Vir Das faced a major controversy in 2021 when his video, ‘I Come From Two Indias,’ received a lot of hate from a section of netizens. During an interesting conversation with Mayank Shekhar of Mid-Day, the actor-comedian opened up like never before on shocking changes in his life after this episode.Vir explained why he shifted to Goa and why he decided to return to Mumbai, “You can’t write stand-up in Goa. For that, you need to know the pulse of the audience. In Goa, it seems like the day is 37 hours long! Time slows down. What I like about Goans is that everybody, who shows up from the outside, is running from something (smiles). They are trying to deal with something in life and hence, they have come and settled in Goa. Goans are non-judgmental about it. They have seen people in all sorts of tragedies. But then I realized it was time to stop running and come back.”When asked what he was running away from, Vir replied, “Dude, I had no work for a year and a half after the ‘Two Indias’ controversy. My phone wasn’t ringing. I thought I’d rather be in Goa, work on myself and write.”Vir Das explained, “There were zero phone calls. If it did ring, it wasn’t a happy phone call (laughing). It would be like someone shouting, ‘Kahan hai tu? Tujhe dhund lunga main’. After that, my phone was off for four months. There was no work. Then, I worked on Vir Das: Landing. It jumpstarted everything.” The Netflix special won the Emmy Awards and gave a huge boost to Vir Das’ career.Vir Das then shared another horrifying story which happened after the ‘Two Indias’ controversy, “I woke up on a flight that I thought was from Singapore to Mumbai, but it was London-bound. I had put up a last-minute show in London; we had sold a thousand tickets. I myself changed the flight, bought my ticket and checked myself in. And then I woke up on the flight and for two hours, I had no idea how I got on that flight. It was my 186th show that year.”Vir added, “I was told that the flight was heading to London. I yelled, ‘No, this flight is to Mumbai’. When a brown man with a beard starts yelling about a new destination for the plane, everybody knows that the situation needs to be handled (laughs)! But for the life of me, I couldn’t figure it out for two hours. And you can’t feel bad for being disoriented in the first class (laughs).”He further said, “I had to go to my therapist and explained her that I have blocked out 72 hours. She told me, ‘You’ve been on the road for way too long’. This was in the post ‘Two Indias’ phase where (performing in) India wasn’t an option. That’s how I ended up doing 186 shows abroad.”Also Read: Vir Das shares hilarious in-flight encounter with Rishi Kapoor after the latter had a fight with Neetu Kapoor

One of Zee TV’s most popular shows, Kumkum Bhagya, is reportedly set to go off air after an incredible 11-year run. The romantic drama, which began with the beloved pairing of Shabir Ahluwalia and Sriti Jha, has been a staple of Indian television since its launch and is currently tracing the fourth generation of its storyline.As per a source close to the development who spoke to IWMBUZZ, “Kumkum Bhagya, which presently has Pranali Rathod, Namik Paul, and Akshay Bindra as the fourth-generation leads in the show, will soon go off air. The decision, apparently, has been made to end the long-running show. The show has been struggling with a drop in TRPs for some time now.”Currently, the series stars Pranali Rathod as Prarthana, Namik Paul as Shivansh, and Akshay Bindra as Raunak, focusing on a new-age romance while still holding onto its family drama roots. Despite these changes, the show has been unable to maintain its earlier TRP highs, prompting the makers to call time on its journey.Launched in 2014, Kumkum Bhagya started off as a love story between rockstar Abhi (Shabir Ahluwalia) and the strong-willed Pragya (Sriti Jha). Their chemistry quickly made the show a household favourite, drawing in massive ratings and winning multiple awards. Over the years, the storyline underwent several leaps, introducing new generations and fresh love angles to keep the narrative engaging.After Shabir and Sriti’s exit, the next chapter focused on Mughda Chaphekar and Krishna Kaul, who also garnered a loyal fan following. Later, Rachi Sharma and Abrar Qazi stepped in, receiving appreciation for their portrayals before the show moved into its current fourth-generation track.However, despite these casting changes and storyline shifts, the show’s TRPs have been on a downward slide in recent months. With competition from newer shows and changing audience preferences, the decision to wrap up Kumkum Bhagya marks the end of an era for Zee TV.Fans have already begun expressing nostalgia on social media, recalling their favourite moments from the show’s decade-long journey. While an official announcement from the channel is awaited, industry insiders believe the final episodes will air in the coming months.For viewers who have followed the series from the Abhi-Pragya days to the present, the end of Kumkum Bhagya will be an emotional farewell to a show that defined prime-time television for over a decade.Also Read: Namik Paul reacts to turning anti-hero for the first time for Kumkum Bhagya; says, “It’s both exciting and challenging to tap into the character of Shivansh Randhawa”

In a surprising turn of events, the Rajinikanth-led Coolie has taken a massive lead over the Hrithik Roshan and NTR Jr. led War 2 in the advance bookings at the US box office. With 9 days to go for release, the 6th chapter of Spy Universe has sold tickets worth USD 205K (Hindi + Telugu) in North America, as compared to Lokesh Kanagaraj’s film, which has clocked a phenomenal advance booking of USD 1.2 million.One must note that the North American market is dominated by the Telugu audience, and yet, a Tamil film has taken a big lead in the booking. The scenario is uniform at every place where the pre-sales have opened, with Coolie taking a big lead over War 2, which includes Australia and New Zealand too.This trend has come across as a surprise as War 2 is a much bigger film than Coolie on the budget front, as also it comes from an already established franchise. More centers are expected to open soon for both films, but the initial lead in this overseas battle is currently inclined towards Rajinikanth, as Coolie is leading the show by a huge margin. What comes across as a shocker is the fact that the Telugu dubbed version of Coolie (USD 200K) is leading over the Telugu version of War 2 (USD 155K) in the US.While the sales of the Hindi version of War 2 (USD 50K) are negligible, trailing behind Pathaan, Dunki, Jawan, Tiger 3, and Animal, the Telugu version too is trailing behind films like Game Changer in the US. The next 9 days are crucial as War 2 needs to begin to gain momentum to leave a mark in the international markets.Also Read: War 2: Hrithik Roshan and Jr NTR indulge in off-screen banter; sets internet on fire ahead of epic showdown

A couple of months back, Namit Malhotra made an announcement about using AI to lip sync all his characters from Ramayana in multiple languages all across the world. The producer also promised this to be a one-of-its-kind in-built technology for the cinema-goers. In the midst of him making these announcements, producer Aditya Chopra was silently working on incorporating the similar technology for War 2.Reliable trade sources confirmed to Bollywood Hungama, “To provide an immersive experience to the cinema-goers, Yash Raj Films are treating War 2 as a true-blue multilingual with lip sync in Telugu and Hindi. While NTR Jr. has dubbed for both the languages by himself, team YRF has used modern-day AI on dubbing artist to match Hrithik Roshan’s voice in Telugu and also lip-sync in as many moments as possible.”The source tells us further, “NTR Jr. has been creatively involved in writing the Telugu dialogues of War 2. In-fact, he got his own team of writers to write the dialogues, and enhanced them at as many moments as possible. He knows the Telugu audience, and worked closely to deliver a product that excites them to perfection.”Interestingly, even in the teaser, the AI tech was used for better impact in Telugu, and the same has met with overwhelming positive reaction from the audience in Telugu. “The dialogues in the Telugu were conceptualized by NTR Jr. in consultation with Aditya Chopra.”War 2 releases on August 14, 2025! Also Read: War 2: Hrithik Roshan and Jr NTR indulge in off-screen banter; sets internet on fire ahead of epic showdown

Bollywood actress Madhurima Tuli is all set to make a powerful on-screen return, this time alongside action star John Abraham in the much-anticipated film Tehran. In what promises to be a pivotal role, Madhurima steps into the shoes of John’s wife—a character layered with strength, sensitivity, and grace.Speaking about her role, Madhurima shared, “I’m playing John’s wife in the film, where I bring calmness into his chaotic life. It’s a strong, independent woman’s role—something I really connected with.”Known for her versatility and commanding presence, Madhurima is expected to bring a refreshing emotional depth to the narrative. While Tehran is pegged as a high-octane thriller with geopolitical undertones, her character seems to ground the story in emotion, offering balance to the intensity John Abraham brings to the screen.This pairing of John and Madhurima is already generating buzz, not just for the film’s gripping premise but also for the unexpected yet compelling chemistry the two actors promise to deliver.With Tehran shaping up to be both a thrilling ride and a heartfelt story, Madhurima’s fans have every reason to be excited.Also Read: Exclusive: John Abraham opens up about the ‘heartbreaking’ decision of skipping theatrical release of Tehran; says, “Because of the controversies around, theatres were a little wary”