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Huma Qureshi shares that she has faced body-shaming and has even got rejected for a film because of her weight.

In an interview with Ians, Huma shared how the story of ‘Double Xl’ came to life.

“This movie started as a fun conversation with my friends and family-we were all in my living room, and all the actors were complaining about the ‘post lockdown weight gain’ and Mudassar Aziz wrote a story around it,” said Huma.

The 36-year-old actress revealed that director Satram Ramani asked her to gain weight for ‘Double Xl’: “We were just eating and eating. It was just burger lao, pizza lao between action and cut.”

Asked how responsible is Bollywood for setting a bench mark for beauty standards, Huma blames the society for making people believe that a “certain weight is acceptable.”

Talking to Ians, the actress, who made her acting debut in 2012 with ‘Gangs...

Huma Qureshi revealed that during the quarantine period in London with the entire cast of ‘Double Xl’, she was most scared of Sonakshi Sinha losing her phone.

While sharing the entire incident and talking about her fear, Huma said: “When we went to shoot the film, the pandemic was still going on. We had to quarantine for 14 days in London together as a protocol. We had quarantined together so for the first 1-2 days we respected and were cordial with each other. We three were already good friends and Manat(Raghavendra) was the new one but since we were doing everything together for the 14 days we became a good quad.”

Huma along with Sonakshi Sinha, Zaheer Iqbal, Mahat Raghavendra and director Satram Ramani are coming on ‘The Kapil Sharma Show’ to promote their film ‘Double Xl’ which is all about two oversized women, played by Huma and Sonakshi.

Huma recalled...

Bollywood actress Sonakshi Sinha revealed that she often made everyone serious on the sets of ‘Double Xl’. She said that there was so much gossip and banter that she had to remind them about shooting for the sequences in the film.

She said: “We four have had a lot of fun shooting for the film. We never knew where to stop and start working but there was only one person who knew where to draw the line and that was none other than me. I would control them and bring back the seriousness so that we can all work on time.”

When size zero or having a toned body is the criteria of beauty, ‘Double Xl’ breaks all these norms set by society and brings out the story of two plus-size women portrayed by Sonakshi Sinha and Huma Quereshi.

The comedy-based reality series ‘The Kapil Sharma Show’ will see ‘Double Xl’ cast including Sonakshi Sinha,...

Tamil actor Mahat Raghavendra, who has done several commendable roles in Tamil cinema including the Ajith Kumar-starrer ‘Mankatha’, said that it was the script of ‘Double Xl’ that bowled him over and he decided his launch vehicle in Bollywood.

The much-awaited film, which features Huma Qureshi, Sonakshi Sinha and Zaheer Iqbal apart from Mahat Raghavaendra, is a poignant story about self-love and makes a case for body positivity.

The Tamil actor said that the subject itself was the greatest motivating factor for him.

Mahat said: “Cinema, I believe, is designed to achieve so much more than merely entertain the audience. A Hindi film was long coming for me but when I read this script, I knew this was the film for me.”

“It was Satram Ramani and Mudassar Aziz who offered the film to me and I am grateful that they thought of casting me. It is the most...

South actor Mahat Raghavendra, who is known for his work in Tamil and Telugu cinema will now be seen along with Bollywood actresses Sonakshi Sinha and Huma Qureshi in the film ‘Double Xl’

Mahat, known for his movies such as ‘Mankatha’, ‘Backbench Student’, ‘Jilla’, talks about being part of the film and said: “I came down to Mumbai to meet the team. When I heard the film’s story, I knew I just had to be a part of it.”

On working with the entire cast of the film, Mahat added: “It was such a great experience working with everyone. This is something I shall always treasure. During the process, I’ve made some friends for life. I am really proud to be a part of a film like ‘Double Xl’. Such stories are rare to find.”

The movie is all about two plus size women played by Sonakshi and...

Huma Qureshi, one of the stars of Zack Snyder’s Netflix film “Army of the Dead,” has wrapped the shoot of anti-body-shaming film “Double Xl.”

Qureshi, who stars in the film alongside Sonakshi Sinha, also debuts as a producer via her company Elemen3. Satram Ramani (“Helmet”) directs.

“In all cultures there are ways in which we try and standardize beauty and we try and almost tell young young girls, that [if] you don’t adhere to a certain body type, you are not beautiful, cherished, you’re not special, you’re not valued,” Qureshi told Variety. “Why do we not see models representing real women’s bodies? Why do we not see actresses of all shapes and sizes? They exist, so why are you not seeing that on the big screen? Because what it leads to is a lot of young women and men grow up with complexes as if they’re not good enough.

Actor Aparshakti Khurana recalls working in Satram Ramani’s comedy movie ‘Helmet’. Along with him it also features Pranutan Bahl, Abhishek Banerjee, Ashish Verma and Sharib Hashmi in lead roles. ‘Helmet’ will have its World Television Premiere; this social satire uses comedy to tackle the perceptions around contraceptives and the societal and psychological challenges one faces […]...

The Indian arm of Sony is planning to produce local content that has the potential to travel globally.

Speaking at Singapore’s Asia TV Forum and Market on Friday, Vivek Krishnani, MD at Sony Pictures Entertainment Films India, said: “We are strongly focusing on creating Indian IPs, which can crossover into the mainstream and therefore, to that extent, some of the content that we’re creating for certain Ott [streaming] platforms, does have the ability to appeal to audiences, not just Indian audiences, but audiences across geographies.”

“That’s where the next leap has to come from [for] Indian content creation, because you have to be able to be a player in the global platform, you have to create content like how, for example, you’ve seen Korean content now dominate the world,” Krishnani said. “Why can’t content from India do the same thing? Consciously as content creators, we need to...

Casting director-turned-actor Abhishek Banerjee would love to reprise Al Pacino's iconic character Tony Montana in Brian De Palma's 1983 classic "Scarface".

"I've been fascinated with Al Pacino all my life. Something like Tony Montana in Scarface - that's the kind of dream role I have for me. If I ever get to play something like that, I'm sure I'm going to kill it. The energy, the gruesomeness of such a character is always very exciting. It is very liberating and helps you vent your inner anger," Abhishek said.

After working in theatre in Delhi, Abhishek arrived in Mumbai around 12 years ago with the dream of being an actor, He took up casting direction in order to support himself in the expensive city. Althouygh he has been around for a while, life changed after he garnered critical appreciation for his performance in the 2018 horror comedy "Stree".

"Before Stree, I used...

Sony Pictures Films India has tapped emerging local talent to spearhead its burgeoning Bollywood slate, while simultaneously making moves to aggressively grow its Hollywood footprint.

The studio has handed Aakash Bhatia (Amazon series “Inside Edge”) a feature directorial debut with “Looop Lapeta,” the Indian adaptation of “Run Lola Run,” starring Taapsee Pannu and Tahir Raj Bhasin. Similarly, Satram Ramani, chief Ad on Salman Khan vehicle “Jai Ho,” makes his feature directorial debut with comedy “Helmet,” starring Aparshakti Khurana and Pranutan Bahl.

The studio has also given directorial reins to successful screenwriters. “Saand Ki Aankh” and “Mubarakan” writer Balwinder Singh Janjua debuts with an as-yet-untitled romance starring Randeep Hooda and Ileana D’Cruz, while “Toilet: A Love Story” writer duo Siddharth and Garima debut with honor killings drama “Saale Aashiq.”

Sony is also giving feature film breaks to talent that has shone in related fields. For example, singer Shirley Setia, who has 15 million followers across social media,...

Actor Aparshakti Khurana will star in a suspense thriller directed by Kookie Gulati. The actor posted the update with a picture on Instagram.

"Super thrilled to announce my first suspense thriller with@actormaddy @khushalikumar @darshankumaar #BhushanKumar@tseriesfilms @tseries.official to be directed by @kookievgulati," Aparshakti wrote on Instagram, with a picture where he is seen posing with actors Darshan Kumaar and Khushali Kumar, besides producer and music baron Bhushan Kumar.

Aparshakti did not share details about the film, which also stars R. Madhavan.

Ayushmann Khurrana's brother currently awaits the release of his film "Helmet", which also stars Pranutan Bahl.

Directed by Satram Ramani, "Helmet" is a quirky comedy that depicts the ground reality in the heartlands of the country, where talking about protection for sex is awkward. The film also features Abhishek Banerjee and Ashish Verma in pivotal roles.  --ians/dc/vnc...

New Delhi, Dec 18 (Ians) Aparshakti Khurana started his Bollywood journey in 2016 with the Aamir Khan-starrer Dangal. After interesting roles over the past four years, he is now gearing up for his solo release as a hero, the comedy film Helmet opposite Nutan's grand-daughter Pranutan.

The actor is happy the way his career is shaping up. He says feels amazing when he looks back at his journey and shares that he had no idea that god has this in store for him

Before his debut in Bollywood, Aparshakti, who is the brother of actor Ayushmann Khurrana, was a successful radio jockey in New Delhi. After his shift to Bollywood with Dangal in 2016, he was seen in hit films such as Badrinath Ki Dulhania, Stree, Lukka Chuppi and Street Dancer 3D.

Talking about his journey in Hindi cinema from being a radio jockey to an actor, Aparshakti told Ians: "It...

Helmet, starring Aparshakti Khurana and Pranutan Bahl, is touted to be a quirky comedy. The Sony Pictures Network Productions and Dm Movies’ upcoming film recently wrapped their shoot in Mumbai and the team celebrated with a fabulous party.

The film reflects the ground reality in the heartlands of the nation when it comes to a very common yet considered to be embarrassing phenomenon. The film that takes a very comic spin on a pertaining issue went on floors in the first week of December last year, after shooting in the heartlands of Varanasi, some portions or the film were shot in Mumbai recently.

Elated about the film wrap, Vivek Krishnani, Managing Director-Sony Pictures Entertainment India said, “As producers of Helmet we are very happy as the film wraps shoot ahead of schedule. This comedy film combined with talented performances and an interesting theme will surely make people laugh and think...