WASHINGTON: After facing huge backlash, Priyanka Chopra Jonas’ new series ‘The Activist’ is now being reconfigured. As per Variety, the makers have shifted its five-episode format to a one-time documentary special. Many social media users slammed the show for being tone-deaf and insensitive. CBS and producing partners Global Citizen and Live Nation issued this statement, “The Activist’ was designed to show a wide audience, the passion, long hours, and ingenuity that activists put into changing the world, hopefully inspiring others. But it has become apparent the format of the show distracts from the vital work these incredible activists do in their communities every day. The push for global change is not a competition and requires a global effort. So we are changing the format to remove the competitive element and reimagining the concept into a primetime documentary special (air date to be announced), it will showcase the tireless work of six activists and the impact they have advocating for causes they deeply believe in. Each activist will be awarded a cash grant for the organisation of their choice.”

WASHINGTON: Hollywood star Chris Pratt is all set to produce the action-comedy ‘Stranded Asset’, which is written by Sam Richardson and Jen D’Angelo.

According to Variety, the upcoming film reunites the trio after their successful collaboration on ‘The Tomorrow War’, which Pratt executive produced and starred in alongside Richardson. D’Angelo was the on-set writer for the sci-fi feature. Pratt will produce ‘Stranded Asset’ through his Indivisible Productions banner. Sam Richardson will also star in the film. More details of the project have not been announced yet. 

MUMBAI: Tabu is all set to work with ace filmmaker Vishal Bhardwaj again in ‘Khufiya’, which will release on Netflix.

Based on an espionage novel ‘Escape to Nowhere’ by Amar Bhushan, ‘Khufiya’ is a a spy thriller. Excited to reunite with Bhardwaj, Tabu shared on Instagram, “Expect nothing but sheer thrill. Excited to announce my re-uniting with @vishalrbhardwaj for #Khufiya. Coming very soon on @netflix_in. Khufiya is a one of a kind project, extremely close to my heart and I am excited to be a part of this gripping spy thriller. As always, it’s a delight working with VB (Vishal Bhardwaj) again, and feels like homecoming.” ‘Khufiya’ is a story about Krishna Mehra, an R&AW operative who is assigned to track down India’s defence secrets. Bhardwaj is trying to create an edgy espionage film that contrasts the slow burn of intelligence and surveillance work with deep-rooted emotional conflicts. 

MUMBAI: Waving to fans gathered outside his Jalsa residence used to be megastar Amitabh Bachchan’s Sunday morning routine. However, due to the coronavirus pandemic, Big B stopped the ritual. Taking to Instagram on Wednesday, Amitabh took a stroll down memory lane and expressed his sadness on not being able to meet his well-wishers. “Thank you well wisher .. yes .. when will those Sunday well wishers at Jalsa return,” he wrote. Alongside the note, Big B posted an image of himself surrounded by imaginary fans and he was seen embracing them as the human connection has gotten a bit lost due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Meanwhile, on the work front, Amitabh is busy hosting the new season of ‘Kaun Banega Crorepati’. Speaking of films, he will be seen in ‘Good Bye’, ‘Brahmastra’, and ‘The Intern’ remake.

MUMBAI: Arjun Kapoor recently invited Jacqueline Fernandez on his digital chat show ‘Bak Bak with Baba’. Arjun questioned Jacqueline on crushes, food, and how she tackles trolls on social media. Talking about her first crush, Jacqueline said, “There was somebody in school but I can’t name him. I also had a huge crush on Leonardo DiCaprio after watching ‘Romeo and Juliet’ and ‘Titanic’ and Ricardo from ‘Backstreet Boys’.” Arjun asked her “How important is food to you?” She shared, “though I feel it’s nice to celebrate with food as everyone enjoys it, there was a phase in my 20’s when I did turn to food and that was late at night. I lived alone so it was like cake, ice cream, anything crispy. I did have a terrible relationship with food and then went starving for a week and that’s really bad. So, now it’s about knowing that I don’t need to turn to it, tomorrow is another day and we will get through it.”

MUMBAI: Ananya Panday, Siddhant Chaturvedi, and Adarsh Gourav will be seen sharing screen space in Excel Entertainment and Tiger Baby’s new film ‘Kho Gaye Hum Kahan’.

Young, fresh and relevant, ‘Kho Gaye Hum Kahan’ is a ‘digital’ age story of three friends in the city of Bombay. The film is written by Zoya Akhtar, Arjun Varain Singh and Reema Kagti, produced by Zoya Akhtar, Reema Kagti, Ritesh Sidhwani and Farhan Akhtar. The film will be the directorial debut of Arjun Varain Singh featuring the young and talented Siddhant Chaturvedi, Ananya Panday and Adarsh Gourav. While Siddhant became a household name (MC Sher) after the success of Zoya Akhtar’s ‘Gully Boy’, fans are excited to see the talented actor share screen space with Ananya. It would also be interesting to see Adarsh in the mix, whose last breakout performance in the Netflix film ‘The White Tiger’ garnered immense praise and appreciation.

On the occasion of writer-producer Reema Kagti’s birthday, Excel Entertainment & Tiger Baby have launched the poster and video—announcing the release of their next theatrical project, ‘Kho Gaye Hum Kahan’ in 2023.