Playing the nepotism card

Karan Johar says he has developed trust issues, and blamed his upcoming show, The Traitors, for it. Karan, who has turned host for the reality series that explores themes of scheming and betrayal, said, “I am still scared of these people. I am not able to meet them properly because I know their cunning mind. They are my friends and industry colleagues, but I would keep my distance from them.” He also jokingly added that he finds it tough to trust his close friend Maheep Kapoor now, after he saw how clever she was on the show. He revealed that it was “exhausting” to play a strict host. “The whole day you are being so strict, a disciplinarian. You are following the format, being aggressive and angry. I am not like that on a daily basis, though many would believe I am,” he said.  Shilpa Shetty’s husband Raj Kundra is one of the contestants on the show. At the trailer launch event in Mumbai on May 30, he shared, ‘“As this show is being hosted by Karan, I want to say that I will be using my ‘Nepo-husband’ card.” Other contestants on the show include Apoorva Mukhija, Karan Kundrra, Ashish Vidyarthi, Uorfi Javed, and Jasmin Bhasin, among others.

Bhai’s Mollywood style actioner

Salman Khan and Mahesh Narayanan

Salman Khan is reportedly in talks with Malayalam filmmaker Mahesh Narayanan for an action thriller. According to latest reports, the director discussed a film idea with the actor, who has expressed interest in hearing a full script narration in the coming months. The buzz is that the superstar’s sister Alvira Khan Agnihotri will back the project under her banner. If greenlit, filming is expected to begin early next year, after Salman wraps up his war drama with Apoorva Lakhia (Bhai at the border, May 2). Mahesh is known for directing critically acclaimed Malayalam films like Fahadh Faasil’s Take Off (2017) and Malik (2021), and this project would mark his Hindi cinema debut.