Digital Media

1671 days ago

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Special Ops Is Back: Disney Plus Hotstar Announces 'Special Ops 1.5 - The Himmat Story' Under Multi-Series 'Special Ops Universe'

There was a massive demand for the sequel of Disney+Hotstar's action espionage thriller web series, Special Ops, headlined by Kay Kay Menon. The series gained a homogenous response from the viewers and now, filmmaker Neeraj Pandey and Disney+ Hotstar on Friday announced a multi-series franchise, titled "Special Ops Universe". ## The first show in the franchise will be "Special Ops 1.5: The Himmat Story", which will see Menon reprising his role of Himmat Singh from the 2020 series. The new series will tell Singh's backstory and form a pivotal part of the universe in three episodes which will start production later this year. ## "We are starting off with a unique 'Special Ops 1.5' which is neither a prequel nor a sequel. The series will start with Himmat Singh being assigned to another case, but the deflection point is the same parliament attack that started the series of events. It will be narrated across three episodes, approximately an hour-long each", the filmmaker said in a statement as reported in News 18.## You loved it, so we brought it back! Get ready for another chapter in the #SpecialOpsUniverse because #SpecialOpsIsBack!..@FridayStorytel1 @kaykaymenon02 @ShitalBhatiaFFW @neerajpofficial pic.twitter.com/0DMgfMFXTj— Disney+HotstarVIP (@DisneyplusHSVIP) January 22, 2021 ## Menon said he is thrilled to be part of this new universe. "If you thought that you had seen the best of Himmat Singh, you need to wait for 'Special Ops 1.5'. It is a terrific redemption story. There is some interesting history about the character that will unfold. As an actor, I strive to do different things, and being part of a new universe is very exciting".## The series will be shot across multiple international locations and the makers plan to scale up the action and drama. Sunil Rayan, President, and Head at Disney+ Hotstar said that they are thrilled to partner with Pandey to bring this ambitious new format.## "We're excited to venture in this nonlinear format of storytelling that brings alive an entire universe; where stories and different characters can simultaneously co-exist. The scale at which this is being conceived is enormous and speaks of our passion for creating world-class entertainment for our audiences" Rayan said. ## The original series, Special OPS starred Kay Kay Menon as Himmat Singh, a member of the Research and Analysis Wing along with Revathi Pillai, Karan Tacker, Vipul Gupta, Muzamil Ibrahim, Sana Khan, Meher Vij, Saiyami Kher, Divya Dutta, and Vinay Pathak in key roles. ## Stay tuned...

Bollywood

1738 days ago

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Bollywood Stars Extend Bhai Dooj Greetings

On the occasion of Bhai Dooj, Bollywood stars took to their respective social media handles and extended greetings and share glimpses from their celebrations of the festival. ## Actress Kangana Ranaut shared a picture of her brother Aksht's wedding festivities. In the image we see Kangana posing for a selfie with her sister Rangoli, brother Aksht and other cousins.## "Happy Bhai Dooj to all," Kangana wished on Twitter. ## Actor Sanjay Kapoor wished his sister Reema Marwah. He shared a picture that shows him exchanging smiles with his brothers Anil Kapoor, Boney Kapoor, and sister Reema. "Love you sister," he wrote.## Actor Karan Tacker requested brothers to take care of their sisters and provide them loads of gifts. "Saare bhaiyon behno ko, bhai dhooj Mubarak! Apni behno ka khayaal rakhein unhein dher saara pyaar dein aur gift lena zaroor yaad rakhein," Karan posted on Instagram.## Actor Sharad Kelkar walked down memory lane and posted a picture of his and his sister from their childhood days. "Happy Bhai Dooj Di and thank you for being there for me all these years. You have always been the pillar of strength for me. Happy Bhai Dooj to all the sisters out there," Sharad shared.## Stay tuned...

TV

1961 days ago

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Karan Tacker: I see no reason to look down upon TV content

Mumbai, April 7 (IANS) Popular television actor Karan Tacker, who is being praised for his debut digital role in "Special OPs", says that TV and digital entertainment can be celebrated parallel to each other, and there is no point looking down upon television content.## Asked if he thought TV content was "regressive", Karan told IANS: "I believe that every content has its own audience. There are people who love watching TV and that is why there are so many television shows and channels that are doing exceptionally well, business-wise too. Otherwise, why would someone make TV shows? At the same time, there will be an audience that will go to the theatre and watch a film. Digital shows are mostly for personal viewing and we are building the audience there. I see these three medium are growing parallel."## The actor also explained: "If someone is tagging content on TV as ‘regressive', it is their opinion. It is the way they look at it or look down upon TV content. At the end of the day, all these mediums are viewership based. If there are no viewers, makers will stop creating. We all can see that every filmstar comes on TV shows to promote their films. Why? Because they know about the reach of the medium. Also, every award show is telecast on TV. How can we discount these facts? I think that says it all."## "Special OPs" is a spy-thriller, streaming on Hotstar. The series also features Kay Kay Menon, Meher Vij, Sana Khan, Saiyami Kher, Vinay Pathak, and Vipul Gupta.## "I have started my career on TV and I am proud of shows that I have appeared in. I am a proud TV actor," Karan signed off.## For more and latest news about TV, stay tuned with us.

TV

1967 days ago

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3 things Karan Tacker learnt from Neeraj Pandey

Mumbai, April 1 (IANS) Celebrated television actor Karan Tacker, who made his digital debut with the web series "Special OPs", says he learned three very important lessons from the director of the show, Neeraj Pandey.## "I would say dedication, discipline and clarity are the three things I have learned from Neeraj sir. He really knows what he wants as a storyteller, what he wants from his actors, and how he will use it in post-production. The clarity he has in his mind is really worth learning from! After the shoot, when we would rest, he would sit with the production guys to discuss the next days' shoot. I think during production, he slept for about four to five hours because he was working constantly," Karan told IANS.## "Also, he is an emotionally sensitive person with a sense of humor. One should really work closely to understand him! It's fun!" added the actor.## "Special OPs" is spy-thriller streaming on Hotstar, and the show also features Kay Kay Menon, Meher Vij, Sana Khan, Saiyami Kher, Vinay Pathak, and Vipul Gupta. The story of the show is set against the backdrop of Parliament attack in Delhi that took place in 2001.## Giving an insight into his role, Karan said: "My character Farooq Ali is a RAW agent recruited by Himmat Singh (played by Kay Kay Menon). He is always on the field with clarity on what he wants and has his strategy. The character is very well written -- in fact, not just mine but of all of us. Neeraj sir is such a great scriptwriter. We all see the kind of vision he has, in all his films. But as an actor, it is great how one can deliver so much just by following the script when it is well written."## The show has been shot across various locations including Azerbaijan, Turkey, and Jordan.## Asked about the difficult part of shooting such an action-packed show, the actor replied: "I have to mention one of the outdoors we were shooting in Jordan. In the show, it shows summer but we actually shot in the winter. The temperature was around minus two and I was just wearing a shirt and pants and no winter gear, as we were showing summer. In the extreme cold, it was tough to mouth dialogues because I was shivering!"## He added: "I have a fear of height, and there is this scene where my character Farooq attempts suicide. I did that stunt by myself! It was a 25-story building and I did the scene. Although there was a team of people along with the stuntmen, I thought if I do it myself it would look real. But when I stood there -- Oh God! Overcoming the fear of height was a thing for me."## Stay tuned...

Bollywood

1974 days ago

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Diljit hilariously requests people to stop posting workout videos amid COVID-19

Mumbai, March 25 (IANS) It seems singer-actor Diljit Dosanjh is fed up of seeing people's workout videos and pictures amid coronavirus outbreak.## On Wednesday, Diljit took to his Instagram account and posted a picture in which we can see him holding a placard that reads, "stop posting your home workouts."## Taking a hilarious dig, Diljit also asked people to "khao piyo aish karo mitro ( eat, drink and have fun)".## "Workout kisey nu dikhayeo na...te nede kise de jayio na ( Don't show your workout to others and don't go close to someone)," he added.## Agreeing to him, actor Ravi Dubey commented: "sahi baat."## Actor Karan Tacker wrote: "haha legit."## On the work front, Diljit, who was last seen in "Good Newwz", will be next seen in "Jodi".## For more and latest news about Bollywood, stay tuned with us.

Bollywood

1980 days ago

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Neeraj Pandey's special tribute to Bollywood

Mumbai, March 19 (IANS) Filmmaker Neeraj Pandey has given tribute to Bollywood by naming each episode of his web series "Special Ops" after his favourite movie. ## Neeraj has directed the series along with Shivam Nair. The eight-episode Hotstar Special spy action thriller series is based on the role of Indian intelligence in a series of real terror attacks that India has faced over the last 19 years, including the 26/11 attacks. ## "Shivam and I have directed parts of every episode but have shared credits between us -- where every alternate episode is credited," Neeraj said. ## "Every episode is like a mini-film and we have treated it with the same scale. Small trivia -- all the episodes are names of films I have grown up on and I deeply love," he added. ## Shivam has directed every odd-numbered episode (1,3,5 and 7) while Neeraj has directed every even-numbered episode (2,4,6 and 8). ## The first episode is titled "Kaagaz Ke Phool". The second is named "Guide", third "Mughal-e-Azam", fourth "Hum Kisise Kum Naheen", fifth "Chaudhvin Ka Chand", sixth "Qurbani", seventh "Shatranj ke Khiladi" and the final episode titled as "Sholay". ## The show features Saiyami Kher, Karan Tacker, Divya Dutta, Vinay Pathak, Muzammil Ibrahim, Vipul Gupta, Sajjad Delafrooz, Parmeet Sethi, Gautami Kapoor, Sana Khan, Sharad Kelkar, K.P. Mukherjee and many others. The show went live on March 17 in seven languages on Hotstar VIP. ## For more and the latest news about Bollywood, stay tuned to us.

Digital Media

1981 days ago

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Kay Kay Menon: Undercover agents are true unsung heroes

Mumbai, March 18 (IANS) Actor Kay Kay Menon says his web series "Special Ops" offers a very unique perspective to the role of Indian intelligence.## Neeraj Pandey has directed the series along with Shivam Nair. The eight-episode Hotstar Specials spy action-thriller series is based on the role of Indian intelligence in a series of real terror attacks that India has faced over the last 19 years, including the 26/11 attacks. In a fictional take from the show, Himmat Singh (essayed by Kay Kay) is seen interrogating terrorist Ajmal Kasab.## "26/11 was a day when the entire country was awake. 'Special Ops' offers a very unique perspective to the role of Indian intelligence," Kay Kay said.## "Undercover agents are the true unsung heroes of our time. 'Special Ops' tries to bring forth the lives of these agents that try to capture the mastermind behind several unfortunate attacks. Indian intelligence is doing a lot for our country and we need to be indebted to them," he added.## The show also features Saiyami Kher, Karan Tacker, Divya Dutta, Vinay Pathak, Muzammil Ibrahim, Vipul Gupta, Sajjad Delafrooz, Parmeet Sethi, Gautami Kapoor, Sana Khan, Sharad Kelkar, KP Mukherjee, and many others. The show went live on March 17 in seven languages on Hotstar VIP.## For more and latest news about Digital Media, stay tuned with us.

Bollywood

1992 days ago

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Neeraj Pandey: A story could be agnostic of storyteller's political belief

Mumbai, March 7 (IANS) From the start of his career as a director in 2008 with 'A Wednesday!', National Award-winning filmmaker Neeraj Pandey has always delivered stories that carry the message of nationalism and patriotism. His upcoming web series "Special Ops" adds up to his signature. Neeraj says as a storyteller, he tells a story according to its importance and it does not necessarily resonate his personal political view.## The story of the series is set against the backdrop of Parliament attack in Delhi that took place in 2001.## "A storyteller tells a story because he believes in the story, and the story could be agnostic of the political belief. This is the story of a man who refuses to give up on something that he believes in over a period of 20 years and in the end, he unveils the truth. During an investigation, he stumbles upon something and though the world does not believe him, and insists him to move on, he continues to search for the truth," Neeraj told IANS.## The filmmaker, who is known for work like "Special 26", "Baby", "Naam Shabana" and "Aiyaary", has cast Kay Kay Menon, Karan Tacker, Meher Vij, Sana Khan, Saiyami Kher, Vinay Pathak, Vipul Gupta in "Special Op".## In the story, Kay Kay plays the protagonist Himmat Singh who, for around 20 years, has been searching the truth behind the 2001 terror attack.## Does the story show details of what exactly happened during the attack? "It is not a documentary. The story is set against the 2001 Parliament attack, and when we look back on our recent history, the incident is very deeply entrenched in our psyche. There were multiple theories moving around at that point of time, on why and how it happened. What I did is, I picked up right from there and told the story of this 19-year-old search in the series," replied Neeraj.## For more and latest news about Bollywood, stay tuned with us.

Bollywood

1993 days ago

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Neeraj Pandey: Shooting in Delhi more expensive than some foreign locales

Mumbai, March 6 (IANS) Filmmaker Neeraj Pandey says shooting in Delhi is more expensive than shooting in some of the foreign locations.## Pandey traveled extensively while shooting for his upcoming spy action-thriller series, "Special Ops".## "We have travelled to locations where we felt the story needed to move. We travelled and shot in locations where we could tell the story better and these include places like Azerbaijan, Turkey, the UAE and Jordan," Pandey said.## "You won't believe -- shooting in Delhi was more expensive than shooting in some of the foreign locations. The story called for some heavy mounting and hence was shot at international locations," he added.## Pandey has directed the series along with Shivam Nair. The eight-episode Hotstar Specials spy action-thriller series is based on the role of Indian intelligence in a series of real terror attacks that India has faced over the last 19 years.## The series features Saiyami Kher, Kay Kay Menon, Karan Tacker, Divya Dutta, Vinay Pathak, Muzammil Ibrahim, Vipul Gupta, Sajjad Delafrooz, Parmeet Sethi, Gautami Kapoor, Sana Khan, Sharad Kelkar, and KP Mukherjee. It is slated to go live on March 17 in seven languages on Hotstar VIP.## For more and latest news about Bollywood, stay tuned with us.

Bollywood

1994 days ago

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Alia, Zoya Akhtar among celebs at premiere of Kiara's film

Mumbai, March 5 (IANS) Makers of the Netflix film 'Guilty' hosted a premiere of their film here. The guest list included Alia Bhatt, besides the film's cast members Kiara Advani, Gurfateh Singh Pirzada, Akansha Ranjan Kapoor and Taher Shabbir.## Alia, along with sister Shaheen Bhatt and mother Soni Razdan, was there to show support to her childhood friend Akanksha Ranjan Kapoor.## Celebrities like Zoya Akhtar, Rinku Rajguru, Makrand Deshpande, Athiya Shetty, Vaani Kapoor, Gauhar Khan, and Shashank Khaitan also attended premier of the film.## Alvira Khan-Agnihotri, Aditya Seal, Pragya Yadav-Kapoor, Nitya Mehra, Patralekhaa and Karan Tacker were also spotted at the launch of the film.## The film's director Ruchi Narain, and producer and CEO of Dharma Productions Apoorva Mehta, were also spotted at the event.## Also on the guest list were Akansha's sister Anushka Ranjan Kapoor and Gurfateh's sister Mehreen Pirzadaa.## "Guilty" is written by Narain, Kanika Dhillon, and Atika Chohan. The film follows the story of a songwriter whose boyfriend is accused of rape.## The film is the first production venture of Dharmatic, the digital arm of Karan Johar's Dharma Productions.## It is slated to release on March 6.## For more and latest news about Bollywood, stay tuned with us.

Bollywood

1994 days ago

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Saiyami Kher on getting role of undercover agent right

Mumbai, March 5 (IANS) Actress Saiyami Kher says she did in-depth research to get her role as an undercover agent in the espionage thriller 'Special Ops' right.## "To prepare for this role, I read a number of journals and tons of articles online about undercover agents and their lives. I also read a book called 'Inside RAW', which was absolutely great because it gave an incredible bird's-eye view into the way the operations function without risking national security," Saiyami said.## "It's so interesting to learn their stories since they lead normal lives while they're actually undercover agents. They are so well informed and have so much knowledge on various subjects, most of which we as regular individuals are completely unaware of," she added.## Directed by Neeraj Pandey and Shivam Nair, the eight-episode Hotstar Specials spy action-thriller series is based on the role of Indian intelligence in a series of real terror attacks that India faced over the last 19 years.## It also features Kay Kay Menon, Karan Tacker, Divya Dutta, Vinay Pathak, Muzammil Ibrahim, Vipul Gupta, Sajjad Delafrooz, Parmeet Sethi, Gautami Kapoor, Sana Khan, Sharad Kelkar, and KP Mukherjee. It is slated to go live on March 17 in seven languages on Hotstar VIP.## For more and latest news about Bollywood, stay tuned with us.

Bollywood

1995 days ago

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Salman Khan has inherent superstar quality: Karan Tacker

Mumbai, March 4 (IANS) Actor Karan Tacker, who recently featured alongside Salman Khan in a beverage advertisement, is completely in awe of the Bollywood superstar.## "It was fantastic working with Salman Khan. It has always been a dream to share screen space with him. He's so cool to work with and he has this massive inherent superstar quality about him but he doesn't let you realise it at all.## "He is such a humble guy. He was nice enough to hang around, take pictures with everyone and I love how he just chills outside his van and is oblivious of his own stardom," Karan said.## Karan is currently gearing for the launch of his web show "SpecialOps" in which he will be seen playing the role of an undercover agent.## Salman Khan was last seen in "Dabangg 3" on the Bollywood screen. He is gearing up for the release of the cop action drama "Radhe" on Eid this year. The film also features Disha Patani, Randeep Hooda and Jackie Shroff, and is directed by Prabhu Deva, who also made last year's "Dabangg 3".## Unconfirmed reports have associated Salman with upcoming sequels of "Kick" and the "Tiger series", though there has been no official announcement on the same.## For more and latest news about Bollywood, stay tuned with us.