
Manoj Bajpayee was first choice for Rang De Basanti instead of Aamir Khan? Actor reacts with a tweet
Actor Manoj Bajpayee has quashed rumours of being the original pick for Rang De Basanti instead of Aamir Khan. He set the record straight with wit and a dash of humour. Also read: DYK: Not Aamir Khan, but Manoj Bajpayee was the first choice for cult classic Rang De Basanti Rang De Basanti was released in 2006 and starred Aamir Khan in the lead role.
The conversation around Manoj being the first choice instead of Aamir in the film gained momentum after Kamlesh Pandey, one of the screenwriters on the film, made the claim during a chat with Ravya Sarda for her YouTube show.
Manoj reacted to the buzz on Thursday through a post on X, formerly known as Twitter. Reposting the link of one such report, Manoj wrote, 'Matlab kuch bhi (whatever) (laughing emoji).'
In another tweet, he mentioned, 'And who is the producer who said this? Naam to bata!! SM pe itne khali lota le ke baithe hai (Please share the name. Why are you so idle on social media).'
In the interview, Kamlesh said, 'We had been roaming around with the script of the film for 6 years, and no one was ready to make that film. We had signed Manoj for the role that Aamir played finally. We thought we would make a small film; we didn't have a big budget. The moment Aamir heard the script, he told us that he wanted to do the film, and he even got AR Rahman to come on the project. UTV, who had rejected the film twice in the past, immediately said yes to it".
Released in 2006, Rang De Basanti revolves around a group of carefree friends, who turn rebellious and take on the government with a drastic measure to make a point against corruption in India.
When it comes to his work schedule, Manoj will soon be back with the third season of Family Man. He will be reprising the role of Srikant Tiwari. The makers shared an official update on the new season earlier this week.
On Tuesday, Prime Video dropped the official announcement of season 3 with a new Instagram post. Sharing the poster of season 3, the makers mentioned in the caption: 'All eyes on our family men #TheFamilyManOnPrime, New Season, Coming Soon.' The joint post tagged the cast members, including Manoj, Priyamani, Sharib Hashmi and directors Raj & DK.
Tamil star Sundeep Kishan, Jugal Hansraj, Shreya Dhanwantary, Darshan Kumar, Dalip Tahil, Seema Biswas, Vipin Kumar Sharma, and Harman Singha were also tagged. Gul Panag, who was seen in season 1, is also set to return to the show. No release date has been announced for The Family Man season 3 so far.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


India.com
17 minutes ago
- India.com
TV Industry Mourns Shefali Jariwala's Death: Aly Goni, Rithvik Dhanjani, Mika Singh Pay Tribute
Mumbai: Friends of actress Shefali Jariwala, who passed away on Friday night in Mumbai, are mourning her demise. As the day progressed, several industry friends of the actress took to their social media, and expressed grief. Actress Antara Biswas, known professionally as Monalisa, took to the Stories section of her Instagram, and shared a throwback picture with Shefali from the Ganeshotsav celebrations. She wrote, 'Will Miss You Shefali. Still Not Being able to Believe This Life is Sach mein Unpredictable. I Always Adored Your Happy Positive Nature And your Aura Always Created Magic++ #restinpeace Friend'. Actress Devoleena Bhattacharjee also shared a throwback picture of herself with the actress, and wrote, 'Oh God Shefali. Still cant process it. Om Shanti'. Actor Rithvik Dhanjani wrote, 'Om Shanti. Hoping the family finds the strength through these times'. Actress Madhurima Tuli wrote, 'Still coming to terms with this shocking news. May her soul rest in peace'. Earlier, members of the entertainment fraternity like playback singer Mika Singh, actor Aly Goni, Karishma Tanna and celebrity chef Kunal Kapur and Paras Chhabra condoled her demise. Mika was among the first to react to the news. He took to his Instagram, and wrote, 'I'm deeply shocked, saddened, and feeling a heavy heart. Our beloved dear friend @shefalijariwala has left us'. Actor Aly Goni took to the Stories section of his Instagram, and shared a picture of the actress as he wrote, 'RIP Shefali'. He later tweeted, 'Shocked and saddened to hear about Shefali Jariwala's sudden demise. Life is so unpredictable. Rest in peace'. Actress Karishma Tanna also took to the Stories section of her Instagram to express grief over Shefali Jariwala's tragic death. 'Heavy heart. This is unbelievable!! Gone too soon'. Celebrity chef Kunal Kapur also took to his Instagram as he paid tribute to Shefali Jariwala. He shared a picture of the actress and wrote, 'Life is so fragile. Just forgive and forget. Hug those who you love and spend time being happy with the ones you care for. Shocked & saddened over this horrible news of Shefali passing away'. Actor Paras Chhabra also mourned her loss, as he shared a photo with Shefali and captioned it, 'Kiski zindagi kitni likhi hai koi nahi janta. Om Shanti'. Shefali reportedly passed away on Friday following a cardiac arrest. Her husband Parag Tyagi reportedly rushed her to a hospital in the Andheri area of Mumbai but doctors declared her dead on arrival. Her body has been sent to Cooper Hospital in Andheri for further formalities.


Indian Express
25 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Bespoke bash for a billionaire: Jeff Bezos weds Lauren Sánchez in lavish Venice ceremony
The sky itself is no limit for billionaire Jeff Bezos and fiancée Lauren Sánchez, who have traveled into space — and expectations were about as high ahead of their wedding in Venice on Friday. One of the world's most enchanting cities as backdrop? Check. Star-studded guestlist and tabloid buzz? Of course. Local flavor? You bet. And then, time to tie the knot. The couple held their wedding ceremony Friday night, and Sánchez posted to Instagram a photo of herself beaming in a white gown as she stood alongside a tuxedo-clad Bezos, the world's fourth-richest man. It was the second day of events spread across the Italian lagoon city, which added complexity to what would have been a massive logistical undertaking even on dry land. Dozens of private jets had flocked to Venice's airport, and yachts pulled into the city's famed waterways. Athletes, celebrities, influencers and business leaders converged to revel in extravagance that was as much a testament to the couple's love as to their extraordinary wealth. The heady hoopla recalled the 2014 wedding in Venice of actor George Clooney to human rights lawyer Amal Alamuddin, when adoring crowds lined the canals and hundreds of well-wishers gathered outside City Hall. Not so for these nuptials, which became a lightning rod for small, colorful protests. But any desire to dampen the prevailing fever pitch hadn't materialized as of Friday. Instead, the glitterati were partying, and the paparazzi jostling for glimpses of the gilded gala. And the bride wore a classic mermaid-line gown, featuring Dolce & Gabbana's signature Italian lace. A traditional tulle-and-lace veil completed her look. 'Not just a gown, a piece of poetry,' she wrote on Instagram, where her name now appears as Lauren Sánchez Bezos. Venice is famed for its network of canals, where gondoliers croon for lovestruck couples and even ambulances are aquatic. But water transport of everything from bouquets to guests makes Venice among the world's most challenging cities for a party, according to Jack Ezon, CEO of Embark Beyond, a luxury travel advisory and destination event service. 'It's a very tight-knit community; everyone there knows everyone, and you need to work with the right people,' said Ezon, whose company has put on a dozen high-end events in Venice. 'There's very tight control, especially on movement there with boats.' It at least triples the cost versus staging the same soiree in Rome or Florence, he said. Veneto Gov. Luca Zaia was first to give an estimated tally for the Bezos/Sánchez bash: He told reporters this week the most recent total he saw was between 40 million and 48 million euros (up to $56 million). It's an eye-popping, jaw-dropping figure that's over 1,000 times the $36,000 average cost of American couples' weddings in 2025, according to wedding planning website Zola's annual report. Bezos' team has been tight-lipped about where these millions are going. When the youngest son of Asia's richest man married last July, performances by pop stars Rihanna and Justin Bieber pushed up the price tag. 'How do you spend $40 million on a three- or four-day event?' Ezon said. 'You could bring headliners, A-list performers, great DJs from anywhere in the world. You could spend $2 million on an incredible glass tent that's only there for 10 hours, but it takes a month to build,' or expand the celebration to local landmarks. There's no sign Sánchez and Bezos, the former CEO of Amazon, intend to take over any of Venice's tourist-thronged hotspots. Still, intense hand-wringing about the prospect prompted their wedding coordinator, Lanza & Baucina, to issue a rare statement calling those rumors false. On Friday afternoon, Sánchez emerged from her hotel wearing a silk scarf on her head and blew a kiss to journalists before stepping into her water taxi. It carried her through the canals to San Giorgio island, across the lagoon basin from St. Mark's Square, where the couple held their ceremony Friday night. Bezos followed two hours later. Then, in a string of water taxis, came their illustrious guests — Oprah Winfrey, Kim Kardashian, Ivanka Trump, Tom Brady, Bill Gates, Queen Rania of Jordan, Leonardo DiCaprio, and more. Paparazzi trailed on their own boats, trying to capture them all on camera. Vogue magazine, to which the couple granted exclusive access, reported that the Dolce & Gabbana-designed gown took 900 hours to complete. Inspired by Sophia Loren's wedding dress in the 1958 film Houseboat, it featured high-necked, hand-appliqued lace and 180 silk chiffon-covered priest buttons. There are some who say these two shouldn't have been wed in this city. They characterize the wedding as a decadent display of wealth in a world with growing inequality, and argue it's a shining example of tourism taking precedence over residents' needs, particularly affordable housing and essential services. Venice is also one of the cities most vulnerable to rising sea levels from climate change. 'Venice is not just a pretty picture, a pretty postcard to please the needs and wants of the elite or of mass tourists, but it is an alive city, made of people who want to actually live there,' Stella Faye, a researcher at a university from Venice, said on Friday. About a dozen Venetian organizations — including housing advocates, anti-cruise ship campaigners and university groups — are protesting under the banner 'No Space for Bezos,' a play on words referring to his space exploration company Blue Origin and the bride's recent space flight. Greenpeace unfurled a banner in St. Mark's Square denouncing Bezos for paying insufficient taxes. Activists floated a bald-headed Bezos-inspired mannequin down Venice's Grand Canal atop an Amazon delivery box, its hands clenching fake cash. Authorities — from Venice's mayor to the nation's tourism minister — have dismissed the outcry, saying it ignores the visibility and economic boost the wedding has brought. 'There will be photos everywhere, social media will go wild over the bride's dress, over the ceremony,' Italy's tourism minister, Daniela Santanchè, told the AP. 'All of this translates into a massive free publicity campaign. In fact, because they will spend a lot of money, they will enrich Venice — our shopkeepers, artisans, restaurateurs, hotels. So it's a great opportunity both for spending and for promoting Italy in the world.' As Amazon's CEO, Bezos usually avoided the limelight, frequently delegating announcements and business updates to his executives. Today he has a net worth of $234 billion, according to Forbes. In 2019, he announced he was divorcing his first wife, MacKenzie Scott, just before the National Enquirer published a story about an affair with Sánchez, a former TV news anchor. Sánchez filed for divorce the day after Bezos' divorce was finalized. He stepped down as CEO in 2021, saying he wished to spend more time on side projects, including Blue Origin, The Washington Post, which he owns, and his philanthropic initiatives. Sitting beside Sánchez during an interview with CNN in 2022, he announced plans to give away the majority of his wealth during his lifetime. Last week, a Venetian environmental research association issued a statement saying Bezos' Earth Fund was supporting its work with an 'important donation.' CORILA, which seeks protection of the Venetian lagoon system, said contact began in April, well before any protests. Local media have reported a reception Saturday in the Arsenale, a former navy base best known as a primary venue for the Venice Biennale.


Time of India
27 minutes ago
- Time of India
Aamir Khan says he did not direct any film after 'Taare Zameen Par' because he loves acting a lot
Aamir Khan , the 'Perfectionist' of Bollywood, has been a prolific actor in the entertainment industry who dares to bring new perspectives and not-so-explored ideas to the silver screen for many years. Aamir Khan won't direct because he loves acting... In an interview with Pinkvilla, when asked about why the 60-year-old has not explored being a filmmaker after directing the blockbuster 'Taare Zameen Par,' Khan responded by stating that he prefers acting. 'The reason that I have not directed a film since Taare Zameen Par is because I love acting a lot,' Aamir said. Furthermore, the 'Lagaan' actor said that if he were to start directing films, he would simply leave acting. Khan perceives that being a director or filmmaker of the project is so much more interesting than acting could make him feel bored. 'Mai uss type ka aadmi hun ki agar main bore ho raha hun toh main kaam nahi kar paata (I'm that type of person that if I get bored, I cannot work),' the actor claimed. When Aamir directed the 2007 film, it was not because of his willingness but a necessity. Previously, he had no intention of directing the film, but there was a crisis, leading him to take the film into his own hands. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Trading CFD dengan Teknologi dan Kecepatan Lebih Baik IC Markets Mendaftar Undo Additionally, Khan stated that if he were to ever direct a film again, he would not engage himself in the acting business. As far as directing his latest film 'Sitaare Zameen Par' goes, the actor remarked that it was RS Prassana's choice at all times. About 'Sitaare Zameen Par' For the unversed, 'Sitaare Zameen Par' is a film about a basketball coach who is forced to do community service after facing a jail term for drunk driving. He trains the players with intellectual disabilities to compete in the National Basketball Tournament, embarking on a journey of personal growth and learning valuable lessons. According to ETimes review of the film, 'If Taare Zameen Par had the soul, Sitaare Zameen Par brings the spirit. It's a heartwarming family watch that blends comedy, compassion, and charm, and is definitely worth a trip to the theatre.'