Condemning the ban on Adah Sharma-starrer The Kerala Story, the Producers Guild of India said no one other than the Central Board of Film Certification has the right to decide whether or not a film should be released. The guild issued a statement a day after the West Bengal government ordered an immediate ban on the screening of the controversial film in the state to avoid “any incident of hatred and violence”. Multiplexes across Tamil Nadu have also cancelled screenings of the film since Sunday, citing law and order issues and poor public response. “The Producers Guild of India is distressed by, and would like to record its strong objection to state-enforced bans on The Kerala Story. Film releases are regulated by CBFC and any film that complies with this statutory requirement should face no further hurdles,” it said.

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For the artistes

Baahubali star Prabhas is eager to see how viewers accept his portrayal of Lord Ram in Adipurush, Om Raut’s Ramayana, which the actor said has been made with “a lot of love and respect”. Raut dedicated the film to Ramleela artistes. “I want to dedicate the film to each and every artiste who has been a part of Ramleela. The story of Ramayan has always been there for years and it is like a bus. We have boarded this, and will continue for some years. Then we will get down and somebody else will board it.”

New start

Arjun Rampal is set to foray into Telugu cinema in veteran star Nandamuri Balakrishna’s upcoming feature film, the makers said yesterday. Rampal, 50, will play the antagonist, they added. The yet-untitled film is directed by Anil Ravipudi and produced by Shine Screens’ Sahu Garapati and Harish Peddi. The production banner shared the news about Rampal’s casting on their official Twitter handle. Rampal has played negative roles in Hindi films such as Om Shanti Om and Ra.One. 

Recreations still hit hard

Oscar-winning composer AR Rahman said he has “been there” as he shared an old video of musician Sting getting uncomfortable while listening to Jose Feliciano’s version of Every breath you take, in 2017, while attending the Polar Music Prize in 2017.In the throwback clip, Sting was seen being a witness to his own iconic number, sung by the Puerto Rican-born guitarist, but he seemed unimpressed. While captioning the video, Rahman tweeted, “I’ve been there.” Rahman has been a witness to unimpressive remakes of his songs such as Humma humma, Urvasi urvasi, and Masakali 2.0. In the case of the last one, he made his displeasure known by sharing the original number for listeners to “enjoy” on the day that the remix gained traction. 

This fresh collaboration

The cast of the upcoming film, Ulajh has been locked, and the stylised thriller, set in the intriguing world of Indian Foreign Services (IFS), will be headlined by Janhvi Kapoor, Gulshan Devaiah and Roshan Mathew, among others. It will be directed by National Award-winner Sudhanshu Saria. It follows the journey of a young IFS officer, belonging to a prominent family of patriots, who gets embroiled in a dangerous personal conspiracy while far from her home turf, at a career-defining post. It has been written by Parveez Shaikh and Saria, with dialogues by Atika Chohan. Speaking of her association with the film, Kapoor said, “I am constantly looking for scripts that make me break out of my comfort zone, and this was just that.”

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Honouring the real stars

Chennai Super Kings felicitated real-life heroes Bomman and Bellie, the elephant caregivers, and Oscar-winning filmmaker Kartiki Gonsalves at a special event. Captain MS Dhoni presented personalised CSK jerseys to the trio after training at the MA Chidambaram stadium on Tuesday. CSK will also present a cheque to Mudumalai Tiger Conservation Foundation towards the welfare of elephants. “We are very happy to celebrate our elephant caregivers Bomman and Bellie along with Kartiki, whose engrossing storytelling spread the tale far and wide,” said KS Viswanathan of CSK.