The recent reports suggested that the makers are in talks with a director. However, rumour mongers targeted the original Shaktimaan, i.e. Mukesh Khanna, claiming that he is unhappy with the makers for considering a non-Hindu director.
As per the latest reports, the makers are in talks with Minnal Murali fame, Basil Joseph. Minnal Murali, an Indian Malayalam-language superhero film, emerged as a hit. Considering the great success of the movie, it is touted that Basil is the first choice of the makers.
However, controversies surfaced after certain rumours mongers targeted actor Mukesh Khanna. As claimed by the trolls, Mukesh was unhappy as the director is non-Hindu.
Later, Mukesh cleared the air on the surfaced rumours.
In an Instagram post, Mukesh clarified the recently surfaced rumours and wrote, “It’s a bit early for me to talk about which director will direct #Shaktimaan film. My producers (Sony & Brewing Thoughts) and I are in discussions about it. But, it’s disturbing that some insinuations are being made about the religion of a certain director, & him being a non-Hindu.”
Further, he expressed his worries about the stirring controversies and clarified, “A certain tweet has been put out that I’m not happy with the choice of a non-Hindu director. Let me clarify: I never said any such thing so I don’t know where it’s coming from. Such a thing has no basis in truth. I’ve the utmost respect for talented artists, regardless of religion.”
“Such a thing is really absurd & is totally unwarranted. I request fans of #Shaktimaan to not pay attention to any information that doesn’t come from my producers or me officially. We’ve not signed anyone. Shaktimaan is the idea of India. It’s far bigger than anyone’s petty lies!” he wrote.
It is pertinent to mention here that Mukesh Khanna has forever taken a stand for the Hindu religion and lashes out at any person who tries to defame Hindu culture and religion. Be it A-listed actors or the directors, Mukesh has ever remained open and clear about his thoughts. However, such controversies could have no authenticity as Shaktimaan included several non-Hindu actors.
On the other hand, made at a mere budget of Rs 18 crore, Minnal Murali went on to become a trendsetter worldwide. Moreover, it entered the top 10 list of Netflix globally under the non-English film category. With such spectacular achievement, the Tovino Thomas starrer officially earned the status of an OTT blockbuster. The movie received excellent reviews from both the audiences and critics, for its excellent writing, making, technical aspects, and stellar performances of the actors.
Well, the makers of the Shaktimaan movie trilogy can bet on Basil Joseph for a glorious outcome.
The British actor, who took a gap-year after his school to travel to Darjeeling to teach English at a Tibetan monastery, fondly remembers his six-month-long stay in India.
"I love your country, I love your culture and cultures. It feels like I was there almost a lifetime ago, in my late teens for six months of teaching, exploring and travelling as well.
"I'd love to have an excuse to come back and if that's to interact with the first Indian superhero, bring it on," Cumberbatch told PTI in a virtual roundtable interview for his upcoming film "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness".
The part two of Marvel Studios' "Doctor Strange" (2016) marks the 45-year-old star's fifth appearance as Dr Stephen Strange aka Sorcerer Supreme in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
When quizzed which Hindi movie actor he believes can be part of the MCU, the London-born actor asked for options and when suggested the names of Shah Rukh Khan and Hrithik Roshan, he said, Khan is great.
The two-time Oscar nominee, also known for his work on TV series Sherlock and films The Imitation Game and The Power of the Dog , said he is aware about the popularity Doctor Strange films enjoy in India and hopes to deliver another entertainer with the much awaited sequel.
Scheduled to be released in theatres across India in English, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam on May 6, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness has collected over Rs 10 crore in pre-sale booking in the country, according to distributors.
It's very exciting to know the level of anticipation there is with pre-sales. I'm hugely grateful to my fans in India for supporting me throughout my career. I hope (this film also does well), but I'm not taking anything for granted, Cumberbatch said.
The only reason these films are watched is because we try to better them every time during the making of them individually... We are working tirelessly for it to be a success globally, he added.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is directed by Sam Raimi and also stars Elizabeth Olsen, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Benedict Wong, Xochitl Gomez, Michael Stuhlbarg, and Rachel McAdams.
The sequel follows Doctor Strange as he tries to contain the aftermath of the multiverse-fracturing spell he cast in the 2021 hit film Spider-Man: No Way Home -- which caused villains from across the multiverse to spill over into the central Marvel Cinematic Universe timeline.
The big announcement was made by the studio on Thursday with the release of a special video.
Though there is no announcement regarding the actor who will be stepping into Khanna's shoes to woo everyone as a superhero, fans have started speculating and are pitching their views on selecting the lead actor.
Mukesh Khanna became a household name after portraying the character of Bheesma Pitamaha (Debabrata) in BR Chopra’s epic, Mahabharat, and later his popularity rose to new heights with Shaktimaan in the 90s. The only Indian superhero TV serial was one of the much-hyped TV shows and most liked among kids.
Earlier, Mukesh had expressed his views when fans asked him about who can portray the character of Shaktimaan. The Chandrakanta actor had said that people who have seen him as Shaktimaan would never accept any other actor as their superhero.
However, the recent announcement has filled excitement among all who got glued to their TV screens on Sundays to watch their favourite serial Shaktimaan. The Tahalka actor took to social media and expressed his excitement.
"I had promised to make a big announcement after crossing one million subscribers. Here's my announcement," he said in a video that also gave a glance at the much-awaited Shaktimaan movie.
Further, he captioned the post, "Main late ho gaya hoon aapko batane me. Kyonki ye khabar viral ho chuki hai ki hum Shaktimaan film bana rahen hain. Phir bhi mera ye farz banta hai ki main aapse kahoon ki jo maine wada kiya tha wo pura kar diya hai shaktimaan film is announced today !!!"
Later on Saturday, Mukesh Khanna shared another video in which he answered the questions he was asked by many of fans.
"My delight over the announcement of Shaktimaan movie! If it is about excitement and happiness, fans of Shaktimaan in crore have got the real joy over the announcement. The entire generation, who were kids then and now have become parents of kids, it is they who got elated after the announcement," said Mukesh.
Further, Mukesh added, "If you ask me about happiness, I got relief. The satisfaction you get after fulfilling a promise is what I got. I had the burden of making a movie since 2 years and after the announcement, I am relaxed and happy. Now, I got a responsibility. I have to work hard and the destination is far. I have to achieve it."
Here are some more reactions from the team of Shaktimaan.
The teaser is already out and shows the typical shot of flying glasses and camera which was a common scene connected with Gangadhar Shastri, the alter journalist ego of Shaktimaan. He worked with another journalist and female lead of the show Vaishnavi who was highly impressed by the superhero.
BIG ANNOUNCEMENT: SONY PICTURES TO BRING THE ICONIC 'SHAKTIMAAN' TO THE BIG SCREEN...
— taran adarsh (@taran_adarsh) February 10, 2022
⭐ This time, #Shaktimaan will be made for *cinemas*.
⭐ Will be a trilogy.
⭐ One of #India’s major superstars will enact the title role.
⭐ A top name will direct. pic.twitter.com/ood6KvghPM
From its title song to the costume everything was loved by all including children and adults. Such was the craze of Shaktimaan in those days that kids even demanded that their parents should buy them the Shaktimaan costume. Now that the same character is coming on the big screen, fans are super excited and have already started discussing who will be offered the title role.
Netizens are divided between Ranveer Singh, Tiger Shroff, and Sidharth Malhotra regarding playing Shaktimaan. But one thing is clear one of the biggest Bollywood stars will be playing the desi superhero. According to Taran Adarsh, the famous trade analyst of the entertainment industry, the project will be led by one of the biggest superstars from the Indian film industry and will be helmed by one of the leading and most successful directors.
The popular Hindi series started airing in 1997 on Doordarshan and also featured Surendra Pal (Dronacharya of Mahabharata), Tom Alter, and Kitu Gidwani. It ran for almost eight years and was a big hit. Around 450 episodes of the show were aired during these years that kept fans, especially kids glued to the superhero serial every Sunday morning.
The mysterious superpowers of Shaktimaan, his association with age-old techniques of mediation and saints from where he got the powers to fight the evil made the character attractive, interesting and entertaining.
Back then in the 90s, his popularity rose to new heights with Shaktimaan. The only superhero TV serial was one of the much-hyped TV serials back in the 90s and most liked among kids.
The time was called the golden era for TV serials as people got glued to their TV screens and other satellite channels were still to commence.
Mukesh Khanna’s Shaktimaan remained constantly in the headlines every now and then for several reasons. As per reports, the fictitious serial had the highest TRP even though it went on air only on Sundays. However, with the introduction of several other private TV channels and Doordarshan channel losing its peak position in the late 90s, Shaktimaan was stopped airing on Doordarshan and was rerun on another private channel. Shaktimaan at first hit the small screens on September 13 1997 and ran successfully for 7 years. It was indeed a heartbreaking moment for the 90 kids who watched their superhero on Doordarshan when the serial was taken off air.
After several years, Mukesh Khanna had made the announcement of coming back with Shaktimaan on his official YouTube channel named Bheesma International and the Superhero of 90’s kids has kept his promise!
Yes, Shaktimaan Season 2 has started streaming on YouTube. Busting all rumours of casting other actors as the favourite superhero as Mukesh is growing grey, he is back with his unique costume and superpowers to enthrall fans and viewers.
A week back, Mukesh Khanna had announced his comeback on his official YouTube channel. The actor also streams another YouTube channel named ‘On The Talks’.
Shaktimaan Season 2 has now started streaming on ‘On The Talks’. Currently, the makers have released 2 episodes on the YouTube channel. The first episode streamed six day back and the second episode released two days back. As expected, both the episodes have garnered good number of views. The first episode has garnered around 100K views and the second episode has garnered around 41K views till now.
Recent years have witnessed a major hype in digital consumption and the digital revolution in India is probably one of the major reasons for which the actor-producer decided to stream it on YouTube instead of TV channel.
So, stream into YouTube and search for ‘On The Talks’ to find the superhero back in action once again.
Recently, news of Mukesh Khanna’s death went viral. The actor slammed the rumour mongers and warned them to refrain from spreading such fake news as it hurt sentiments of his admirers and fans.
Amid the first wave of COVID19 in 2020 and declared lockdown, Shaktimaan was aired on the Doordarshan channel which rekindled the memories of 90s. Along with that, several other popular TV serials of the 90s including Mahabharat, Ramayana, Alif Laila, Jungle Book and many more were aired on the channel.
The "Ramayan" was back on television on Saturday, recalling for many those epic mornings an age ago when entire families, and even neighbours, gathered before clunky television boxes for their weekly fix of television and religion.
[caption id="attachment_442815" align="aligncenter" width="650"] Doordarshan[/caption]
The streets were empty today, as they were nearly three decades ago when Ramanand Sagar's serial that brought to life in garish and grainy colour the story of the noble prince and his 14-year exile began airing every Sunday.
The government's announcement that it would rerun the show on DD National at 9am and 9pm everyday brought back nostalgia for times that were simpler and TV viewing was about community. When neighbours with television sets opened their doors for others and families timed their routine to match the screenings.
Read More: Coronavirus Lockdown: Ramanand Sagar’s ‘Ramayan’ Makes Comeback On Doordarshan
"Ramayan", which began its telecast in 1987, made household names out of its two stars Arun Govil and Deepika Chikhalia.
Govil, like many others, watched the show as it aired on Saturday morning, calling it a "nostalgic" moment.
While "Ramayan" will be telecast everyday at 9am and 9pm, "Byomkesh Bakshi" has been allotted the 11 am slot. "Mahabharat" airs at 12 noon and 7 pm while "Circus" will be on screen at 8 pm.
Excitement of the viewers found their way to social media. Since Saturday morning, Twitter has been buzzing with tweets filled with gratitude.
[caption id="attachment_442816" align="aligncenter" width="650"] Mahabharat[/caption]
One user tweeted: "#mahabharat... Remembering my childhood stage and exiting am seeing with my kids.. My daughter translating.. Thanks Doordarshan.."
Another user shared: "Rarely do I watch anything on TV and even rare is with family. Thank You DD. Took me a while to figure out the channel no though. In case you're lost like me, it's Channel 1194 on Tata Sky. #Mahabharat."
Another viewer wrote: "One of the best #detective series #ByomkeshBakshi back to our home once again. Watch the time before CID nd savdhan India #CoronaPandemic #bestuseoftime #StayHome #SupportLockDown Thanks @DDNational @prasarbharati."
[caption id="attachment_442817" align="aligncenter" width="650"] Image Source: Twitter[/caption]
Another user shared: "Already watched today re-telecast of first episode #Ramayana, #ByomkeshBakshi & now eagerly waiting to watch #Mahabharata on #Doordarshan. Thank You @DDNational & @prasarbharati. #StayHomeSaveLives as #IndiaFightsCorona"
[caption id="attachment_442818" align="aligncenter" width="650"] Image Source: Twitter[/caption]
Meanwhile, demands for several other old shows continues on social media. These include the Milind Soman-starrer "Captain Vyom", Mukesh Khanna's "Shaktimaan", "Malgudi Days", "Hum Log", "Alif Laila" and "Fauji".
On the other hand, leading broadcasters like Sony, Star, Zee and the Viacom have decided to waive all tariffs and charges for four channels for a period of two months, the Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF) said on Saturday.
In a statement, the IBF said, "Sony run Sony Pal, Star India run Star Utsav, Zee TV operated Zee Anmol and Viacom18's Colors bouquet channel Colors Rishtey will be available to all viewers across the country for a period of two months free of charge on all DTH and cable networks."
The decision comes after a nationwide lockdown that has forced the entire country to stay indoors as a precautionary measure against the deadly coronavirus.
"The broadcasting fraternity feels that this will provide people who are restricted to their homes wholesome entertainment and invigorating content and will help provide relief during lockdown," the IBF said.
(With Agency inputs)
"It is a dream come true for me. 'Shaktimaan' was, is and will always be the first Indian superhero, and I also call him the 'super teacher'. I am happy that now we are coming with a bang," said Khanna.
"It is an evergreen and extremely contemporary story. In every decade and every century, darkness tries to prevail over light and truth. But ultimately, truth and positivity triumph over," he continued.
The first film of the trilogy is likely to go on floors in the second half of 2021.
"An entire generation has grown up watching and learning from Shaktimaan. I have been promising Shaktimaan fans for a while now that Shaktimaan 2.0 is coming up. So, I am more than happy and feel extremely responsible towards fans who have literally grown up with me. I have always said 'Vijayee bhava' to everyone, but now I think I need to say the same to myself. May God be with me," Khanna added.
"Shaktimaan" narrates the adventures of the fictional superhero story of the same name Mukesh Khanna essayed in the blockbuster series that aired on Doordarshan from 1997 and 2005.
(IANS)
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According to a video clip from an interview given to a news channel, Khanna claimed that #MeToo happened because women tried "walking shoulder to shoulder with men".
Responding to the criticism from social media users, the 62-year-old actor released a statement on Instagram Saturday, saying he was being made to look "anti-women".
"I respect women and I'm concerned regarding their safety. Some people have created a lot of noise out of a clipping from my interview.
"I never said that women shouldn't work... In that video, I was merely throwing light on the difficulties women face when they step out to work... But I never said that MeToo happens when women go out," the actor wrote.
The #MeToo movement started in Hollywood in 2017 after many women from the entertainment industry called out various powerful men for sexually harassing them, drawing focus on the workplace safety.
A year later, it gathered momentum in Bollywood when actor Tanushree Dutta accused Nana Patekar of sexual harassment. Following this, many women in the Indian film industry came out to speak against the culture of toxic work environment.
Khanna, best known for playing titular superhero in TV series "Shaktimaan" and Bhishma Pitamaha in "Mahabharata", said he had also expressed his concern over women's safety in workplace a year ago in a video message.
The actor wrote his career of four decades is a reflection of his respect for women.
"I just want to request all my friends and well wishers to not present my statement in a wrong manner. My career of forty years is a testimony to how much I respect women.
"If my statement has hurt any woman, then I am really sad that I haven't been able to put across my thoughts in a correct manner," he added.
(PTI)
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