
Anila Kharbanda joins the cast of Veer Hanuman
Actress
Anila Kharbanda
has stepped into an intense and unconventional role in the TV show
Veer Hanuman.
She plays Tadka, a demoness with a significant presence in the Ramayan narrative.
Sharing her excitement about the project, Anila says, 'I've joined
Veer Hanuman
as Tadka – a demoness who has had a significant role in the story of
Ramayan
.
My character is negative, even though Tadka's story signifies that she was cursed to be a demoness.'
For Anila, this role marks a bold shift from her previous work. 'I've never done any role like such and I'm loving every bit of it,' she says. But the experience hasn't come without its demands. 'This character is extremely strong and powerful and requires a diligent amount of strength in terms of expressions, voice, power, and hence for a petite self like mine.'
She adds, 'Every dialogue delivery has been excruciatingly powerful and has taken over every ounce of my strength in the body.'
Despite the physical and emotional intensity of the role, Anila shares, 'This show is being shot in Umbergaon, which is five hours away from Mumbai. Hence, they are very responsible for keeping their artists comfortable at all times. But it does get tough sometimes to manage to shoot this far away from the city.'

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


Time of India
a day ago
- Time of India
Governor praises play on Ramayan
Lucknow: The play 'Humare Ram', known for its popularity and success as a theatrical production based on the epic Ramayan, was staged at the Ram Manohar Lohiya National Law University in the city on Saturday. Governor Anandiben Patel , who was the chief guest, praised the actors, writer and the director of the play, saying that such events prove helpful in restoring moral values in society. She especially praised actors Ashutosh Rana, who played Ravan, and Rahull R Bhuchar as Lord Ram. "We should always remember the character of Lord Ram and the knowledge of Ravan," she said. She said the play is worth of being watched by families. "It should be our duty to respect the mother who gives us birth. We should give up ego and adopt humanity, and social welfare should be our goal," she said. The governor presented books to the characters of the play.


India.com
2 days ago
- India.com
Salman Khan was once set to play Lord Ram for this movie, Sonali Bendre was given role of Sita, but the movie never released due to...
While fans are eagerly waiting for Ranbir Kapoor's big-screen transformation into Lord Ram in Nitesh Tiwari's upcoming Ramayan, few know that Bollywood's original 'Bhaijaan' was once meant to step into those very divine shoes. Back in the 1990s, Sohail Khan had envisioned a grand cinematic take on the Ramayan, casting his superstar brother Salman Khan as Ram and Sonali Bendre as Sita. The film had even started shooting, and about 40% of it was already completed. What went wrong with this ambitious project? As per a report by Mid-Day, things were running smoothly until personal dynamics started interfering with professional plans. Actress and producer Pooja Bhatt joined the project midway. That's when the buzz began, rumours of a relationship between Sohail Khan and Pooja Bhatt started making the rounds. This didn't sit well with Salim Khan, the head of the Khan family. According to reports, he disapproved of their growing closeness and advised Sohail to end the relationship. Did Pooja Bhatt walk out? Despite Salman Khan trying to manage the situation calmly, Pooja Bhatt eventually exited the film due to what seemed like emotional fallout and discomfort with the family's stance. Her exit marked the beginning of the end. Without her, the film lost momentum and was quietly shelved—never to be completed. The forgotten Ramayan before Ranbir Kapoor's Interestingly, this untitled film was being planned decades before today's multi-part Ramayan, backed by Nitesh Tiwari. The upcoming version is scheduled to be released in two parts, Part 1 during Diwali 2025 and Part 2 during Diwali 2026, with Sai Pallavi as Sita. But had things gone as planned in the 90s, Salman Khan might've already been immortalised as Lord Ram in Indian cinema, long before Ranbir picked up the bow and arrow.


Indian Express
3 days ago
- Indian Express
What Hulk Hogan meant for Indians, and America in India
Around 1993-94, a six-year-old was hanging on for dear life onto the railing with one hand and the other clutching his mother lest he fall out the door of one of Delhi's once-infamous Red Line buses. Terrified, but unwilling to show it, the boy shouted, 'Hulk Hogan ki yahi pehchan, peeli kacche, phati banyaan'. Everyone in earshot, including the driver and conductor, burst out laughing and soon, the kid had pride of place – sitting on the large covering over the gear stick, next to the driver. Hulk Hogan (the stage name Terry Bollea was known by), who died on July 24 at the age of 71, likely didn't realise the impact he – and the WWF, later WWE – had on a country that had just been opened up to the American. But for a generation, particularly the boys among them, wrestling was our soap opera and our cultural context. It shaped how we saw the US in much the way Ramanand Sagar's Ramayan moulded our view of mythology. And America was, at least back then, a mythical place. Liberalisation – both in terms of how it pushed up upper-middle-class incomes and impacted culture – didn't truly hit till the 2000s. In the early '90s, most of us were much more 'local', still struggling to be part of the flattening of culture that shows like Friends and Seinfeld would later bring about. Today, Americanisms are a part of the vocabulary for most Indian English speakers. 'My bad' (instead of my fault) and 'I'm good' (not as a moral assessment but to say 'I am well') are thrown about without a thought for the poor English teacher who taught us the basics of grammar. It wasn't so when Hulkamania – and Bret Hart, The Undertaker, Lex Luger, Shawn Michaels, Razor Ramon and Yokozuna – came into the lives of today's millennials. Nonsense rhymes like the one uttered on the bus were the most common form of comedy: 'Yokozuna went to Poona, eating Choona' or 'Undertaker, ice cream maker', etc. WWF Trump cards were the card game of choice, and recreating wrestling matches was practically a sport. The first 'fancy' birthday parties were wrestling-themed – with masks and championship belts. The first designer cakes were shaped like wrestlers. As the kids grew up, WWF-WWE kept up. The risque 'attitude era' meant boys kept imitating Stone Cold Steve Austin and Triple H – giving the middle finger and the 's***k it' gesture. It was dangerous, feeding the proto-adolescent's desire for risk-taking and masculine assertion. Wrestling – and most of all Hulk Hogan – clearly had a deep cultural impact. And this impact became a weapon for the assertion of American soft power and propaganda. Hogan, 'a good guy' for much of his career (he did 'turn heel' and become 'Hollywood Hogan' for a while), was the first global wrestling superstar. And he was an all-American hero. His nemesis was the Iron Sheik (an evil, conniving character from West Asia). His theme song was 'I am a Real American' and justified military intervention in the name 'fighting for the rights of every man'. And we swallowed it all up, as kids, without knowing better. Blond American, good guy. Brown and Black, not as much. Through soap-opera plots, Hulk and the WWF kept us hooked. Wrestling today no longer pretends to be 'real'; it has many more stars and looks way more slick. In deference to the Indian market, it made superstars of the Great Khali and Jinder Mahal. Hulk Hogan had his share of controversies, a reality show and something of a sordid personal life. But for those who idolised him when they were five, who remembered the rhyme about his costume when hanging out of the door of a bus, there will always be a soft spot for Hulkamania.