Hindi
Anupam Kher launches first Bollywood acting school in London
MUMBAI: Hindi film actor Anupam Kher has launched a London chapter of his Actor Prepares, making it Britain‘s first official Bollywood acting school.
The school aims to improve the quality of Bollywood‘s notorious over-the-top hammy acting and represents the next step in the growing connection between Britain and the Hindi film industry.
“I am trying to kill off a certain style of cliched Bollywood acting. It‘s already dying so it is the right time to do this international school,” Anupam told IANS.
The school is to be based in the West London neighbourhood of Ealing, home to Ealing Studios which made a string of well known English films in the 1950s.
It will work out of the Ealing Institute of Media, and 60 students will be admitted in the first year.
Although most students are expected to be South Asians, Anupam said there was interest among white Britons as well.
The school is a partnership between Actor Prepares, Heathrow City Partnership, a local not-for-profit organisation, and the Ealing Institute of Media, which is a part of Ealing, Hammersmith and West London College.
“It will provide the first course of its kind in which actors from Indian cinema and elsewhere come to Britain to pass on their inside knowledge,” added Kher.
Stars such as Boman Irani, Tabu, Urmila Matondkar and filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt, who are the visiting faculty at Actor Prepares Mumbai, are scheduled to be involved in the teaching programme.
Courses will include martial arts, yoga, dance, music and Hindi, diction, improvisation and acting on camera.
Hindi
Zee5 and Applause Entertainment team up for whodunnit ‘Everybody Loves Sohrab Handa’
Rajat Kapoor directs star-studded murder mystery streaming from 10 April.
MUMBAI: Zee5 is serving up another killer collaboration and this time, the murder mystery comes with a generous side of dark humour and family dysfunction. The streaming platform has partnered with Applause Entertainment and Mithya Talkies to bring Everybody Loves Sohrab Handa, a fresh, twisted whodunnit written and directed by acclaimed filmmaker and actor Rajat Kapoor. The film will stream exclusively on Hindi Zee5 from 10 April.
The movie reimagines the classic murder mystery genre with a contemporary, darkly comic edge. It revolves around a group of friends and family who smile, drink, and celebrate together until the silence snaps and long-buried secrets spill out. The stellar ensemble cast includes Vinay Pathak, Ranvir Shorey, Waluscha De Sousa, Saurabh Shukla, Chandrachoor Rai, Neil Bhoopalam, Koel Purie, Palomi Ghosh, and Rajat Kapoor himself.
This latest offering continues the successful partnership between Zee5 and Applause Entertainment, which has previously delivered diverse hits such as Mithya, Bloody Brothers, and Jab Khuli Kitaab.
&TV Business Head of hindi Zee5 and chief channel officer Kaveri Das said, “Our collaboration with Applause Entertainment has consistently delivered distinct, high-impact storytelling. Everybody Loves Sohrab Handa is a natural progression, reinforcing our focus on genre-led content with a compelling whodunnit premise and a strong ensemble cast.”
Applause Entertainment business head for movies Sunil Chainani added, “This film adds yet another compelling layer to our slate with Rajat Kapoor’s unmistakable voice.”
Rajat Kapoor shared, “What interested me was not just the mechanics of a whodunnit, but the emotional violence that precedes physical violence. These are people who smile at each other, but there’s so much that is not said.”
The film promises razor-sharp writing, layered performances, and simmering tension, inviting viewers not just to solve the crime but to unravel the complex relationships at its heart.
If you love a good murder mystery served with wit and emotional depth, Everybody Loves Sohrab Handa looks set to be your next addictive watch. Mark your calendars, the whodunnit drops on Hindi Zee5 from 10 April.
