbeing. Based on Khan’s lifelong proximity to immigration law, including his father starting a practice from their living room, the novel explores the human cost of a broken system with compassion, wit and clarity.

Keep ReadingShow less
Iman Qureshi’s play confronts
‘gay shame’ with solidarity

Iman Qureshi

Iman Qureshi’s play confronts ‘gay shame’ with solidarity

A NEW play looks at the cultural divisions in society, especially in the West, and shows how people can still come together and build a community even if they don’t always agree, its playwright has said.

The Ministry of Lesbian Affairs, by Iman Qureshi, follows a group of women, mostly lesbians, who come together to sing in a choir, while sharing their lives, making new friendships, experiencing love, and finding humour during their time spent together. Themes of identity, politics and personal struggles are explored in the story.

Keep ReadingShow less
20 Years of Sarkar: Amitabh Bachchan’s Defining Gangster Role

The 2005 film Sarkar explored power, loyalty, and justice in Mumbai’s underworld

India Glitz

20 years of 'Sarkar': Amitabh Bachchan’s iconic turn in a gangster epic

Dharmesh Patel

There have been many Hindi cinema projects inspired by Hollywood films, and Sarkar ranks among the finest. The brooding political crime drama, which paid tribute to the epic 1972 gangster film The Godfather, became a gritty, homegrown tale of power, loyalty and justice.

Directed by Ram Gopal Varma and set in Mumbai’s morally murky corridors of influence, the film centred on Subhash Nagre – a man feared, respected and mythologised. Played with majestic restraint by Amitabh Bachchan, the story followed Nagre’s control over the underworld, political power centres and a grey zone where justice was delivered through unofficial means. His sons, the hot-headed Vishnu (Kay Kay Menon) and the more composed Shankar (Abhishek Bachchan) – became central to this tale of betrayal, legacy and redemption.

Keep ReadingShow less
Michael jackson

It was part of a global promotional campaign for Jackson's HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I album

Getty Images

From a McDonald's to a nightclub: The strange afterlife of Michael Jackson’s giant statues

Key points

  • Ten giant Michael Jackson statues were built in 1995 to promote his HIStory album
  • The 32ft figures appeared around the world and followed him on tour
  • Some remain visible in places like Switzerland, Italy, and South Africa
  • Others have been removed or stored due to controversy after Jackson’s death and allegations
  • Owners now face challenges selling, relocating or preserving the monuments

A colossal promotion campaign

In June 1995, Londoners witnessed an unusual spectacle: a 32ft statue of Michael Jackson being floated down the River Thames. It was part of a global promotional campaign for Jackson's HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I album. A total of ten fibreglass statues were made, all modelled on the album cover image, and they accompanied the singer on his worldwide tour.

The statues were the product of a transatlantic effort. American sculptor Diana Walczak worked closely with Jackson to design a clay prototype. In the UK, artist Stephen Pyle oversaw the construction of the fibreglass versions, assisted by sculptor Derek Howarth and a team based at Elstree Studios. Built in just four months, the statues bore some differences from the original prototype due to limited access.

Keep ReadingShow less