In her upcoming bout against experienced veteran Bi “Killer Bee” Nguyen, Indian wrestling superstar Ritu Phogat will be relying on the skills that got her to the world’s largest martial arts organisation in the first place.

Ritu is scheduled to face Nguyen at ONE: DANGAL, a tape-delayed event from the Singapore Indoor Stadium in Singapore that airs on May 15. “The Indian Tigress” has not made her game plan heading into this fight a secret. The 26-year-old will be looking to take Nguyen down and finish her on the mat.

“I think that Bi’s weakness is that her wrestling is not as strong and so my strength will be her weakness. Because of my wrestling history, I should be able to take Bi down effectively and I should be able to finish her off,” said Ritu in an official statement.

Ritu made headlines in 2019 when she announced she would be transitioning to the Circle.

A national icon from a famous wrestling family in her native India, Ritu made her ONE Championship debut two years ago, and has since racked up an unblemished win-loss slate, defeating her first four opponents in impressive fashion.

Meanwhile, Nguyen has had a rough go as of late. Ritu is confident she can continue her winning streak, and deal her Vietnamese-American foe another heartbreaking setback.

“Bi is a great fighter because she is more experienced. I have studied all her previous matches and her standing game has been extremely strong,” Ritu said.

“It will be a great watch for fans as it will allow them to find out if wrestling or striking gets the upper hand in this match,” she added.

ONE: DANGAL features a host of Indian martial arts stars, and aims to showcase the very best that India has to offer.

In the main event, Indian wrestling champion Arjan “Singh” Bhullar challenges Filipino-American superstar Brandon “The Truth” Vera for the ONE Heavyweight World Title.

Other Indian athletes scheduled for action include Gurdarshan “Saint Lion” Mangat and Roshan Mainam.

Ritu feels that while Nguyen’s experience does pose a threat, focusing on her own game plan and what she brings to the table will be enough to offset anything “Killer Bee” brings to the table. She vows to show fans just how much she has improved, and perhaps a new side to her game that fans have yet to discover.

MUMBAI: Rashmika Mandanna will soon be seen in her Bollywood debut, Mission Majnu with Sidharth Malhotra. The director and producers share the reasons as to what made the actress their first choice for the film.

Director, Shantanu Baagchi says, “We were looking for a formidable actress with a fresh, beautiful face when we chanced upon some of Rashmika’s work. I was especially impressed by her nuanced performance in ‘Dear Comrade’. She also has the right mixture of innocence & beauty required for the role. It is a crucial role in the film that needed a sensitive interpretation of the character. I think there’s a very good chance Indian audiences will discover another movie star from the South.”

Producer Amar Butala expresses, “My first interaction with Rashmika was a zoom call in the midst of the lockdown when we narrated the script of Mission Majnu. It was remarkable to see her react to the script and how she picked up very nuance of her character even though we were on a video call! It’s been a pleasure working with her because she brings with her the solid experience and confidence of a big movie star, but also has the sincere energy of a newcomer! We look forward to Hindi film audiences discovering her in Mission Majnu.” Producer Garima Mehta, “The first thing you see in Rashmika is her dazzling smile and the sheer energy and charm that she exudes.  Since her debut film Kirik Party, later Geetha Govindham and Dear Comrade, she has grown into an exceptional and fine actor. We were sure she would bring alive her role in the film. Rashmika and Sidharth share a great on-screen chemistry in Mission Majnu and would surely be loved by her pan – India fan base. It’s exciting to see the freshness she brings to the screen.”

The actress’s impeccable work not only left the audience in awe but clearly, a team of producers and directors as well who signed her on for their film. Mission Majnu is Rashmika’s first foray into a spy thriller yet the team felt she was the perfect choice for the film because of her talent.

WASHINGTON [US]: Hollywood star Gal Gadot, during a recent interview, opened up and revealed her experience about working with ‘Justice League’ director Joss Whedon, against whom there are several accusations that recently came to light.

According to E! News, the ‘Wonder Woman’ actor, while speaking with an Israeli news channel for an interview she shared more detail about her experience with the director, who stepped in to film (and re-shoot) ‘Justice League’ after Zack Snyder exited the movie following a family tragedy. Gal had previously hinted that her experience with Joss “wasn’t the best one.”

However, she explained, “But I took care of it there and when it happened. I took it to the higher-ups.” But now, the 36-year-old star elaborated on her past remarks about the 56-year-old Buffy the Vampire Slayer creator. “What I had with Joss, basically, is that he kind of threatened my career and told me that if I did something, he would ensure that my career would be miserable. And I simply handled it on the spot,” Gal told the TV channel. The director has come under fire, with several actors from his projects coming forward with their own stories about working with him. 

NEW DELHI: Megastar Amitabh Bachchan on Monday addressed the online hate and abusive comments he has been receiving by social media users alleging him for not contributing towards COVID-19 relief. Few big names from the industry are being targeted, alleging them for not contributing towards the COVID-19 relief funds in India.

Feeling sad over the distasteful comments, the legendary star took to his blog site and addressed everyone that he ‘believes in doing charity rather than speaking about it’. “Yes I do charity , but have ever believed it to be done, than spoken of .. it is embarrassing , in too great a self consciousness .. of one that has ever felt shy of public presence despite the profession – one that has to find its usp in public domains is relevant today for me,” he wrote. Big B further said that the contributions that his family had made in the past few years has always been kept under the wraps, with no social media show-off saying that “only the receiver knew and that was the end ..” 

NEW DELHI : Bollywood star Salman Khan on Monday shared a new song from his upcoming movie, ‘Radhe: Your Most Wanted Bhai’ titled ‘Zoom Zoom’ – a romantic number, also featuring Disha Patani, the film’s female lead.

Salman took to Instagram and shared the song along with the caption, “#ZoomZoom. These are not the times for zoom zoom so watch n listen to #ZoomZoom at home. Plz be safe.” The song has groovy beats to it and displays the chemistry of Salman and Disha.

The music has been composed by Sajid Wajid and the lyrics are by Kunaal Verma. Ash King and Iulia Vantur have sung it and Caesar Gonsalves has choreographed the song. The video starts in Fast and Furious style as Salman arrives on an ATV. Disha can be seen with a flag but instead of kicking off the race, she woos Salman with her dance moves. Soon, the two move to a more colourful location as they match steps to the song. ‘Zoom Zoom’ is the fourth song from Radhe to see the light of day after ‘Seeti Maar’, ‘Dil De Diya’, and ‘Radhe – Title Track’. Alongside Salman and Disha, ‘Radhe’ also stars Randeep Hooda and Jackie Shroff in pivotal roles.

The movie is presented by Salman Khan films in association with ZEE Studios, produced By Salma Khan, Sohail Khan, and Reel Life Production Pvt. limited.

CHENNAI: Renowned Music composer Pritam Chakraborty penned an emotional note remembering editor Ajay Sharma who had worked on films like Jagga Jasoos, Barfi! and Ludo. Ajay Sharma who was hospitalized due to Covid-19 passed away this month on May 4. Mourning his untimely demise, composer Pritam Chakraborty said, “Editor Ajay Sharma was really close to me. I have seen him from the day he started off with films like Barfi!Jagga Jasoos, Life in a Metro, Ludo and Ye Jawaani Hai Deewani. This is unbelievable that he passed away so soon. Composer Pritam Chakraborty also expressed his grief on the demise of composer Shravan Rathod who died of Covid-19 complications at the age of 66. The iconic music composer lost his father last year who suffered a heart stroke. Unfortunately this year he lost his cousin and two friends due to the second wave. He says, “I hope that the country comes out of this and everything returns back to normal. Cities like New Delhi and Kolkata have been hit very hard. We should help each other. I am coordinating with the doctors to provide help in whatever way I can”. Many musicians have lost their jobs and the ace composer avers, “The Music Association should come up with something. I am ready to provide help.”