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India.com
24-07-2025
- Entertainment
- India.com
Exclusive: Criminal Justice Actress Barkha Singh Calls Pankaj Tripathi 'Incredibly Collaborative'; Recalls Past Casting Couch Incident 'Compromise Necessary'
Actress Barkha Singh kickstarted her cinematic journey quite early in life with Mujhse Dosti Karoge! (2002) where she played a young Kareena Kapoor, followed by Samay: When Time Strikes (2003). Ever since, she has worked in many movies, television shows and web-series, making a niche spot for herself. In an interview with Zee News Digital, Barkha opened up on Criminal Justice Season 4, co-star Pankaj Tripathi and the reality of casting couch in showbiz world: Q1 You have worked across platforms, movies, television and now web-series. Which medium is most satisfying? "Honestly, for me, the most satisfying medium is often a culmination of various factors, including a compelling script, talented co-stars, and a supportive team. However, if I had to pinpoint one medium that stands out, I'd say film has a special charm that resonates deeply with me. There's something about the cinematic experience – the way stories unfold on the big screen, the emotional connection with the audience – that makes working in film uniquely captivating." Q2 Criminal Justice 4 was high on the buzz word. Were your sceptical about the response? "I had no scepticism about Criminal Justice 4. Considering the show's impressive track record and the talented cast, I was confident it would resonate with audiences. Applause produces great shows, and working with Rohan Sippy, a seasoned director, further solidified my trust in the project. When I received the offer for this role in Criminal Justice, I immediately jumped at the opportunity without even asking about fees or shoot dates. I told my agency to handle everything because I was eager to take on this project, no questions asked." Q3 How was it working with Pankaj Tripathi in Criminal Justice 4. What kind of a co-star is he? "I think he is one of the nicest, kindest, and most sensitive co-actors I have ever worked with. He's incredibly collaborative, and I always enjoy working with him. He also has a great sense of humour, especially when it comes to subtle jokes. He shared many stories about his childhood and his early struggles. In fact, his lunch was often prepared just outside the vanity, and he would frequently send me food in my vanity. Overall, the experience of shooting with him was a lot of fun. For instance, he mentioned that he has quite a few jackfruit/ Kathal trees at home, and since I told him how much I love jackfruit—it's my favourite vegetable—he insisted, saying, 'I'll send you some.' He would send over Daal and Sabzi that were made for him. He also drinks a particular green tea, which eventually started coming my way as well. Overall, he is very generous, kind, and helpful." Q4 Having worked for over two decades in showbiz world, did you ever face casting couch or inappropriate behaviour on sets? "Fortunately, I've never had to deal with the casting couch directly. However, I did receive a questionable email from a casting professional in the South, which I promptly ignored. In that email, they bluntly stated, 'compromise necessary' or 'compromise required.' I thought, Wow, this person has guts! It was clear that the email was not a genuine opportunity, and I didn't entertain it further. Thankfully, I've never experienced any inappropriate behaviour on set – I've been fortunate to work with professionals who respect boundaries." Q5 Does strong social media presence help you noticed for work? "Social media is a double-edged sword, in my opinion. On the one hand, it can be a powerful tool for promoting my work and attracting casting opportunities. On the other hand, it can also lead people to question my acting abilities or assume that my social media presence is the primary reason I'm cast in projects. I believe it's essential to strike a balance – using social media to engage with my audience while also focusing on my craft." Q6 Tell us about your upcoming projects? "I've completed filming for an exciting project that's currently under wraps. I'm eager to share it with audiences soon and see how it resonates with them. Another project has also helped me grow as an actor, and I'm impatiently waiting for its release. Both projects have been significant learning experiences, and I'm confident that they'll be well-received." Q7 Any wish list of actors and filmmakers you want to work in future? "I've always been drawn to working with talented filmmakers who push the boundaries of storytelling. I'd love to collaborate with directors like BomanIrani, Neeraj Pandey, Nitish Tiwari, and Imtiaz Ali – each of them brings a unique perspective to their projects. As for actors, Vikrant Massey is someone I've always admired, and I was fortunate to work with him on The Sabarmati Report. If I'm being completely honest and manifesting right now, working with Shah Rukh Khan would be a dream come true – he's an icon in the industry, and I believe it would be an incredible learning experience."
India.com
21-07-2025
- Entertainment
- India.com
Exclusive: Naagin Actress Nyrraa M Banerji Calls Bigg Boss 18 Fascinating, Says If In Love Wont Announce It On Social Media
Actress Nyra Banerjee or Nyrraa M Banerji has worked in Telugu, Hindi, Tamil, Malayalam and Kannada language films along with starring in popular TV shows. Her stint in supernatural drama series Divya Drishti, Naagin, followed by Fear Factor: Khatron Ke Khiladi 13 and Bigg Boss 18 made her a household name. In an interview with Zee News Digital, Nyrraa opened up on working in South film industry to Bollywood and much more: Q. Your Bigg Boss 18 stint was brief. How was the experience of staying in a house cut-off from outside world? Well, it was quite interesting and fascinating to be honest. I got a new way to connect with my fans and admirers and it was a lot of fun. It also opened up many new doors of opportunities for me and I am so grateful to Salman sir, the show and everyone for giving me the platform for the same. It was brief but full of fun and I embraced every bit of it in my professional journey. Q. How different was it from Khatron Ke Khiladi 13? Well, quite different. Both the shows are completely different from each other in terms of format. There is nothing common between the two apart from the fact that they are reality shows. Bigg Boss is more about the mental strength I would say whereas Khatron has bits and pieces of both mental and physical strength involved in it. Both the shows have their own originality and charm is what I would say. Q. Your on-screen vamp image was loved by fans in Divya Drishti, Pishachini and Naagin. Are you keen to follow similar pattern in other shows or you want to break the stereotype already? Well, even when these shows came my way and I decided to do them, there was no pattern that I was following. I was just fascinated with the idea of being a part of supernatural shows to explore a different world than the reality. Also, historically in India, many supernatural shows have done well and I am thankful to God that my shows did well too. Having said that, there's no pattern really. It all depends on what I am looking forward to as an artiste when things come my way. But yes, as an actor, you want to do multiple things and play different roles and I would say it's no different for me either. Q. What do you have to say about pay-parity in TV industry? I don't think I should be commenting about anyone else. I can only talk about myself. I feel whatever I have deserved in terms of commercials in different stages of my career, I have always got it and that's why, I am always grateful to the producers and everyone who worked with me for giving me my due worth. I have nothing to say on this beyond that as I have always got what I deserved. Q. You have done a couple of South movies including Puri Jagannadh's Temper. Do you plan to move back to movies or web-series in future? Well, the world of acting is a floating medium. It's never about moving back to OTT or movies or TV. I can do 2 new web series and do a TV show again or vice versa. As artistes, we are doing everything that we like and that's the most beautiful part of this profession. I would say. I am blessed to have that medium. But yes, Neeraj Pandey's Khakee: The Bengal Chapter worked well and I did receive a lot of love and accolades for the same. So, I would love to continue the momentum and good work in OTT and film space for sure. But as an artiste, I am always open to different mediums. It's never a no for one medium and yes to other. I want to do everything. Q. How was the experience of working in South films. How different it is from TV or Bollywood? Well, in terms of professionalism and the way they treat people with respect, it is no different in both industries. Both the industries have some wonderful people who truly value talent and good work. So to be honest, besides the language, I didn't find any major difference between both the industries. Q. Whenever you are in love, do you plan to make it Instagram official or keep it 'hush-hush'? Well, I am a private person but not secretive. If there's anything like that happening in my life and people get to know, I wouldn't put extra effort in keeping it under wraps. But at the same time, it is my personal life and so I won't be announcing anything especially on social media regarding this either. Let's see how it goes.
India.com
10-07-2025
- Entertainment
- India.com
Exclusive: 'Radhika Merchant's Family Was Perfectionist'; With Alanna Panday's Wedding, Feedback Was Crisp', Reveal Celebrity Wedding Card Designer Ranjani From Pink Whistle Man
Big fat Indian weddings are game changers not just for the families involved but also for all those work on it to make it happen smoothly - right from the word go. Celebrity Wedding Card Designer Pink Whistle Man's founder Ranjani in an interview with Zee News Digital shared how the company came about and what bizarre requests they get for special invites: 1. What's the story behind Pink Whistle Man? A: I started it PWM about twelve years ago unofficially, when I designed my own wedding stationery. I found a huge gap in the market when it came to personalisation and detailing of Wedding Invitations. Gradually, I started designing for friends and family which extended to clients who came to me through word of mouth. We began expanding our services and creating end-to-end stationery for weddings, and personalised stationery that you would not particularly get in a mass manufacturing market. So even the products that we would design were limited to just that wedding alone to maintain exclusivity. Over the years the brand has been recognized both in the Indian and International wedding markets and been awarded for its unique conceptual ideas over the years. 2. You've created invites shaped like X-rays, passports, and even electrical circuits. What has been your most bizarre or unexpected brief from a client? A: Our clients always help us push the envelope and keep the brief pretty open ended. Although there was this one bizarre incident when we opted to do flying balloon parachute invites that would float into the house of the guests. This was a birthday invite. We personally had to deliver each of these invites to every household with a pump because we didn't know if the balloon would burst, and if it did, we had to replace it quickly. 3. How big have destination weddings been in the last few years? Also, could you tell us about the preferences of global clientele? A: Destination weddings have been huge. The advantage for a designer such as myself is you get to be part of the entire look and feel of the wedding. It's almost like a brand for the wedding right from the get-go. In one case, a couple from Jalandhar had their wedding at Wildflower Shimla, and had blocked out the whole airport for two days. We designed hoardings, flight covers, food boxes and even live-report newspapers printed locally with photographs and real-time updates from the three-day event. In terms of global weddings, if it's an Indian or mixed-race wedding we design seating charts, table numbers, program description handbooks. And because of Instagram and Pinterest, there's a two-way exchange: India is now asking for seating charts and intimate-dinner stationery, while the west borrows the grandeur of wedding stationery. We even design the dance floor for several weddings abroad. 4. Tell us about your designing experience with Radhika Merchant's family for the big-scale wedding. A: With Radhika's wedding, things just flew by so quickly and I was experimenting on a lot of things for the first time. Given the time constraints, it was nothing short of a miracle how we managed to get it done. We were fortunate in finding the right craftsmen and vendors, and the family was definitely very cooperative. I would have meetings with them literally every day, sometimes even late at night to go through proofs. They were extreme perfectionists, wanting to see every tiny change, because they didn't want any surprises. 5. How easy or difficult was it to design for Alanna Panday's wedding? A: With Alanna's wedding, I worked mainly with her mother, Deanne. Alanna and Ivor were in the loop, and they were both very easy to work with. Feedback was crisp and clear. Deanne's perfectionism was extremely admirable. Having that level of critical eye pushes you to do more than you think you're capable of. 6. What does the design process look like behind the scenes from concept to creation? Walk us through one of your most creatively challenging projects. A: Every project begins with finding a hook, a unique story or element for the couple. Until I find that hook, it's extremely challenging. Once I do, the narrative blossoms. Here are a few examples of our hooks that were distilled from the couple's story line, personality or culture - 'Poetry in Motion', 'Letters from an Orange Tree', 'Amar Prem Katha', 'Map of Perfect Things', 'The Wedding Hygge'. 7. With e-invites and AI-generated designs flooding the market, how does a boutique brand like yours stay relevant and premium? A: I think when it comes to AI, there's no escaping it. We'll have to figure out how to use it to our advantage. Just like traditional artists moved to digital tablets, AI will create new styles and forms. For now, AI illustrations look very perfect but lack that human touch. As a boutique brand, our focus is always concept first; illustration is just a medium. While AI can fit into templatized invite requirements, it can't replace the soft skills, those fun, informal interactions with brides and grooms that make the process itself part of the experience. 8. What trends are you seeing among Indian couples today when it comes to wedding stationery? A: Wedding stationery is getting more intimate. Beyond just invites, couples are now detailing everything from straw-tags, place settings to bespoke table-numbering systems. As weddings become smaller and more personal, the scope of stationery items has widened far beyond a single invite.
India.com
24-06-2025
- Entertainment
- India.com
Exclusive: Adah Sharma Says The Kerala Story Changed Things For Her, Opens Up On Outsiders Making Big In Bollywood
Actress Adah Sharma hogged attention with the massive success of 'The Kerala Story' in 2023. She made her film debut in 2008 with supernatural outing '1920' by Vikram Bhatt. She has come a long way ever since her maiden venture in the showbiz world. The actress told Zee News Digital on how difficult is it for an outsider to make it big in Bollywood, films close to her heart and much more Q. How did the success of 'The Kerala Story' impact your career? The Kerala Story really changed things for me. It made a lot of filmmakers see me as someone who can carry a film as a solo lead — especially projects with strong female protagonists and big budgets. It gave people the confidence to trust me with stories that are bold, layered, and led by women. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Adah Sharma (@adah_ki_adah) Q. How difficult is it for an outsider to make it big in Bollywood today? As easy as climbing the Everest blindfolded on one leg . It's not impossible. Q. Which films of yours are closest to your heart? Each film I've ever done. But my debut 1920 because it was the first thing I ever did. I was advised against doing it because people told me you are starting with horror, you will look ugly in the film. No girl debuts with horror. But the audience immediately accepted me and because they did filmmakers had the guts to cast me in varied projects. The Kerala story ofcourse because of a plethora of reasons . I will have to write a whole thesis on why it is close to me. My Telugu debut Heart Attack , Reeta Sanyal, Bastar and Sunflower 2. Actually every project I've named and haven't ! Q. Any checklist of filmmakers you want to work with? I want to work with all of them. The question is who all want to work with me. A great role and bring part of a good story and script , working with good people is what I want to do. Q. What keeps you hooked to Instagram? Define hooked. It is very addictive. But when I am at work , on a movie set filming , I keep my phone on aeroplane mode. The major complain that I get from friends , family, industry is that I'm mostly unavailable on the phone. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Adah Sharma (@adah_ki_adah) Q. Tell us about your upcoming projects There's lots and lots happening. Action, romance, drama all of it and I'm most excited that each role is very different from the other.
India.com
11-06-2025
- Entertainment
- India.com
Exclusive: Ahead Of Rana Naidu Season 2 Premiere, Actor Tanuj Virwani Opens Up On OTT vs Cinemas Debate, Splitsvilla with Sunny Leone & Bond With Mom Rati Agnihotri
Actor Tanuj Virwani hogged limelight with his role of Vayu Raghavan in the 2017 Amazon Original television series Inside Edge. Later, he starred in Code M, Poison and co-hosted MTV Splitsvilla 15 with Sunny Leone. Now, he is all set to be seen in Rana Naidu Season 2 - an action crime drama on Netflix directed by Karan Anshuman and Suparn Verma. it is the official adaptation of the 2013 American crime drama TV series Ray Donovan. Tanuj will be seen with he likes of Venkatesh Daggubati, Rana Daggubati, Surveen Chawla among others. He told Zee News Digital about his upcoming show, OTT or Cinemas - what he prefers and work advice from veteran actress and mom Rati Agnihotri. Q. How did Rana Naidu 2 happen? Well, I am a massive fan of the first season and I was pretty much out and out when it comes to mentioning it to Karan Anshuman over and over again. He and I go along a long way as he's been my showrunner for 'Inside Edge' as well. We worked together on three seasons of that show and so obviously, we know each other well. He knows me well as an artiste and he especially wrote this role for me and I couldn't be happier. The day he narrated it to me, I knew this is something that I had to do. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Tanuj Virwani (@tanujvirwani) Q. Tell us about your character in the sequel. So I am essaying the character of Chirag Oberoi. Without getting into too many details, what I can let you know is that the Oberoi family have their hands in a lot of different pies and certain people need to be taken care of. In comes the eternal and ultimate fixer, Rana. You have Rajat Kapoor playing my father and Kriti Kharbanda plays my sister. Trust me, it's one mad-cap family. Q. We saw you co-hosting Splitsvilla with Sunny Leone. Tell us about it. It was a wonderful experience. If you had asked me this question a couple of years back, I think my answer would a very definitive no because I had never hosted anything in my career. Be it in my school or college, literally nothing at all. But when the opportunity came by and I knew Sunny had been associated with the show since so long and she and I go a long way because we had done a movie together 'One Night Stand'. I just thought that I should take a leap of faith and try something completely different. I have never dabbled in reality TV in any capacity and so I am really glad that I took that plunge because it was really worth my while. Q. OTT or Cinemas, what do you prefer more? It's 'horses for courses' is what I feel. Certain material is best suited for the big screen whereas certain material, especially, long-format, larger stories find their perfect home in the OTT space. Personally, for me, as a viewer or actor, there's nothing that comes remotely close to sitting in a darkened hall watching a film. It is a community experience. You are reacting to similar things with so many other strangers around you, all bound together by their love for cinema. The experience and emotions are top-notch. OTT, on the other hand, is very very exciting domain because it is not about 1-2 actors but the whole ensemble. I feel because of the time duration, you can actually tell a much more fleshed out story and do justice to many characters. The character graph seems a lot more complete over there. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Tanuj Virwani (@tanujvirwani) Q. What are your future projects? Well, after Rana Naidu 2, I have a film called Johnny Jumper where I am essaying the title role. It also co-stars Vijay Raaz, Brijendra Kalra, Zakir Hussain & Zarina Wahab. There's also 'DAU' aka 'Domestic Anti-Terrorism Unit' which is a show produced by Applause Entertainment. It is a Mumbai-based crime drama which co-stars Rahul. I also have a lovely little 'rom com' called 'Puppy Love' that stars Tridha Chaudhary, Divya Agarwal and Nikki Tamboli Q. Who is your favourite actor or actress in Bollywood? Based on the current body of work, I definitely think Ranbir Kapoor & Vicky Kaushal would be right up there. For actresses, it would be Alia Bhatt. But if you talk about my all-time favourite actor, it's a no-brainer that it's the one & only Shah Rukh Khan. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Tanuj Virwani (@tanujvirwani) Q. Does mom Rati Agnihotri give u work advice? My mom and I share a lovely bond with each other where she is my best friend and also my harshest critic. Many times, her advice to me doesn't have specifically to do with acting but it's more about how one should conduct himself in this industry and how to ensure that certain situations don't get the better of me. She's always maintained that this is an industry where the highs can be very high and the lows can be very low and lonely. Never ever let success get into your head and at the same time, don't allow failure to rule your heart. Because, no matter how dark it gets, the sun will rise and there will be a new day, a new opportunity to prove your mettle and grab glory.
