In the Maddock universe
Deepika Padukone’s hush-hush visit to Maddock Films has finally stopped being hush-hush. Industry chatter suggests the actor has been approached for not one but two big-ticket projects the studio is lining up. The loudest buzz surrounds Maddock’s expanding StreeVerse, where Deepika has reportedly been offered the role of a mysterious Bengali ghost named Shaakhchuni — insiders describe her as powerful, eerie, and central to the franchise’s next chapter. Alongside that, Maddock is said to be piecing together a large-scale fantasy epic, with Deepika as their top pick to lead it. Details are being guarded as tightly as a plot twist, but word is the film is being envisioned as a visual spectacle. Deepika has shown interest in both ideas but has kept things strictly professional, asking the team for full scripts before she signs anything. For now, Maddock remains tight-lipped, but her discreet visit has sent the rumour mill spinning. If things align, Deepika could be stepping into one of her most adventurous phases yet — from a chilling supernatural figure to a new fantasy universe built around her.
Snip, snip!
(L-R) Vijay Varma and Fatina Sana Shaikh in ‘Gustaakh Ishq’
The CBFC has cleared Gustaakh Ishq with a U/A 13+ tag, but not before handing the makers a neat little homework sheet. The Examining Committee insisted that the word “harami” be swapped for the far milder “kameena/kameeni”, and even the subtitles didn’t escape the scissors — “rascal” had to be softened to “scoundrel.” In another bout of sanitising, “sex” was ordered to make way for the more coy “aiyaashi” and “the art of lovemaking”, with subtitles duly rewritten. The silver lining? Not a single frame was trimmed from the Vijay Varma and Fatima Sana Shaikh-starrer. The film opened at Rs 50 lakh on Friday.