Spoilt for choice

(From left) Sai Pallavi as Sita and Ranbir Kapoor as Ram

Jaideep Ahlawat recently revealed that he had to step away from Nitesh Tiwari’s epic drama Ramayana due to scheduling issues. He shared that he was offered the role of Vibhishan, but his dates couldn’t align with Yash, who is playing Ravana in the movie. He acknowledged that coordinating schedules was difficult. Ramayana features Ranbir Kapoor as Lord Ram and Sai Pallavi as Sita. It will be released in two parts during Diwali 2026 and 2027. Meanwhile, he confirmed that he has joined Shah Rukh Khan’s upcoming action-thriller King. He shared that SRK personally intervened after director Siddharth Anand had doubts about offering him a smaller role post Jewel Thief.

What’s taking so long?

Ali Fazal; (right) Raj Nidimoru and Krishna DK

After mid-day reported that actor Ali Fazal was clueless about the status of his upcoming project Rakt Bramhand–The Bloody Kingdom (Abandoned Kingdom? June 23), the creators of the show issued a clarification that they were deep in prep for the next leg of the shoot. Commenting on the current progress, creator duo Raj Nidimoru and Krishna DK, shared, “This is an ambitious epic project unfolding over multiple schedules. We finished most of our indoor talkie schedule, and we are now prepping for the next big schedule that is mostly outdoors and action. The plan is to wait for the rains to clear for a suitable filming window. We also need lush greens for this period piece. So yeah, we are prepping for the next big action schedule.” Along with Ali, the web show also stars Aditya Roy Kapur, Samatha Ruth Prabhu, and Wamiqa Gabbi. The action-fantasy project will stream on Netflix.