Ajay Devgn chats with Pakistani cricketer Shahid Afridi in viral photo, the truth behind it is...
It is worth noting that the World Championship of Legends cricket league is currently underway. Bollywood actor Ajay Devgn is the co-owner of this championship. An India-Pakistan match was scheduled to take place on Sunday, July 20, as part of the tournament. However, the match was cancelled due to widespread protests following the Pahalgam terrorist attack. Amidst this, a video and photo of Ajay Devgn went viral on social media, in which he is seen laughing and chatting with Pakistani cricketers. One of the pics showed Ajay with Shahid Afridi. As a result, the actor became a target of criticism from social media users. What is the truth behind this video?
Let us tell you that the photos and videos of Ajay Devgn with Pakistani cricketer Shahid Afridi that are going viral are old. This is after the final of the World Championship of Legends held last year i.e. in 2024. The final match was played between India and Pakistan and India defeated Pakistan. During this, the co-owner of the championship, Ajay Devgn, was present there. At the same time, Ajay met the players of both teams. When will Ajay Devgn's film be released?
Let us tell you that the film 'Son of Sardar 2' was earlier scheduled to release on 25 July 2025. But after the tremendous response to Saiyaara, Ajay postponed the release date of his film. Now the film will be released in theaters on 1 August 2025. This is the sequel to Ajay Devgan's 'Son of Sardar' released in the year 2012. Why was India's match with Pakistan cancelled?
There has been a lot of anger in India against Pakistan since the terrorist attack in Pahalgam on 26th April. In response, India has even banned Pakistani artists from working in the country. Amidst the tense situation, former Pakistani cricketer Shahid Afridi is often seen making anti-India remarks.
Given this backdrop, the news of an India-Pakistan match in the World Championship of Legends sparked public outrage. As a result, several Indian players, including Shikhar Dhawan, Harbhajan Singh, and Irfan Pathan, refused to participate in the match, leading to its cancellation.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Indian Express
an hour ago
- Indian Express
Is Dulquer Salmaan doing something astonishingly right in Telugu that he can't seem to replicate in Malayalam?
There was a time when Dulquer Salmaan soared higher than any of his contemporaries in Malayalam. Almost anything and everything he touched turned into gold. Even when he stumbled once in a while, Dulquer bounced back with stellar force, repositioning himself at one of the top spots pretty soon. However, that hasn't been the case for the past few years. I am not insinuating that he has completely lost his fan base, clout or even suggesting that he has lost his touch. But a series of poor decisions and misjudgments have indeed taken a toll on his base in Malayalam, which, once lost, is not easy to regain, considering that the audiences are quite fastidious and pernickety. As he's the son of Mammootty, one of the biggest stars in Malayalam cinema history, there's nothing wrong with describing Dulquer Salmaan as 'one of the biggest nepo kids in the industry'. While outsiders with no godfathers or any prior connection to the show business have to toil endlessly to even land roles that get their faces registered in the minds of audiences, Dulquer undoubtedly benefited from his father's legacy to receive a debut film. And much like most other nepo babies, he received the lead role in his first film. However, what set him apart was the kind of movie and role he chose to commence his journey with. Director Srinath Rajendran's Second Show (2012) was not just a unique noir gangster film, but it leaned significantly towards the emerging aesthetics and narrative style of that era, characterised by the unfiltered portrayal of grey in both people and society at large. Revolving around a group of young perpetual-troublemakers who eventually get involved in organised crimes, Dulquer played a character, Lalu, who wasn't noble and pure-hearted, nor instantly likeable in the movie. In a way, Lalu can be called the anti-hero of Second Show. But since the film did not feature any virtuous characters and it was a story of raw, unpolished people, among them, Lalu was the lesser evil. Although the movie became a hit and Dulquer's performance opened to widespread acclaim, the risk he took here cannot be overlooked. Take the case of Bollywood nepo kids like Agastya Nanda, Khushi Kapoor, Suhana Khan, Ibrahim Ali Khan, Aaman Devgan, Rasha Thadani or even the latest sensation Ahaan Panday of Saiyaara, who made their debut in recent years. Not just that they were projected as stars or sure-shot stars even before their debuts, through massive PR stunts, they all played in their respective first outings characters that were carefully sutured to make people instantly develop an affinity towards them. Whether these efforts yielded positive results for all of them or if these actors' performances matched the monstrous levels of hype they received is a different topic altogether. But a closer look at the characters they all played would lay bare the master plan. The same can be said about the major nepo kids of Dulquer's generation in Malayalam as well. From Fahadh Faasil and Prithviraj Sukumaran to Pranav Mohanlal, Kalidas Jayaram, Kalyani Priyadarshan and Vineeth Sreenivisan, most of them made their acting debuts playing good-natured characters, with the only exceptions being Indrajith Sukumaran and, to some extent, Keerthy Suresh. But Dulquer took on a character, if not executed properly, could make people loathe him completely. And considering that Second Show was Srinath Rajendran's directorial debut as well, the risk was even greater. Nonetheless, all of them emerged with flying colours. Subsequently, Dulquer kept delivering bangers after bangers, mostly playing characters that were tailor-made for him in movies like Ustad Hotel, ABCD: American-Born Confused Desi, 5 Sundarikal and Neelakasham Pachakadal Chuvanna Bhoomi. When he attempted to break out of his comfort zone and try his hand at something new in Theevram, it didn't get much reception from people, although his efforts didn't go unnoticed. Despite facing setbacks with movies like Pattam Pole, Salalah Mobiles, Samsaaram Arogyathinu Haanikaram/Vaayai Moodi Pesavum and Njaan, he took no time in making a comeback with Bangalore Days, Vikramadithyan, 100 Days of Love, Charlie and Kammatipaadam. Meanwhile, he also won over the hearts of Tamil audiences with his striking performance in Mani Ratnam's OK Kanmani, where his breathtaking chemistry with Nithya Menen received the most appreciation. With Jomonte Suvisheshangal, Comrade in America, Parava (where he played an extended cameo) turning out to be massive box-office successes, Dulquer cemented his position in the industry. But that was 2017. Since then, Dulquer's Malayalam career has been a rollercoaster ride. While most of his films failed to impress audiences, their frequency also declined significantly due to various factors, including more lucrative offers from other industries. After the underperformance of Solo, he returned to Malayalam cinema only a year and a half later with Oru Yamandan Premakadha, which became a critical and commercial disaster. Soon, he began working on the biographical period crime thriller Kurup, helmed by Second Show's Srinath Rajendran. Made on a massive scale, it was unlike anything DQ had done till then, and he tried to give it his all. In between, he also worked on the small-scale project, Varane Avashyamund (2020). Although the movie was a success, it didn't offer him quite enough to regain what he had lost. Barring a cameo in the disappointing Maniyarayile Ashokan, which he bankrolled too, Dulquer had no other movie that year. Thus, all began waiting for Kurup, and it arrived in November 2021 with a bang. Not just that the movie was a critical and commercial success, DQ also showcased his untapped potential by masterfully playing fugitive Sukumara Kurup without diluting any of the real-life person's vileness. Despite his next, Salute (2022), also earning favourable responses, since it had a direct-to-OTT release owing to the Covid situation, DQ's box office base here was affected once again. Although his non-Malayalam films like Hey Sinamika, Sita Ramam and Chup: Revenge of the Artist were released in Kerala too, the desire for fans to watch a Dulquer movie in theatres kept getting delayed. The biggest blow of all came when his much-anticipated and massively hyped gangster drama King of Kotha (2023) tanked at the box office and became a meme goldmine eventually. It's been almost two years since King of Kotha now, which means he hasn't had a single success in his home ground in about four years. However, amid all these, he found success in Telugu. There too, he received an enviable debut, playing Gemini Ganesan in Nag Ashwin's biographical drama Mahanati. Delivering an extraordinary performance and that too as a yesteryear star, he quickly won over the audience's hearts. Hanu Raghavapudi's period romantic drama Sita Ramam was just what he needed after that to take him to lofty heights. With the movie capitalising fully on both his charm and cuteness, and his mesmerising on-screen chemistry with co-actors, particularly women, it gave him the sort of push that his Malayalam movies weren't offering him. Considering that Dulquer had more arrows in his quiver than most of his Telugu peers — many of whom were also more fixated on larger-than-life mass entertainers — DQ was quickly crowned their heartthrob by Telugu audiences, who had been desperately searching for one. Unlike in Malayalam, where he struggled amid actors who were arguably far more talented, and burdened by his own ambitions fueled by the excessive expectations of his fans, DQ cherry-picked the best of the guy-next-door roles in Telugu and experimented with them whenever possible. In Venky Atluri's Lucky Baskhar (2024), he found the best mix of both, and Dulquer managed to bring out his A-game effortlessly, contributing to the period crime film's massive success. The reception that his cameo appearance in Kalki 2898 AD received in the Telugu market, and the disappointment of the audience over his role being too small, further underscored the space DQ has managed to carve in the hearts of Telugus. A post shared by Dulquer Salmaan (@dqsalmaan) Interestingly, his performance in Lucky Baskhar also earned him the Special Jury Award at the Gaddar Telangana State Film Awards, presented by the state government to recognise excellence in Telugu cinema. Later, he met with Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy in Hyderabad to express his gratitude for the honour. As a result of all these, despite his next outing, Aakasam Lo Oka Tara, being only in its pre-production stage at the moment, expectations are high among the audience already. For an actor with a massive fan base in his home turf, staying away from it for so long — especially after delivering a major disappointment — is no small move. It remains to be seen whether this has affected his box office pull. For that, we will have to wait for Dulquer's next, RDX director Nahas Hidhayath's I'm Game, to find out. Nonetheless, if he manages to replicate in Malayalam what he's been doing right in Telugu, DQ's journey back to the top may not take long.
Mint
an hour ago
- Mint
Saiyaara Box Office Collection Day 10: Ahaan Panday-Aneet Padda's movie earns ₹75 crore in 2nd weekend
Saiyaara Box Office Collection Day 10: Ahaan Pandey and Aneet Padda's debut movie, Saiyaara, has continued its dream run right into the second weekend at both the domestic and worldwide box office, minting an excellent ₹ 75 crore. With this, the Mohit Suri directorial, which is already the biggest opener for debutants in Hindi cinema's history, has become one of the biggest second weekends ever. From multiplex audiences to single screens in mass circuits, Saiyaara is enjoying exceptional word of mouth across demographics. This dream run is expected to continue for Saiyaara till at least August 1, after which it will face some competition from Dhadak 2 and Son of Sardaar 2. According to industry tracker Sacnilk, Saiyaara witnessed a 17.66% jump in its earnings on Sunday, minting an impressive ₹ 31.18 crore net on its second Sunday. With this, Saiyaara has minted ₹ 75.18 crore on its second weekend, which is only 10% less than what it earned during its opening weekend. The outstanding second weekend numbers indicate its 'long legs' at the box office. Saiyaara's 10-day total now stands at ₹ 248.43 crore net in India. It will possibly achieve ₹ 300 crore net by the end of the second week. Sacnilk reported that Saiyaara is performing exceedingly well in North America, the UK, the Middle East, and Australia. After 10 days, Saiyaara has grossed approximately ₹ 370 crore worldwide, of which around ₹ 120 crore gross came in the second weekend. Saiyaara is now just ₹ 7 crore away from the lifetime gross of Shahid Kapoor-Kiara Advani's Kabir Singh ( ₹ 377 crore), which would make it the highest-grossing romantic Indian film of all time. It will likely surpass it by Monday. Ready for its ₹ 400 crore gross feat by Tuesday, Saiyaara now eyes the ₹ 500 crore milestone. Saiyaara is a romance-drama about Krish Kapoor (Ahaan Panday), a budding musician, and Vaani Batra (Aneet Padda), a shy writer. Through their relationship, the film explores love, loss, and drama.
News18
2 hours ago
- News18
Saiyaara Song On Spotify's Top 50: Tanishk Bagchi Says ‘Rights Not With Me, I'll Only Get…'
Saiyaara music composer Tanishk Bagchi says that while topping Spotify global charts will help in positioning, he's sure that it won't translate to financial or commercial gains. Ahaan Panday and Aneet Padda starrer Saiyaara has once again created history. The title track composed by Tanishk Bagchi and Arslan Nizami and sung by Faheem Abdullah is now standing at number one in Spotify's viral 50 global chart. It has become the first Bollywood song to achieve such a feat, surpassing global musical sensations like Billie Eilish, Lady Gaga, Bruno Mars, BLACKPINK and Sabrina Carpenter. Sharing his excitement, Tanishk exclusively tells News18 Showsha, 'This is something really special." Crediting director Mohit Suri, he says, 'I knew that it would be the number one song in India but for it to top global charts was something that I didn't expect. It came as a surprise. But the credit goes to Mohit sir. He treated and guided us like school children. I attribute all of this to his captainship. A huge credit goes to Arslan and Faheem. They're incredible, they're geniuses. They've so much soul in their music, voice and song writing." So, what does this mean for Hindi film music? 'It will definitely help in positioning. We've proved that Bollywood music has the power to make it to the global stage. Hanumankind achieved this feat too [with Big Dawgs] but his composition was in English. It had earned the seventh spot. Ours is a pure Hindi song. I'm so glad that we've achieved a world record," remarks Tanishk. He continues, 'International labels keep saying there's K-pop from South Korea, Afro music from Africa and house music from Sweden but there's nothing from India that makes it to the charts. We try to achieve such feats by making English songs or by collaborating with international artists but we haven't been successful. But we became successful with Saiyaara. The singer, the composers and the producer are Indian. The mixing also happened in India. And that's why it's a very big achievement." However, Tanishk believes that this success may not translate to big financial gains. Prod him further and he states, 'I don't know what impact it will have commercially and financially because I know that jo chal raha hai woh hi chalta jaayega. Aisa koi tor phor nahi hone waala. The laws pertaining to royalty and publishing is very different in the West compared to India. When it comes to our royalty scene here, we don't get much money." While he has accepted the scenario, Tanishk looks forward to composing an international track soon that helps him get his rightful share of royalties. 'Jaise international artists ko milta hai, humein nahi milta unless you own the publishing rights. The rights of the title track of Saiyaara isn't with me. It's with the music label. I'll only get so much money. I try to not bother myself because it is what it is. But when I make an international song in the future, I know that I'll earn in billions. I'm waiting for that moment," he says. First Published: July 28, 2025, 07:42 IST Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
