Entertainment: Distributors ask Salman to pay for Tubelight

Salman Khan’s Tubelight was expected to break a few records at the box office. But unlike his previous films, Tubelight failed to impress the audience. The hit combination of Kabir Khan and Salman Khan did not succeed this time in creating the magic. As a result, the distributors have asked Salman to share the losses they have borne.

As per reports in Mid-Day, Indian distributors of Tubelight are soon going to meet with Salman Khan, who is the film’s producer also, in a bid to recover their losses. The distributors claim to be in a loss of Rs 40 to 50 crores and hope that Salman will pay for the damages.

A distributor told the Daily, “Salman’s films can collect ₹100 crore in three days, but this time, Tubelight reached the three-figure mark after a week. Single screen owners in small cities have suffered the most, with many incurring losses of over ₹1 crore. The total loss amounts to ₹40-50 crore.”

This is the first-time distributors have faced such a situation. They are hopeful that Salman will pay off their damages.

Meanwhile, Salman is busy shooting for Ali Abbas Zafar's Tiger Zinda Hai.

Vidya is unrecognisable in a throwback picture

The celebrated actor of Bollywood Vidya Balan went down memory lane and shared a throwback picture. In the picture, Vidya has donned the look of full bearded sage, she is unrecognisable in the picture.

She captioned the image as, “My 1st role ever...in the only stage play i’ve ever done called Dhungpatpatadhundipokoruppopotorpo.”

The photo is from a play in which Vidya performed as an actor for the first time.

Vidya Balan will next be seen in a film titled Tumhari Sulu. She will be playing the role of a radio jockey in the film.

The film is directed by debutant Suresh Triveni and also stars Neha Dhupia and Manav Kaul in pivotal roles. The movie is slated to release on December 1.

Amitabh and Aamir in race for Best actor award at IFFM 2017

The superstars of Bollywood Amitabh Bachchan and Aamir Khan are among the nominees for the Best Actor - Male category at the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne 2017.

Amitabh Bachchan is nominated for his film Pink, while Aamir is in competition for his blockbuster Dangal. Other nominees in the category include Rajkummar Rao for Trapped, Sushant Singh Rajput for MS Dhoni: The Untold Story, Lalit Bhel and Adil Hussain for Mukti Bhawan.

The nominees for Best Actor - Female include Vidya Balan for Kahaani 2, Tannishtha Chatterjee for Dr. Rakhmabai, Kavya Madhavan for Pinneyum, Ratna Pathak and Konkona Sen Sharma for Lipstick Under My Burkha and Alia Bhatt for Dear Zindagi.

Films like Pink, Sultan, Joker, Ae Dil Hai Mushkil and MS Dhoni: The Untold Story have been nominated in the People’s Choice category. Dangal and Bahubali 2: The Conclusion are in competition for the Best Film.

A Billion Colour Story, Loktak Lairembee, Mukti Bhawan, Lipstick Under My Burkha and Death in the Gunj are the movies nominated for Best Indie Films.

Film directors Nikhil Manjoo (Reservation), Nitesh Tiwari (Dangal), Vikramaditya Motwane (Trapped), N Padmakumar (A Billion Colour Story), Buddhadeb Dasgupta (Tope), Alankrita Shrivastava (Lipstick Under My Burkha), SS Rajamouli (Baahubali 2 - The Conclusion) and Konkona Sen Sharma for (A Death in the Gunj) are nominees for the Best Director award.

Farhan Akhtar will be prisoner in Lucknow Central

Farhan Akhtar will be seen in a new avatar in the upcoming film Lucknow Central by filmmaker Nikkhil Advani. The film features Farhan as a prisoner who forms a band along with other jail inmates.

“It's a strong, emotional and dramatic film about jail escape. It is also about dreams and aspirations, innocence and guilt. There is a lot of hope and it will make one believe in the human spirit. Farhan has given a great performance in the film,” Advani said.

Directed by debutant Ranjit Tiwari, Lucknow Central is inspired by the true story of convicts sentenced to life imprisonment in the Lucknow Central Jail, who start a band. Farhan also tweeted about the release date.

Advani said when Ranjit came up with the idea, the team jumped at it and he immediately came on board as producer.

“Ranjit came to me with a newspaper article about five inmates who wanted to escape prison and created a band. What happened subsequently to them and what is still going on is the story. It is inspired by a true story and it is a fascinating tale.”

Earlier actress Kriti Sanon was supposed to feature in the film but couldn’t do it due to date issues. The makers then roped in Diana Penty.

Produced by Viacom18 Motion Pictures and Advani’s Emmay Entertainment and Motion Pictures, the film is gearing up for a September 15 release.